Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Lawyer: When the Other Driver's Insurance Is Missing or Too Small

What to do when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little

Look to your own auto policy. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays when the at-fault driver's liability limits are not enough to cover your losses. Both are claims against your own insurer, and the amount available often depends on forms you or a family member signed when the policy was bought.

That makes the paperwork as important as the crash. Before you give your insurer a recorded statement or accept a figure, have a lawyer read the full policy, the declarations page and any rejection or waiver forms in the insurer's file.

Uninsured vs. underinsured: the legal definitions

Pennsylvania law defines an underinsured motor vehicle as one whose available liability insurance is insufficient to pay the losses and damages (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702). Pennsylvania's minimum bodily injury liability coverage is only $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, so a serious injury can outrun the other driver's policy quickly.

An uninsured motor vehicle includes any of the following under § 1702:

• A vehicle with no liability insurance or self-insurance applicable at the time of the accident.
• A vehicle whose insurer denies coverage, or whose insurer is or becomes insolvent.
• An unidentified vehicle that causes an accident resulting in injury, as long as the accident is reported to the police or proper government authority and you notify your insurer within 30 days, or as soon as practicable after that, that you have a claim. This is how hit-and-run crashes are covered.

Did you really reject UM or UIM coverage? Check the forms

UM and UIM coverage are optional in Pennsylvania, but every insurer must offer them, and a rejection only counts if it follows the statute closely (75 Pa.C.S. § 1731). The rejection forms must use the exact statutory wording, be printed on separate sheets in prominent type, and be signed by the first named insured and dated. Any rejection form that does not specifically comply is void.

The consequence is significant. If the insurer cannot produce a valid rejection form, the UM or UIM coverage under that policy is equal to the bodily injury liability limits (§ 1731(c.1)). People are often told they have no UIM coverage when the insurer's paperwork does not hold up.

Sign-down forms matter too. A named insured may request, in writing, UM and UIM limits equal to or lower than the policy's bodily injury limits (75 Pa.C.S. § 1734). If you have low UM or UIM limits, we ask the insurer for the written request that lowered them.

Stacking: how multiple vehicles can multiply your coverage

When more than one vehicle is insured with UM or UIM coverage, Pennsylvania's default rule is stacking: the limits apply separately to each vehicle, and the coverage available to an insured is the sum of the limits for each vehicle for which the injured person is an insured (75 Pa.C.S. § 1738(a)). A household that insures three cars could have three times the per-vehicle limit available, far more than the declarations page seems to show.

A named insured can waive stacking and pay a lower premium, but only by signing the statutory waiver form. The form must be signed by the first named insured and dated, and any rejection form that does not comply with § 1738 is void (§ 1738(e)). Whether stacking was validly waived, and whether coverage from a relative's policy in your household also applies, are some of the first questions we answer.

Which policy pays first

When more than one policy applies, § 1733 sets the order. The policy covering the vehicle you were in at the time of the accident pays first. Next is a policy covering a vehicle not involved in the accident under which you are an insured, such as your own policy when you were a passenger in someone else's car or a pedestrian (75 Pa.C.S. § 1733). If two insurers have equal priority, the first one asked must process and pay the claim, then seek contribution from the other.

Limited tort and UM/UIM claims

Your tort election follows you into a UM or UIM claim. A person precluded from suing for noneconomic damages under § 1705 cannot recover noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, from UM or UIM coverage either (75 Pa.C.S. § 1731(d)(2)). If you have limited tort, you generally need a serious injury to recover pain and suffering from your own coverage.

There is a twist for uninsured drivers. Section 1705(d)(1)(iv) restores full tort rights against an at-fault driver who has not maintained the financial responsibility the law requires, but the statute says that exception does not affect the § 1731(d)(2) limit. So a limited-tort policyholder may pursue the uninsured driver personally for pain and suffering, while the UM claim against their own insurer stays limited to economic loss unless the injury is serious. Uninsured drivers often have few assets, which makes this distinction a practical one.

Making a claim against your own insurer

In a UM or UIM claim, your insurer stands in the shoes of the at-fault driver. The same company that sold you the policy will look for reasons to pay less: arguing the crash was partly your fault, that treatment was excessive, or that your injuries came from something else. It is a claim against your own company, but it is still an adversarial claim.

A few rules protect you. You cannot collect both UM and UIM for the same accident (§ 1731(d)(1)), so the right coverage has to be identified correctly. In a UIM case, tell your insurer in writing before you accept the at-fault driver's liability limits, and read your policy for any requirements about settling with the other driver. If your insurer handles the claim in bad faith, Pennsylvania law lets a court award interest, punitive damages, court costs and attorney fees (42 Pa.C.S. § 8371).

Deadlines

The deadline to sue the at-fault driver is generally two years from the crash (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). Claims against your own insurer are also shaped by the policy's notice requirements, and hit-and-run claims require a police report and notice to your insurer within 30 days or as soon as practicable. Do not assume a UM or UIM claim gives you extra time. Report promptly and talk to a lawyer before the first deadline gets close.

How we handle UM and UIM claims

Warren I. Siegel has practiced in Pennsylvania since 1992, handles automobile accident claims as a core part of his practice, and has served as a court-appointed sole binding arbitrator. We start by requesting the complete policy file, including every rejection, sign-down and stacking waiver form, and we identify every household policy that might apply.

Our fee is 100% contingency: no attorney fee unless we recover. The firm advances all case costs, repaid only from a recovery, and if there is no recovery you owe nothing. Call (267) 412-4601, answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or send the free case review form from our Upper Darby office at 8000 West Chester Pike.