It can be devastating to be hit by a car where both your car and you are extremely damaged and then find out that the at-fault driver doesn’t have auto insurance. I have received many phone calls from people in this situation wondering what to do. The good news is that there is an avenue for recovery available. It’s called Uninsured Motorist Coverage or UM Coverage.
UM Coverage is something you carry on your own auto insurance policy. It is not legally required. Some people waive it to help lower their insurance premiums. But It exists for the sole purpose of providing you coverage when you get hit by someone who does not have auto insurance. The amount you have is entirely dependent on how much you pay for. You could be 25k, 50k, 100k, 250k, etc.
Obviously, you could file a lawsuit against the at-fault person and a jury may award you a sum of money to compensate you for your damages. However, the catch is that you have to take your award from the assets of the at-fault party. If the at-fault driver doesn’t have auto insurance, they may not have much in the way of assets. So, you could have spent a lot of money to go through trial and end up with an award you won’t ever be able to collect.
Because of this, UM coverage is often the only option that makes sense for people in this situation. As a result, you should look at your own policy to make sure (1) that you have UM coverage and (2) to make sure that the coverage you have gives you plenty of room to work with if this is the only avenue of recovery you have.
If you have questions about your specific case, please give us a call at 801-849-3664. We offer a free consultation where you can meet with a lawyer to get your questions answered and see if a pursuing a personal injury case makes sense for you.
