Getting involved in an accident can be very devastating and overwhelming. It gets more challenging if the accident is caused by a party that does not have insurance. There are also instances the party at fault may be underinsured and it is not enough to pay for your injuries.
You are left to figure things out by yourself and sort out the loss and damage by yourself. This can get overwhelming for you and you might have no idea how to go about it.
This article addresses how to handle uninsured or underinsured drivers in an accident.
How to Deal with Uninsured and Underinsured Drivers?
When you get involved in an accident by a negligent driver, you can file an insurance claim against such a person. Some drivers do not have auto insurance or are underinsured and as such cannot pay for your loss. This would make filing an insurance claim impossible.
It is important not to be aggressive and deal with the driver rudely.
With a population of 4,929,800, In state like South Carolina was the 23rd-largest state in the country in 2018. In 2018, more South Carolinians (35.3%) than Americans (30.4%) had incomes below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
In 2018, more people lived in South Carolina (97.2%) than there were in the entire country (93.2%). In South Carolina, there were 514,772 non-elderly people without health insurance in 2018; the state’s uninsured rate was 12.7%, higher than the national average.
Large businesses are far more likely than smaller businesses to provide health insurance to their employees, both in South Carolina and across the nation.
If a driver in South Carolina hit you without having insurance?
The MIB functions as a last-resort guarantee fund; if there is injury or damage and no insurer to pay, the MIB will meet the claim and go after the culprit.” You can utilize your own insurer or proceed directly to the MIB, who will act on behalf of the uninsured motorist.
A south Carolina car accident lawyer assists victims in constructing personal injury claims and seeking compensation for the harm caused by other drivers. Vehicle accidents can cause severe injuries that take years to heal, and in many cases, victims never entirely recover.There are better ways to go about handling underinsured drivers. It is at this point you involve a south Carolina car accident lawyer.
It is very important to have a lawyer within your state if you stay in South Carolina. This helps you get help in dealing with uninsured drivers faster.
The following are ways you can handle uninsured or underinsured drivers in auto accidents:
1. Get the necessary details of the uninsured driver
It is important to get the contact details of the driver as it would be needed much later. Ensure the police also have the driver’s details as this would be needed for the police report. The police report forms part of the evidence you can use if you decide to sue the driver. It is also needed when you decide to use your insurance policy for the loss suffered.
2. Get Medical Reports
If there are physical injuries sustained from the accident seek medical care. If there are no obvious injuries, ensure to go to the hospital to check for internal injuries. This is because some injuries might come up later and you need to have clear reports of injury suffered. This would help your case better if you decide to file a lawsuit against the driver. The medical reports would show the injury suffered and the medical bills for the injury.
3. File a claim with your insurance company
You can file a claim with your insurance company if the driver at fault has no insurance.
Some car insurance policies have uninsured and underinsured coverage. This enables you to pay for the damage done to your car and the necessary medical bills. There is also some uninsured and underinsured coverage that enables you to pay for damage caused by a hit-and-run car.
It is important to inform your auto accident lawyer of your insurance policy. This will enable your lawyer to examine your case and advise you based on your insurance policy.
You might have to buy separate coverage if your insurance does not have uninsured coverage. Some insurance companies let you pay for other types of coverage. This might make up for uninsured or underinsured auto accidents. Provided you do not want to take another insurance you might have to pay for the repairs.
4. File a lawsuit against the driver
Your car accident lawyer in South Carolina can help you file a lawsuit against the driver. This option is only important if the driver has no insurance or is underinsured. There is a possibility an uninsured driver does not have insurance because they cannot afford to. However, you can file a claim for their assets to be used to pay for your loss. It is important you file the claim immediately after the accident to prevent it from being statute barred.
Your car accident attorney will help with first checking the driver’s credit and assets. The essence of the credit check is to verify the driver has money or assets.
After this has been verified, your car accident lawyer will file for a lien to be placed on the driver’s asset. This is to prevent the driver from selling the asset during the court case.
After the case has been evaluated the court will then award judgement against the driver.
The judgment obtained against the driver can be used to get compensation from the driver. The compensation would be from the driver paying from his pocket or selling some of his assets.
5. Get better Insurance policies to cover the damage
Your case is not the first case your car accident lawyer would be dealing with. So you can trust your lawyer to be an expert in car accident cases. Your lawyer can recommend to you different types of uninsured auto accident insurance. This recommendation would be based on the peculiarity of your case. There are various add-on insurance for uninsured accident cases. The popular ones are collision coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. If your insurance policy does not cover uninsured accidents, you opt for any of these add-on coverages.
6. Do not accept cash offers
There are instances the driver may offer cash to pay for the loss because they do not have insurance. It may look like the right to collect the cash to avoid going through the procedure of filing a lawsuit. It is important to understand collecting cash means you are waiving your rights to get compensation. You cannot come back later to claim that the cash is not enough to cover the damages suffered. Any repairs not covered by the cash will be borne by you because you have waived your right to get compensated.
It is thus important not to collect cash offered by the driver until you know the nature and extent of the damage.
Conclusion
The crux of handling an uninsured driver in a car accident is to remain calm. This enables you to think well and take the proper steps needed to protect yourself. You must also involve your car accident attorney to help you with the entire process. This helps you not miss out on important steps.
