You’ve been involved in a car accident and have some sustained physical injuries as a result. The cost of your medical care quickly exceeded $25,000 but you’re not too worried because the other driver, who was at fault, has insurance.
What if you find out that the at-fault driver’s policy limits prevent his or her insurance company from paying more than $25,000 for bodily injury? Enter: Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
The Virginia Personal Auto Policy provides uninsured motorist coverage, discussed in the last post in this series, and underinsured motorist coverage.
Underinsured motorist coverage protects insured accident victims against negligent drivers who, while insured, carry insurance that is inadequate to cover the costs of a plaintiff’s injuries. Since 1994, all Virginia car insurance policies must contain underinsured motorist coverage. To determine the total amount of underinsured motorist coverage that a plaintiff might reach, we must first know how much uninsured motorist coverage is available.
To that end, we must ask two questions: Who is an insured, and when can a plaintiff be permitted to “stack” coverage?
If you have been involved in an auto accident, please do not hesitate to reach out to the lawyers at Winslow & McCurry at (804) 423-1382.
