Getting that extra $25,000 (UIM insurance) - Liberty Law

Last week, we settled a personal injury claim for $25,000.00. This amount was in addition to the money our client had already received from the other (at-fault) driver’s insurance. He had been very injured in the car accident and needed the extra money to pay his medical bills. How did we get him the extra $25,000.00?

After a car accident, a driver’s own car insurance must pay for your additional medical bills, after all of the available money in the other, at-fault driver’s policy has been paid.  This means the injured driver first makes a claim against the at-fault driver’s policy, then his or her own.  And that is exactly what our client did.

If you were in the same situation as our client, you could only receive this extra money if you included underinsured motorist (UIM) protection in your car insurance policy. Every person who buys car insurance in Utah must be given the option to buy UIM coverage.  You must expressly accept or reject this UIM protection before you finish buying the policy. Usually, the additional cost for UIM coverage is very small.

UIM coverage provides a lot of extra financial protection for you as a driver. If you are in a severe car accident, you likely won’t have enough coverage to pay for all your medical bills, without UIM protection.

The minimum levels  of UIM protection are $10,000.00 for one person in an accident, and $20,000.00 for two or more people in an accident.

If you haven’t added UIM protection to your car insurance policy, we highly suggest you do so today. Call us for a free consultation: 801-709-6309, if you’ve been severely inured in a car or motor vehicle accident.