Car accidents can cause unexpected damage and disrupt your life. If you find out that the driver who hit you doesn’t have auto insurance or enough insurance, do you know what to do next? How will you collect a settlement for your medical bills?
There are solutions for people hurt in car accidents by drivers missing insurance. Learn more about New York’s policies and your options.
How Does Uninsured Motorist Insurance Work?
Insurance policies in New York include several kinds of coverage, including uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist insurance coverage provides that if the policy owner or a passenger suffers any injury because of a driver who does not have liability insurance, the policy owner’s insurance company will pay the insured individual’s damages.
Most insurance companies will honor the UM/UIM clause. However, some may attempt to offer compensation that is too little or deny your uninsured motorist claim. Later, they may raise your insurance premiums, even if you didn’t do anything wrong. The insurer may try to deny you coverage.
Uninsured motorist coverage is meant to provide benefits if you or a passenger in your car injured in a wreck caused by someone who does not have car insurance or has too little insurance. Your UM coverage would also be invoked if you are hit an injured by a hit-and-run driver who is not identified or found.
What If There Are Multiple Liable Parties?
If there are multiple parties who may be liable for your accident, you have even more options to recover compensation. You may have to file multiple insurance claims and let the companies fight out who will ultimately pay for your damages.
If you take multiple at-fault parties to court, a jury might determine the percentage of fault for each party, and they would be responsible for that percentage of damages.
What If I Am Partially at Fault for the Crash?
New York follows the rule of comparative negligence. That means that if you share some fault for the crash, you can still recover compensation for your injuries up to the percentage that the other party was at fault. In fact, you can get money no matter how much fault you share.
For example, if you were 60% at fault in an accident, you can recover 40% of your damages from the other party. If you were 20% at fault, you can recover 80% of your damages.
New York’s Insurance Requirements
New York requires all drivers to have multiple types of insurance. According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), all registered drivers must have at least:
- $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death per person
- $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 per accident
- $10,000 in property damage for a single accident
This 25/50/10 liability insurance will cover damages of another person if you are at fault in a crash.
Additionally, you must have personal injury protection (PIP) coverage) that will cover medical expenses no matter who is at fault. Specifically, PIP will cover $50,000 or more (depending on the policy limit you purchase) of medical bills, economic losses, and death benefits.
Penalties for Not Having Insurance in New York
If you do not have the minimum required insurance in New York, you will face penalties. If you are stopped or have a crash without insurance, you may receive a fine of between $150 and $1,500. There is an additional $750 civil penalty fee if your license is revoked. Your car may also be impounded, and your driving privileges could be revoked for up to three years. You may even face up to 15 days in jail.
Optional Insurance in New York
You may also opt to have other insurance that can cover your damages, such as:
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM) – This will cover your damages if the other person does not have insurance or they do not have enough to cover all your losses.
- Comprehensive Coverage – This covers your damages to your vehicle caused by a non-collision event that is outside of your control, such vandalism or fire.
- Collision Coverage – This will cover the costs of fixing your car if you are in a crash and the other person’s insurance will not cover damages or are at fault.
What to Do If The Other Driver Doesn’t Have Insurance
After you have been in a car accident, it is important that you contact your own insurance company as soon as possible, especially if you have been hit by an uninsured motorist. You should report the accident to police. If you or anyone in your car has been injured, you should summon emergency medical assistance to obtain care immediately.
Collect Evidence After Your Accident with an Uninsured Driver
It is important for you to protect your rights after any car accident by obtaining and holding onto any evidence that supports a potential claim.
For a UM/UIM claim, this includes:
- Police reports
- Medical records
- Records and Receipts
- Take photos of the crash scene
This evidence can help you substantiate your claim for losses if your insurance company tries to deny a UM claim or to avoid paying you the full amount of compensation you deserve.
Document the Details of Your Accident
If you have been involved in a hit-and-run accident, you should document the accident as much as possible. That means you should write down how the accident happened, where and when it happened, and the names and contact information for any witnesses (including your passengers), as soon as you can.
Be sure to include anything you remember that might help identify the vehicle that hit you, such as color, make, model, year, the direction it was traveling, etc. In the NYC Metro, an investigation may find a security camera that recorded your accident.
Reach Out to a New York Car Accident Lawyer
As soon as you are able, you should contact a skilled car accident lawyer in New York City to help you with your claim. An attorney can help you fight your way through the bureaucratic red tape towards compensation. They can use the evidence you’ve gathered to start their investigation, ensuring you the best chance of recovery.
Attorneys have experience dealing with insurance companies, and finding the right attorney gives you better odds at a successful insurance claim.
Get Help With Your Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Claim
Insurance companies are for-profit businesses. They can’t make as much money if they’re paying settlements. Insurance agents and adjusters know people hurt in accidents are in precarious situations. They understand that by moving quickly, they can pressure accident victims into low settlements to close claims.
That’s where Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C., come in. We have your best interests at heart. We know dealing with insurance companies is intimidating. With us on your side, we can hold those liable for your injuries and damages responsible. We’ll help you identify anyone who shares the blame for your injuries, and we can help you fight for a fair settlement.
Contact an NYC Uninsured Accident Lawyer About Your Claim
It is important that you contact an attorney as soon as possible after an accident involving an uninsured motorist or hit-and-run driver to make sure you are not being low-balled or otherwise denied proper benefits by your insurance company. Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C. will fight for your rights and help you receive the compensation that you deserve. If you already have a settlement offer, we can review it and the circumstances of your accidents for you.
In every case we are able to pursue, our attorneys provide our clients with aggressive representation in order to recover the fairest compensation available. To speak with an attorney about your accident, use our free case evaluation form, or call us at (212) 490-5700.