Raise your UIM coverage for Bodily Injury as well as Property Damage

Posted Thursday, January 24, 2013 by Ed Harper

I recently ran across a case that brought to mind the need to raise your UIM coverage. In the case, a married couple was driving their valuable Mercedes Benz. They were involved in a motor vehicle collision, and the car sustained significant damage. The repairs were estimated at more than $45,000. The at-fault driver’s Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance, tendered their limits of $50,000 to cover the repairs and other claimed damages. These other claimed damages included items such as: loss of use; taxes, licenses, and insurance.

However, the Mercedes Benz owners deemed the $50,000 insurance coverage was insufficient to cover the extensive damages their sustained. The couple faced expenses as mentioned above which totaled more than $55,000 as the car was in the repair facility for more than 4 months.

The expenses were all out of pocket expenses for the couple and there was insufficient funds to go around if the $50,000 offered by State Farm was designated merely for the repairs. However, what the court stated in their unpublished opinion, the couple could potentially apply the money offered from the at-fault insurance company for these other expenses, and then still make a claim for the physical damage to their vehicle to their insurance, Farmers Insurance Company. This was necessary as the UIM policy stated that only physical damage to their automobile was recoverable.

So, in short, having an attorney involved in property damage claims is usually not necessary. Here, in this scenario however, having one involved could prevent problems as a release could be crafted with the third party insurer to allocate the funds received for non-physical damage to the automobile, and thus leaving the UIM funds potentially for the physical damage.

Call Harper Law for your personal injury or Insurance claim questions. 425 284 3333 or email me at info@edharperlaw.com

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