If you or a family member owns a car and lives in Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia, then you are probably covered by some amount of uninsured motorist coverage.
What is “uninsured motorist” (UM) and “underinsured motorist” (UIM) coverage?
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage applies when somebody else who does not have insurance causes an accident and injures you.
Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage applies when you are injured by somebody else whose insurance policy limit is less than the damages they caused you to suffer.
How do you make a UM or UIM claim (and am I really fighting my own insurer)?
The way one makes a UM or UIM claim against his or her own insurance company is very similar to making a liability claim against an at-fault driver’s liability carrier.
In fact, many loyal premium-paying insurance customers are dismayed to learn that if a drunk driver with no insurance strikes them, then their own insurance company can and will make a strenuous defense to every aspect of their claim.
For example, the customer’s own insurance company might argue that the customer was contributorily negligent in causing the accident, and therefore not entitled to recover anything. Or, the insurance company might dispute the need for the claimed medical treatment, and even go so far as to hire a doctor, paid directly by the insurance company, to review the claimed medical treatment. The result of such a review is often that the insurance company refuses to pay for the claimed treatment, because the doctor concluded that the treatment was either unnecessary or not caused by the accident.
As troubling as this is to many loyal premium-paying customers, the insurance companies themselves might argue that they are doing this to ensure that only meritorious claims are paid.
Who is Eligible to Make a UM or UIM Claim?
Many people, including some attorneys, fail to fully investigate all possible sources of insurance coverage.
In order to be considered an “insured” and therefore eligible to make a claim for UM or UIM benefits, you generally must be either:
- The policy holder
- The resident spouse of a policy holder,
- A relative (related by blood or marriage) of the policy holder who also lives within the household of the policyholder, or
- Occupying a vehicle listed on the declarations page of the UM/UIM insurance policy.
A thorough investigation should be done in order to determine whether and how much UM/UIM coverage applies to a given injury.
What Are Some Examples of When UM or UIM Coverage Might Apply?
Consider the following examples:
- You are injured while a passenger in somebody else’s vehicle. You likely have UM/UIM coverage through the policy that covers the vehicle in which you are a passenger, as well as your own policy.
- You are a 16-year-old pedestrian and are injured by a negligent motorist. Your parents are divorced, live in separate houses, and have separate insurance policies. You spend the week with your mother, and most weekends with your father. Most likely, you have UM/UIM coverage through both of your parents’ policies.
- You are a college student who has a part-time job and pays for your own auto insurance policy. However, you go back home and stay with your divorced parents over the summer. Although you spend most of the summer at your mother’s house, you still have your own room at your father’s house, and still get quite a bit of mail at your father’s house. Most likely, you have UM/UIM coverage through your own policy as well as both of your parents’ policies.
- Your spouse’s nephew is a young adult who just moved to the DMV because he got a job with the federal government. He has his own car and insurance policy and is living with you while he looks for an apartment. If you are injured by a negligent uninsured driver, then you may be eligible for coverage no only under your own policy, but also under your wife’s nephew’s policy!
Failing to specifically consider all possible available UM/UIM insurance policies can lead to a recovery that is less than what someone was entitled to, despite years-worth of paid insurance premiums.
Is Your UM/UIM Coverage “Enhanced” or “Difference” Coverage?
Until relatively recently, both UM and UIM coverages in the DMV were “difference” coverage. This means that the applicable amount of UM/UIM insurance coverage was calculated as being the difference between the amount of UM/UIM insurance coverage and the amount of liability insurance of the at-fault driver.
Example of “Difference Coverage” – If somebody with a UIM policy of $50,000 was struck by a negligent driver with $30,000 of liability coverage, then the applicable maximum UIM limit would be $20,000 for a total insurance coverage of $50,000.00. If the at-fault driver’s liability coverage was equal to or less than the injured person’s UIM coverage, then there would NOT be any applicable UIM coverage.
Example of “Enhanced Coverage” – If somebody with a UIM policy of $50,000 was struck by a negligent driver with $30,000 of liability coverage, then the applicable maximum UIM limit would be $50,000 with total insurance coverage of $80,000.00.
Recently, Maryland insurers have been offering “enhanced” UIM coverage. Under this type of coverage, the total amount of the UIM coverage is “added-on” to the at-fault driver’s liability coverage when the injuries warrant it.
Virginia’s law changed in July of 2023, so that now Virginia policies renewed after July 1, 2023, all provide “enhanced” coverage.
This change in the law is significant because it is now more important than ever to conduct a full investigation into all possible UM/UIM policies that may offer coverage.
Equally important is the need to determine with certainty whether those policies offer “enhanced”/”add-on” coverage or “difference” coverage.
What Should I Do?
If you or your family filled out and signed an additional form to waive or reduce your uninsured motorist coverage when you last made your insurance choices (which could have been many years ago), you should immediately stop reading this article, call your insurer, and make sure you have enhanced uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in the same amount of your liability coverage.
If you or somebody you know would like further information regarding UM/UIM policies in Maryland, Washington, D.C., or Virginia, please contact Philip Kuljurgis (licensed in MD, D.C., and Virginia) or Dan Shaivitz (licensed in MD, and D.C.) at (301) 656-1177 or pkuljurgis@bulmandunie.com or dshaivitz@bulmandunie.com.
