Why Have Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Arizona?

Unfortunately, although it is required, many Arizona drivers do not have liability insurance in effect.

Underinsurance motorist (UIM) coverage may apply when the other responsible driver has insurance, but your injury claim has a greater value than the amount of the other’s driver’s insurance limits.

For example, the value of your case may be $100,000.00, the other party may only have $15,000.00 in coverage. Your underinsurance, if you have it, would be triggered, depending upon the facts, and you may be able to receive up to the policy limits of your underinsurance coverage.

Unfortunately, many Arizonans don’t have any UIM coverage, or enough UIM coverage when they are seriously injured, and the other party’s insurance coverage is not enough to cover the injured party’s claims for injuries, medical bills, lost income and other losses.

Sometimes the injured person does not know that there may be available UIM coverage.

Examples of situations where UIM coverage has helped my injured clients, include the following:

• I represented a minor, a bicyclist, he was obviously not in a vehicle, he was hit while in a crosswalk in Scottsdale. Serious injuries resulted, a settlement was reached obtaining the limits of the other driver’s company’s policy. Thereafter, a settlement was obtained with my client’s parents’ car insurance, which then paid the underinsurance policy limits.

• In a Pinetop motorcycle wrongful death case, the other driver’s insurance carrier paid its liability limits, then the decedent’s carrier paid the additional underinsurance coverage limits.

• A client of mine was on the job, his work vehicle was rear-ended, the other insurance company paid its liability limits. The underinsurance coverage for the employer’s vehicle that my client was driving paid an additional underinsurance settlement.

The prior blog addresses the importance of uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.