If you are hit by someone that doesn’t have insurance, you may be thinking to yourself that you need to hire a lawyer to sue the person to collect any type of money from this person with no insurance. However, you have other avenues to recover besides going after a dead beat and dead end. People that don’t have insurance generally don’t have any assets going after. Meaning, even if you get a big judgment at trial, you may never see a dime of it. This doesn’t mean that the dead beat non insured gets off for free, to the contrary, the judge will most likely move all of your medical bills into their name or your insurance will put a lien on them.
UIM insurance is your best best to receive compensation. UIM or Uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance is an automobile insurance policy that steps into the shoes of the defendant and compensates you for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and more. The policy is very inexpensive but provides a world of relief when you are hit by someone with little or no insurance. Without this insurance, you would probably not see a dime out of your case that has turned your world upside down. These cases need lawyers though. These are tough cases even though you have insurance.
Some statistics show that around 25% of people on the road today have no insurance and another 25% or more of people on the road have the bare minimum insurance of $25,000. This means that the likelihood of being hit by someone with little or no insurance is probably around 50/50 so why not have UIM insurance which usually costs less than $10 per month for $250,000 worth of insurance – a great deal considering that collision coverage generally costs more than triple that to pay for the damage you cause to your own car. Isn’t your health and well being worth more than the repair value of your car?
If you do not have UIM insurance, you should get some now. However, if you were in a car accident already it is too late for that car accident but will protect you in the future. If you don’t have UIM insurance you can use Washington State’s Crime Victim’s assistance program to help recover and pay for medical bills that could be over $100,000 or more right now. It won’t get you pain and suffering money in your pocket, but it will help alleviate your financial burden.
Moreover, it is imperative to know that just because you have the UIM policy in place, you will want a Seattle car accident injury lawyer representing you in the case because the insurance company can and will use anything the defendant could have used as an argument against you for paying out any premiums. While you have the policy, the insurance company will fight hard to keep their money and offer you very little if they can to save money. They are a business and not your friend.