Uninsured Motorist Coverage *Please understand that the following is not legal advice. It is only intended to be a general statement of Missouri law without any specific knowledge of or application to any individual case. An attorney client relationship with Eng & Woods is not formed simply by reading this information or e-mailing us. What is uninsured motorist coverage? It is coverage that Missouri law requires be sold with any policy of automobile liability coverage in specified minimum levels. If you have liability coverage for your car that is garaged in Missouri, you will have uninsured motorist coverage though you may carry more coverage than what is required by law. It is coverage for which the insurance company has been charging you premiums. It is intended to cover your damages related to injuries, up to the limits of coverage, in the event that an uninsured motorist causes or contributes to cause an accident. If you are injured in a car wreck with a motorist who didn’t carry liability insurance, you have a claim for uninsured motorist benefits from your own automobile insurance company. Any time you are in an accident and particularly where you believe the other driver may not have had insurance, you should notify your car insurance company of the wreck. Timely notification is important because it fulfills your obligation under your policy to give timely and proper notice of claims. Because uninsured motorist coverage is required by Missouri law the terms of coverage are also mandated by law. In other words, when and how much your insurance company owes you may not be determined by the language in your policy but may determined by Missouri law. That is why it is very important to not simply accept the insurance company’s determination of coverage or interpretation of the uninsured motorist coverage. Speaking with an experienced insurance lawyer at Eng & Woods will help you navigate these issues. You know the trained insurance company adjusters will be making decisions in the interest of the company and not you. Even though they are your insurance company, when you make a claim they become your adversary. You need an experienced advocate at Eng & Woods who understands the law and can fight for your rights. What is ‘stacking’ of coverage? Coverage issues are usually not simple and sometimes not even immediately clear. For instance, depending on the severity of your injuries, you may be entitled to ‘stack’ your uninsured motorist coverage if you insure more than one vehicle. If your injuries and other damages like medical bills and lost wages are significant, you will be able to add together the uninsured motorist coverage you carried on all of your vehicles. For example, if you insured two vehicles, and your claim warrants it, the insurance company will owe you the individual limits for each of your two cars. This is why you should not enter into a settlement with your insurance company without first speaking with a skilled attorney. If you do not do that, you may not recover money to which you are otherwise entitled by virtue of having paid your premiums. What other issues related to uninsured motorist coverage do I need to be aware of? You do not necessarily need to be occupying your own car at the time of the accident to have an uninsured motorist claim. The coverage you carry on your car(s) may well apply to accidents in which you are the passenger in somebody else’s car or in which you are a pedestrian. Other issues arise in the context of uninsured motorist coverage that are not immediately clear to someone not well versed in the field. If you can’t navigate all of those issues, you may well not recover what you are entitled to recover. It helps to be on top of all of the issues related to your uninsured motorist claim as early as possible and that is why a free consultation with an Eng & Woods attorney experienced in insurance coverage law is important. Please call (573)874-4190 or (877)888-2345 for a free consultation or email us to arrange for a no cost consultation: tmulholland@engandwoods.com , mwoods@engandwoods.com or jmcquilkin@engandwoods.com You should recognize that even though it is your insurance company, you are placed in an adversarial position with that company as soon as you make a claim. The company is representing its own interests, not yours. That’s why it is very important to at least discuss your rights with a lawyer familiar with insurance contracts and the court’s interpretations of them. Eng & Woods has successfully pursued many claims in counties throughout the state and in Missouri appellate courts against insurance coverages for denying coverage.