Uninsured Motorist Claims

The coverage most people have and almost nobody understands

Uninsured motorist coverage pays you when the driver who hurt you has no insurance at all. Underinsured motorist coverage pays the gap when they have a policy, but one too small to cover what they did to you. Both sit on your own auto policy.

Many people carry this coverage without knowing it, and are told there is nothing to be done because the other driver had no policy. That is often simply wrong. Before you accept that answer, someone should read your declarations page.

Why this claim feels wrong, and why it is not

Clients tell Boyd the same thing constantly: it feels strange to make a claim against my own insurer, and I am afraid of being punished for it.

Here is the honest framing. You paid for this coverage. It exists for exactly this situation. You are not asking a favor and you are not suing a friend. You are collecting on a promise you already bought.

What is true is that the relationship changes. Up to this moment your insurer has been on your side. The moment you make an uninsured motorist claim, the company that has to pay is the company you have been paying, and its interests and yours stop being the same. Adjusters who were helpful become careful. That is the part people are unprepared for.

What makes these claims harder than they look

• Your own insurer becomes the opposing party. Everything you say to them is now being evaluated by someone who pays less if your injuries are smaller.
• Notice and cooperation requirements are real. Policies impose obligations on you, and missing one can cost the claim on a technicality rather than on the merits.
• Settling with the at-fault driver first can be a trap. Taking the other driver's limits without dealing with your own carrier properly can jeopardize the underinsured claim entirely.
• Many of these claims are resolved by arbitration, not a jury. The policy itself often dictates the forum, which changes the strategy from the first day.

Hit-and-run drivers count too

If the driver fled and was never identified, uninsured motorist coverage is frequently the only real source of recovery. These claims carry their own proof problems and their own reporting requirements, and they reward moving quickly.

What to do

• Get your full policy, not just the card in your glovebox, and have someone read the coverages
• Report the crash to your own insurer promptly, factually, and without guessing at fault or the extent of your injuries
• Do not sign a release with the at-fault driver's insurer before your own coverage is sorted out
• Keep treating, and keep the records
• Call Boyd before the recorded statement, not after

Boyd will read your policy for free

If you were told there is no coverage, that is worth a second look before you accept it. The first conversation with Johnson Injury Law costs nothing, and Boyd takes the call himself.