What’s the difference between uninsured and under-insured?

Mar 16

I was involved in an auto accident, was not my fault. The person who hit me died & his policy limit was only $25,000 which won’t even cover my medical bills. My lawyer says basically I am left with the medical because I don’t have under-insured motorist, I only have uninsured and I don’t know the difference. He sent me this in a letter, I have called to meet with him next week. But in the mean time does this mean all I can get is $25,000 and I will be stuck with the rest to pay myself. I know normally I could sue the person but he passed in the accident and he wasn’t married I know that. I “heard” he didn’t have a house in his name but did have life insurance he left to someone as a beneficary…could I be able to go after that? Also just to add, I am very upset b/c this person was exceeding the speed limit by 3 times & yes I know he died but he was at fault here I am going through all this pain, surgery, mental anguish, missing tons of work & I can’t even get all my medical
bills payed little on not being able to get any pain and suffering and money back from me missing work. What can I do…besides go crazy??
Just to add….I never knew what the policy limits meant, I only thought that was to pay for someone else if an accident was my fault…never knew I could use it to help me…

between, difference, underinsured, uninsured, What's

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Comments

KC_Meag42

March 16th, 2010 at 3:36 AM

From my understanding of the difference is that you will only get the 25,000, because that is what he had himself covered on. Even if he were alive, that would be all you could get. You didn’t have under-insured, so you basically set yourself up with this.

As far as what you could do, find out who his beneficiary of his life insurance policy is and sue them for the money. Get a good lawyer who can convince the jury that you are worthy of the rest of the money.

Un-insured is people who have no insurance at all. Under-insured, they have insurance, but it is not nearly enough to cover all expenses. Either way, you are always going to be left holding ‘the bag’.

Do yourself a favor, and after this whole fiasco is dealt with, get a policy with both un-insured and under-insured.
chaychayolei

March 16th, 2010 at 4:31 AM

I don’t understand why you would only have uninsured and not both. Please check with your insurance company.I’ve worked for State Farm for over a year and they are the same coverage here in TX and in FL.

Also, I do not believe you can go after the beneficiary, only the estate. If there is an estate in this person’s name it should be in public records and it will have an executor to the estate.

Get another lawyer, they shouldn’t tell you there’s nothing they can do, I’m sure this sort of thing happens often and another opinion would be helpful to you.
lucy

March 16th, 2010 at 4:36 AM

UMBI is uninsured bodily injury coverage; it pays if the other person who is found at fault for an accident and has no insurance;

UIMBI is under-insured bodily injury coverage; this pays if the other person found at fault does not have enough coverage to pay for your injury;

i have 250K/500k UMBI and UIMBI; on my policy; i live in the state of Indiana and the minimum coverage is 25K, just like the other guy; i am a claim adjuster and knowing from experience like your case, i made sure i have enough coverage just in case;

the main reason for both UMBI and UIMBI is that it protects you; so in the above case here is an example;

if your injury is worth 75K; the other guys company pays 25K and then your company would come in and pay 50K making a total of 75K; but in the same example, lets say you only had 50K of UIMBI; the other company pays you 25K and your company pays you 25K, making a total of 50K; now even if your injury is 75K, you can only get the max of coverage you bought; so that is the reason for buying the maximum you can afford;

when we settle a claim for the company’s limits or under the uninsured or under insured, we do a credit check 1st; this can find out if the other person who either has no insurance or not enough insurance has other assets we can go after;

ie; equity in an house; bank accts, life insurance etc;

most of the time, they don’t have any assets and that is the reason for minimum limits on their policy, since there is nothing to grab;

you have an attorney who is representing you; he should be able to determine if you can go after his life insurance or not;

also; most attorneys will negotiate medical bills with providers; they usually will get them to reduce them by 1/3;

in your case, they might be willing to reduce them more since in your case, you will not be getting anything from this settlement; but then again, only your attorney can guide you on your rights and what he is able to do;

good luck and call your insurance company and add this coverage; it wont do you any good for this accident, but hopefully you will never need it again, but now you realize the importance of this coverage;

1 more thing to add; if you have uninsured, you should have under insured coverage on your policy; your lawyer would have requested a copy of your declarations of your policy verifying this; one possible scenario is that you have the minimum coverage of 25K also; so if you have 25k uninsured and 25k under-insured, then your policy would not pay, since your policy only picks up where the other leaves off; i have seen this many times and just thought how stupid that is, since technically you have no under-insured coverage if it is only the minimum and you would never be able to claim this;
Claims adjuster

March 16th, 2010 at 5:27 AM

Everything depends on what state you live in. Insurance has liability property damage and it has liability medical damage..they can be paid to one person for both. In your case 25,000 can be for the car and 25,000 for your medical bills…Also under your own policy you can be paid for your own vehicle under your collision coverage and your insurance will go after the other driver’rs insurance company for reimbursement. You also usually have under- insured insurance and UN-insured coverage together. it is rarely separated. Under insured means if the other driver has insurance but not enough whatever YOU chose as your limit will be used after the other person’s policy pays their Max (25,000)…Look at you insurance policy and see..If you were wise to choose a higher cover (which generally will mean you have a higher premium) Your insurance company can pursue the person who hit you or in this case their estate. Insurance is a personal risk protection. You not only have to protect your own property but your body and you can do that with having the correct coverage in case things like this happen. Fault is not something to use in this case. He hit you he died, but ultimately you chose how much you were going to protect yourself with your own insurance choice of policy type coverage amount etc. Sorry so Brass but no one chooses to leave home and get in an accident. We all choose to pay or not to pay for insurance and taxes and that’s life.

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