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You exchange information after a car accident and discover something you were not expecting: the driver who hit you does not have automobile liability insurance.
Now what?
An uninsured motorist accident in Arizona can create additional complications for someone already dealing with injuries, vehicle damage, medical bills, and time away from work. Arizona requires vehicles operated on state highways to have financial responsibility that satisfies state requirements, but that does not guarantee every driver on the road will actually have valid insurance when an accident occurs.
At Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC, we help Arizona accident victims understand what sources of compensation may be available when the driver responsible for a collision has no insurance or does not have enough insurance to cover the resulting damages.
Your own automobile insurance policy may become especially important in these situations.
Arizona law requires vehicles operated on state highways to have financial responsibility, which can generally be satisfied through an automobile liability policy meeting the state's minimum requirements.
Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-4009, policies issued or renewed beginning July 1, 2020 generally must provide minimum liability limits of:
Arizona's financial responsibility requirement is addressed further in A.R.S. § 28-4135.
Minimum insurance requirements do not mean every driver complies with the law. Coverage can lapse, policies can be canceled, and drivers may operate vehicles without valid insurance.
When that happens, an injured person's own insurance coverage may provide another path toward compensation.
The immediate steps after an accident with an uninsured motorist are similar to those you should take after any serious collision.
Report the accident and request law enforcement assistance.
A police report can document information about the drivers, vehicles, accident scene, and available insurance. If the other driver cannot provide valid insurance information, that fact may also become relevant to the claim.
Take photographs and videos when it is safe to do so.
Document:
Get contact information from witnesses whenever possible.
Do not allow concerns about the other driver's lack of insurance to stop you from obtaining necessary medical treatment.
Some car accident injuries are not immediately obvious. Medical evaluation can protect your health while creating documentation of injuries associated with the collision.
If the other driver is uninsured, your own automobile insurance policy should be reviewed promptly.
The policy may contain coverage specifically designed for this situation.
Uninsured motorist coverage, commonly called UM coverage, is designed to provide protection for bodily injury or death caused by an uninsured motorist, subject to the policy's terms and Arizona law.
Arizona Revised Statutes § 20-259.01 requires insurers writing automobile liability policies to make uninsured motorist coverage available and offer it to the named insured. Arizona law allows the named insured to select or reject the coverage as provided by the statute.
The statute defines uninsured motorist coverage as coverage for damages due to bodily injury or death when the vehicle that caused those damages is not insured by a motor vehicle liability policy containing at least Arizona's required limits.
This is why reviewing your policy declarations page after an accident can be important. Do not assume you have or do not have UM coverage without checking your actual policy.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage address different problems.
An uninsured motorist generally does not have qualifying liability insurance.
An underinsured motorist has insurance, but the available liability limits are insufficient to cover the injured person's damages.
Arizona law defines underinsured motorist coverage as coverage that may apply when the combined applicable liability limits are less than the total damages for bodily injury or death. Subject to the statute and policy terms, UIM coverage can apply to the difference between total damages and available liability limits.
Consider a simplified example.
Suppose an accident victim suffers $100,000 in compensable bodily injury damages. The responsible driver has only $25,000 in applicable bodily injury liability coverage.
That liability insurance may be insufficient to address the total damages.
If the injured person has applicable underinsured motorist coverage, that coverage may become an additional source of recovery, subject to the policy, available limits, and Arizona law.
UM and UIM coverage are separate coverages. Arizona law expressly recognizes that they apply to different accident situations.
Having uninsured motorist coverage does not necessarily mean the insurance company immediately pays whatever amount an injured person requests.
The insurer may investigate issues including:
This can feel unusual to accident victims. Your own insurance company may be the company handling the UM claim, but the claim still must be documented and evaluated.
Keep copies of medical records, bills, photographs, police reports, wage documentation, correspondence, and other evidence associated with the accident.
Medical treatment cannot always wait for an insurance claim to be resolved.
Depending on the coverage available and the circumstances, several potential sources may help address medical expenses.
These can include:
Each form of coverage serves a different purpose.
For example, UM coverage focuses on damages associated with bodily injury or death caused by an uninsured motorist. MedPay is a separate automobile insurance coverage that can help address qualifying medical expenses according to the policy.
There may also be reimbursement or lien issues that affect how funds are ultimately distributed.
This is one reason it is important to look at the entire insurance picture rather than focusing exclusively on the other driver's policy.
Serious injuries can quickly exceed minimum liability limits.
Hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, lost income, and future treatment can result in damages far beyond a minimum automobile liability policy.
This is where underinsured motorist coverage may become particularly important.
Under A.R.S. § 20-259.01, insurers must also make UIM coverage available and offer it to named insureds as provided by the statute.
An attorney reviewing a serious accident should therefore investigate both the at-fault driver's available liability insurance and the injured person's own potentially applicable coverage.
The fact that a driver lacks insurance does not necessarily eliminate that person's legal responsibility for causing an accident.
An injured person may have a claim directly against the responsible driver.
There is, however, a practical distinction between establishing legal responsibility and collecting compensation. Someone who has no automobile insurance may also have limited assets available to satisfy a judgment.
That does not mean a claim should automatically be abandoned. It means the available sources of recovery should be investigated before deciding how to proceed.
Depending on the accident, there may also be additional responsible parties or insurance policies that are not immediately obvious.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims have their own timing requirements.
Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-555 establishes specific notice and claim requirements for UM and UIM benefits.
For uninsured motorist coverage, the statute generally requires written notice to the insurer of the person's intent to pursue the UM claim within three years after the accident, subject to additional rules concerning when the person learns that the responsible driver is uninsured or coverage has been denied.
For underinsured motorist claims, the statute also contains a three-year written notice requirement and additional requirements involving a claim against the responsible driver's insurer or an action against the responsible driver.
The statute contains further deadlines if the UM or UIM claim is not settled.
These rules illustrate why accident victims should not assume that ordinary car accident deadlines are the only deadlines that matter.
Uninsured motorist accidents can require a broader insurance investigation than a typical liability claim.
An attorney may help determine:
Legal representation can also help with communications and negotiations with insurance companies while the injured person focuses on treatment and recovery.
At Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC, we examine the available insurance coverage and circumstances surrounding the collision to help our clients understand their options.
Learning that the driver who caused your accident is uninsured can be frustrating, but it does not necessarily mean there is no path toward compensation.
Your own uninsured motorist coverage may provide protection. If the responsible driver has some insurance but not enough to cover the damages, underinsured motorist coverage may apply. Other sources of insurance or responsible parties may also need to be investigated depending on how the collision occurred.
At Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC, we represent people injured in motor vehicle accidents throughout Phoenix, Mesa, and communities across Arizona.
If you have been injured in an uninsured motorist accident in Arizona, our attorneys can review the collision, examine available insurance policies, and help you understand your options for pursuing compensation.
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