Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist claims, also known as “UIM” claims, are subject to the policy provisions for the insured’s insurance agreement. The purpose of uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage is to protect the insured in the event that the person responsible is not insured or is underinsured. Even though in Washington State it is again the law for drivers to be without auto insurance, there are many drivers on the road without insurance coverage. In essence, the claimant’s own insurance company steps in and covers damages that exceed the at fault driver’s amount of insurance coverage.

If for example, a claimant sustains an accident with serious injuries, and the at fault driver has the minimum coverage allowed by Washington state law of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident, and the claimant sustains medical bills of $26,000, there is obviously insufficient coverage, not to mention the lost wages, and general damages the claimant may be entitled to as part of the injury claim. Per their policy, the at-fault driver’s insurance will not pay more than $25,000 for the claim. If the claimant has UIM coverage, they would be able to pursue the excess damages sustained up to the amount of the UIM policy limits.

Even if the claimant’s medical bills were $5,000 in an accident and the at fault driver had a minimum liability policy, but there were other parties involved in the accident that sustained medical bills, the at fault driver may have insufficient coverage for the accident. Per their policy, their insurer would not pay damages in excess of $50,000 for all the liability damages stemming from the accident.

UIM coverage may also apply in bicycle or pedestrian claims. If the at fault driver that strikes a pedestrian or bicyclist does not have insurance or is underinsured, the injured person may be able to use their UIM coverage and their parent’s UIM coverage for their damages resulting from the accident.

Under Washington State Law, UIM coverage must be waived in writing by the insured. Insurance companies are required to keep a written waiver of the insured’s refusal of UIM coverage. If the insurance company is unable to produce a waiver, they are required by Washington law to retroactively extend UIM coverage in the same amount as the casualty liability coverage at the time of the motor vehicle accident.

UIM claims have a somewhat strange dynamic as the claimant is pursuing an injury claim against their own insurance company. They may take an adversarial approach to their own insured’s claim. If a UIM settlement is paid for the claim, the claimant’s insurance company may then pursue payment directly the at fault party for the damages they have paid to the claimant. This is a nice benefit as it can be very difficult to obtain payment from an uninsured or underinsured person directly.

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