Every driver in Kentucky and Indiana are required to carry liability insurance. Minimum limits are $25,000 for one single person who is injured or dies in an accident, $50,000 for more than one person and $10,000 for damage to property.
The odds aren’t good for you or your family.
Take a look around you when you’re on the road. As per the Insurance Research Council, an estimated 15.8 percent of all drivers in Kentucky ignore the law and drive without any insurance at all. That’s about one out of ever 6.3 drivers. Since maybe another 15.8 percent of all Kentucky drivers ride on minimum liability policies, you can expect some serious compensation issues if an uninsured or underinsured driver causes an accident that requires even a same day surgery for you or a member of your family.
Uninsured motorists:
There are typically two types of uninsured motorists. First, there are those who simply don’t have liability insurance for the vehicle that they are driving. Then there are the hit-and-run motorists.
Underinsured motorists:
An underinsured motorist has complied with Kentucky’s mandatory insurance laws, but his or her liability policy limits aren’t sufficient to adequately compensate an injury victim for their damages. For example, an underinsured motorist might be riding on a minimum $25,000 policy and cause bodily injury damages of $75,000.
Uninsured motorist insurance isn’t mandatory in Kentucky
Uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance are optional in Louisville and everywhere in Kentucky. Underinsured motorist coverage must be purchased separately from a liability insurance policy. Both uninsured and underinsured motorist claimants will make their claims for compensation through their own insurance company. An underinsured claimant is required to prove that he or she has already recovered the liability policy limit of the person who caused the accident.
Making your claim:
When you make your uninsured or underinsured motorist claim against your own insurance company, you’ll learn quickly who is working for you. You may have been loyal to that insurance company for 15 years, but now that you want some of its money as compensation for your injuries, it will likely do everything that it legally can to pay you as little as possible on your claim. It might even deny your claim in its entirety. Those are just two of the ways that insurance companies make money.
Who can make an uninsured motorist claim:
The general rule is that the named insured person and any resident of his or her household who is a blood relative is covered for injuries caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver. Depending on your policy, you may even be covered as bicyclists, joggers or pedestrians.
You will likely make mistakes trying to represent yourself.
You don’t want to try to make an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim yourself. They involve complicated insurance, personal injury, evidentiary and procedural issues. You’d be giving your insurer a distinct advantage. Given the complexity of these claims, you’re likely to permanently prejudice a perfectly good claim if you try to represent yourself. From the first step, you’ll want our knowledgeable, experienced and aggressive Kentucky auto accident and insurance lawyers standing beside you.
Contact a Louisville Car Accident Lawyer Today
If you or a family member were injured in a motor vehicle accident through the fault of an uninsured or underinsured driver, give us a call at (800) 937-8443 and a member of our personal injury team will answer the phone and have you talk with one of our experienced Louisville car accident lawyers, immediately. Specific and short legal time limits apply, so you don’t want to sit on your rights. We handle uninsured and underinsured motorist claims across Kentucky and Indiana. You don’t need to pay us anything to retain us either. No legal fees are due unless we obtain a settlement or verdict for you.
