Jackson, MS Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Claims

In Mississippi, uninsured and underinsured motorist claims fall into the same section of an insurance policy, provided such coverage is purchased. The most common scenarios where a Mississippi uninsured motorist policy (UM) would provide coverage for an auto accident include:

• The defendant is uninsured – if the defendant does not have his or her own automobile insurance policy, a victim’s UM policy will be the next best source of recovery for the victim’s bodily injuries and other losses.
• The defendant is underinsured – if the defendant has liability coverage but that coverage is not sufficient to cover a victim’s medical bills and other damages, the victim’s UM policy may provide additional coverage if the UM policy limits are higher than the defendant’s liability policy limits. For example, a victim with $30,000 in medical bills and $50,000 in UM coverage may be able to recover additional amounts from his or her UM policy if the defendant only has $25,000 in liability coverage.
• The defendant is unknown – if a car accident victim is injured in a hit and run accident, Mississippi law allows the victim’s UM policy to provide coverage as if the defendant was known but did not have insurance, provided there was contact between the vehicles.

Many people end up utilizing their uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in situations where lots of people were injured in a single wreck. For example, let’s say you were driving on S. Gallatin Street with four passengers in your car. If another driver turned left in front of you, struck your car, and then crashed into another car, all injured parties could make a claim against the driver who made the left turn. If that person only carried coverage of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per occurrence, all damages could exceed that amount of coverage. If all injured parties must take pro rata shares of the policy, you could make an underinsured motorist claim to pursue the remainder of your damages.

The above scenarios are unfortunately much more common than insurance companies would like people to believe. In fact, some insurance companies may downplay uninsured and underinsured accidents so much that they don’t include UM coverage in their “full coverage” packages. If you are unsure about what your automobile insurance policy covers, an experienced car accident attorney in Jackson will be able to obtain a copy of your policy and review it with you. Your attorney will then be able to advise you on what sources of recovery are available in your case and how best to proceed to obtain the most compensation possible for your losses. For example, stacking of coverage could be available, depending on the number of vehicles included on your policy.