Virginia law addresses accidents with uninsured or underinsured drivers
Learn more about your right to additional compensation when the driver who caused your accident doesn't carry insurance or has policy limits too low to cover your damages.
April 13, 2013
Virginia law addresses accidents with uninsured or underinsured driversArticle provided by Curran & Whittington, PLLC
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When you are the victim of a car accident, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries from the at fault driver. Usually, this mean that the at fault driver's insurer will pay for your damages.
Under Virginia law, drivers are generally required to carry liability insurance; this type of coverage pays for injuries that the insured driver causes to others. Drivers must carry minimum liability coverage limits of $25,000 for the bodily injury or death of one person and $50,000 for the bodily injury or death of two or more people. In addition, there is a minimum coverage limit of $20,000 for damage caused to property.
Yet, despite the law, 11 percent of Virginia drivers have no insurance, according to estimates from the Insurance Research Council. When one of these drivers causes an accident, or when the damages resulting from an accident exceed the limits of the at fault driver's coverage, it can be a challenge for victims to recover the full compensation to which they are entitled.
For a motorist in this position, the best potential solution may be pursuing a claim under his or her own uninsured/underinsured motorist policy.
If you carry motor vehicle insurance in Virginia, your policy will include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage equal to the minimum policy limits for liability. If you carry more than the bare minimums for liability, under Virginia law your uninsured/underinsured motorist limits should also increase to match the liability limits unless you specifically decline the additional coverage.
An uninsured/underinsured motorist claim can be complex. For instance, in Virginia, motorists can "stack" coverage from multiple policies in an uninsured/underinsured case, which is good because it means a access to a larger pool of resources to provide compensation -- but it also means that multiple insurers could be involved, all operating under the language of different policies. In addition, uninsured/underinsured motorist claims are made against your own insurer rather than or in addition to the other driver's insurer. This shifted dynamic makes your own insurer more likely to treat you as a hostile party.
If you or a family member has been harmed by an uninsured or underinsured driver, it is important to retain an experienced attorney. Your attorney can untangle all the complexities of your case, helping ensure that you recover the full compensation you deserve. If your life has been impacted by an uninsured or underinsured driver, contact a Virginia personal injury attorney today to explore you legal options.