{"id":128,"date":"2012-12-30T20:46:24","date_gmt":"2012-12-30T20:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/?p=128"},"modified":"2021-09-03T16:36:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T16:36:45","slug":"what-happens-if-the-car-that-hit-you-doesnt-have-enough-car-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/publications\/what-happens-if-the-car-that-hit-you-doesnt-have-enough-car-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens if the Car that Hit You Doesn’t Have Enough Car Insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The unexpected happens \u2013 you get hit by a car.\u00a0 Fortunately, you live to tell about it, but then you find out that the person who hit you doesn\u2019t have any (or enough) car insurance and no personal assets you can collect.\u00a0 What happens next?\u00a0 Well, that all depends on what you<\/span><\/b> did to protect yourself.<\/p>\n

All drivers in Washington are required to have liability insurance to protect people they may injure.\u00a0 However, according to a study published by the Insurance Research Council in 2011, 16% of Washington drivers do not carry liability insurance, making Washington the 10th<\/sup> highest uninsured rate in the nation.\u00a0 The national average of uninsured drivers is \u201cjust\u201d 13.8%.<\/p>\n

Even if drivers follow the law and purchase liability insurance, they are only required to purchase $25,000 worth of insurance.\u00a0 This means that there is only $25,000 in insurance coverage to pay your medical bills, wage loss, and compensate you for your pain and suffering.\u00a0 To make matters worse, insurance policies generally provide $25,000 per person up to a maximum of $50,000 per collision.\u00a0 <\/b>\u00a0\u00a0This means that, if the driver injures more than 2 people in one collision, only a total of $50,000<\/b> exists to compensate all the people who were injured, regardless of the severity of the injuries.<\/b><\/p>\n

So \u2013 how do you protect yourself and your family, if the person who hit you has either no insurance or not enough (and no personal assets to collect)?\u00a0 The answer is easy \u2013 purchase UIM insurance<\/b> (known as uninsured\/underinsured motorist insurance).<\/p>\n

These are the top 10 important features of UIM insurance<\/b>:<\/p>\n

1. It provides insurance coverage if the negligent driver who hit you does not have any<\/span><\/b> insurance.<\/p>\n

2. It provides insurance coverage if the negligent driver who hit you does not have enough<\/span><\/b> insurance.<\/p>\n

3. It provides insurance coverage if your car<\/b> is hit by another car driven by a negligent driver.<\/p>\n

4. It provides insurance coverage if you are hit by a negligent driver while riding a bike<\/span><\/b>.<\/p>\n

5. It provides insurance coverage if you are hit by a negligent driver while walking<\/b>.<\/p>\n

6. It provides insurance coverage if you are a passenger in a car driven by a negligent driver who causes the wreck and who doesn\u2019t have any or enough insurance (provided that you did not participate in, cause, or know about the negligence).<\/p>\n

7. It does not cause your insurance premiums to increase as a result of the claim.<\/p>\n

8. It does not cause your insurance to be cancelled as a result of the wreck.<\/p>\n

9. You may be able to resolve the insurance claim against your insurance company via the quicker and less expensive method of arbitration, instead of trial.<\/p>\n

10. Your insurance company owes you certain duties in resolving your claim and must treat you fairly (the insurance company for the driver who caused the collision has no such obligation).<\/p>\n

Some people think it isn\u2019t \u201cfair\u201d to have to use their own insurance or they worry about filing a claim against their own insurance company.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 UIM insurance is a product, just like all of the other things you buy, and it is there to be used if you need it.\u00a0 If you bought an umbrella to keep the rain off your head, would you feel badly about opening the umbrella in your hand if a rain shower passed over your head?\u00a0 Would you think it was \u201cunfair\u201d to have to use your own umbrella?\u00a0 Of course not.<\/p>\n

Although all drivers are required to purchase liability insurance, it is simply unwise to ignore the fact that many don\u2019t.\u00a0 Instead, take personal responsibility for yourself and your family and purchase UIM insurance.\u00a0 It is inexpensive and the benefits it provides are invaluable.\u00a0 How much should you purchase?\u00a0 As much as you can afford, but in no case should you purchase less than $100,000.<\/p>\n

Download Nelson Boyd Law’s “What Happens if The Car That Hit You Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance” Article as a PDF<\/a> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-publications"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Happens if the Car that Hit You Doesn't Have Enough Car Insurance? - Nelson Boyd Attorneys, PLLC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/publications\/what-happens-if-the-car-that-hit-you-doesnt-have-enough-car-insurance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Happens if the Car that Hit You Doesn't Have Enough Car Insurance? 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