Glendale Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Accident Lawyer

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Accident Attorney in Glendale, CA

You will probably have a lot of questions after being in a car accident. You will have even more if you find out that the other driver was uninsured or underinsured. Is it even possible for you to get the compensation you need to recover in this situation?

Before you worry too much about it, come to Wax & Wax, A Law Corporation in Glendale and let us do the busy work for you. Our uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) accident attorneys in Glendale are no strangers to difficult cases with even more difficult defendants and insurance companies. There is nothing that can happen in your case that will catch us by surprise. Put a team as confident and experienced as ours to work on your case!

What is an Uninsured Motorist?

A driver with no insurance is an uninsured motorist. All drivers in California must carry adequate auto insurance coverage before driving on public roads, which means they cannot be uninsured motorists and still meet the state’s legal requirements. Some drivers can make a special arrangement with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by showing they have enough personal finances to not need insurance, but this is rare. For the most part, if a driver does not have at least the minimum auto insurance coverage, then they are breaking California law.

California’s minimum auto insurance coverage amounts are:

• $15,000 for bodily injury/death to one person
• $30,000 for bodily injury/death to more than one person
• $5,000 for damage to property

What is an Underinsured Motorist?

A driver with auto insurance coverage but not enough to cover the damage they caused in a crash is an underinsured motorist. Unlikely an uninsured motorist, it is not illegal to be an underinsured motorist because there is technically no way to know who will become one. For example, someone could buy a great auto insurance policy that far exceeds California’s minimum requirements and still become an underinsured motorist because they caused a severe, life-changing crash with catastrophic injuries suffered by another person.

If a driver has insurance but not enough to cover all damages, then the injured party can seek additional damages directly from them. Or our attorneys might be able to uncover another insurance policy that we can file against to ensure you still get the most compensation possible for your damages.

Do You Have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Insurance?

In California, you can opt to buy uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance – often just called UM/UIM insurance – that you can add to your auto insurance policy. Most insurance companies do not offer UM/UIM insurance as a standard benefit, so you might not have it.

If you do have UM/UIM insurance, then you are in some luck. We should be able to use that policy to seek coverage for your damages when you have been hit by someone with no insurance or with not enough coverage to take care of you.

Filing a First-Party Claim

When using a UM/UIM insurance policy, you will technically file a first-party claim, which means you are filing against your insurance provider. In contrast, you would normally file a third-party claim against the other driver’s policy.

A first-party UM/UIM claim can help pay for:

• Medical costs
• Lost wages
• Vehicle repairs
• Pain and suffering (in some cases)

First-party claims might seem simpler, but they can be just as much trouble as any other car accident claim. Your insurer might have sold you the policy, but they still will not want to pay it out to you. This is where it becomes a good idea to get our lawyers on the case, so you know you will not be pushed around by your insurance company.

We Go Above & Beyond for Uninsured Motorist Claims

Our Glendale UM/UIM accident attorneys would like to help you after you’ve been hit by a driver without any or enough auto insurance coverage. You are probably in a terrible spot right now and have enough to deal with as it is. Please leave this up to us, so you can focus on more important things, like your rest and recovery.