What if the driver who hits you has no insurance or inadequate insurance?
If the person who hits you has no automobile liability insurance or has only $20,000.00 of insurance (the minimum amount required by Connecticut law), your own insurance company steps into the shoes of the at fault driver. This insurance coverage is called “uninsured/underinsured motorists’ coverage”. It often is referred to by the shorthand “UM/UIM Coverage”. Literally, UM/UIM Coverage means that your own insurance company assumes the responsibility that should have been assumed by the at fault driver for any personal injuries you have sustained. When your insurance company makes a UM/UIM payment to you, it does not affect your rates.
- As an example, if you have $50,000.00 of UM/UIM Coverage, the at fault driver has no insurance, and the damages for your personal injury are $50,000.00, your insurance company is obligated to pay you $50,000.00.
- As another example, if you have $50,000.00 of UM/UIM Coverage, the at fault driver has $20,000.00 of insurance, and the damages for your personal injury are $50,000.00, your insurance company is obligated to pay you $30,000.00.
There are time limits for notifying your insurance company that you are making a UM/UIM claim. An important responsibility of our office is to assure that those time limits are complied with.