As a Delaware County Car Accident Attorney, clients will ask me “What should I do If I’m involved in an accident, and the person who hit me has inadequate insurance coverage?” If you’ve been involved in an automobile accident and responsible party does not have insurance, there are two methods by which we answer that question.
The first method involves electing for uninsured motorist coverage through your own auto insurance. Uninsured motorist coverage allows you to make a claim against your own insurance company. You can buy insurance benefits in increments of $15,000 – $100,000, or you can go as high as $2 million worth of coverage. The premium just increases based on the amount of coverage that you purchased. You will need to tell the insurance company that the other driver has inadequate insurance and that they must compensate you for your injuries. If the insurance company offers you something less, then there are two processes depending on the terms of the insurance policy. One type of policy has an arbitration clause where you select arbitration. You will go into arbitration where you present your medical records, your doctor’s testimony, and any witnesses. Arbitration will assess the value of your case.
The second alternative may require you to go to court and actually sue the insurance company. The process works very similar to the way in which you sue an individual. You go to trial, and present all of your witnesses, you allow the doctors to come in, you reach agreements as to what happened in the accident, and then the jury will make an award against the insurance company.
Have you been in an accident where the other party has insufficient insurance? Contact Delaware County Car Accident Attorney Walter Timby to fight for you.
This educational blog was brought to you by experienced Car Accident Attorney Walter J. Timby. Our law firm proudly represents car accident clients throughout Delaware County, as well as Pennsylvania, the greater Philadelphia area, Delaware and New Jersey.