What Does Underinsured Motorist Insurance Cover?

Uninsured motorist insurance covers many circumstances. If you are in an accident with an uninsured motorist or a hit-and-run vehicle, your uninsured motorist insurance will cover your claim. Most people think of uninsured motorist cases as involving two or more vehicles, your car and the uninsured motorist’s car. But uninsured motorist insurance also covers many other circumstances.

Uninsured motorist insurance covers you if you are a pedestrian.

We represent many clients who are hit while they are pedestrians. It is common for a car to hit a pedestrian and then flee the scene. This becomes a hit-and-run accident. If you have your own car insurance and you are hit by an uninsured motorist, your insurance company will cover your injuries.

Uninsured motorist insurance covers you, your children, and any family member living with you.

Even though the car insurance may be in your name, uninsured motorist coverage is much broader than you may think. Uninsured motorist insurance covers not only you, but any family member residing in your household. The reason for this is apparent from the following example. If your young son or daughter is hit by an uninsured motorist, they are not old enough to have their own car insurance which would cover them. Provided they live with you, your car insurance will provide uninsured motorist coverage to him or her. However, insurance policies do not limit uninsured motorist coverage to children. Insurance policies cover any family member living with you. To discuss whether uninsured motorist insurance applies to you or your family members, contact us for a free consultation.

Uninsured motorist insurance covers your family even if you cause the accident.

Unfortunately, sometimes an accident can be your fault. To make matters worse, your accident may cause a family member to sustain injuries and incur medical bills or lost wages. Your insurance company will point to the “Family Member Exclusion” in your insurance policy which states they will not compensate a family member if the accident is your fault. You may assume that there is no recovery for your family members based on what your insurance company may tell you.

While the exclusion is valid, your family members now have an uninsured motorist claim. Insurance companies will not tell you this since their job is to save money, not pay claims. If you or your family members have been denied by an insurance company, contact us to see if we can help make a recovery.