After a serious car accident, many injured people dealing with medical bills ask the same question: How much can I get from an underinsured motorist claim? In Georgia, your recovery depends on your own insurance coverage, the at-fault driver’s policy limits, and how the crash has affected your life. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage helps close the gap when another driver’s insurance does not fully compensate you.
Evans Litigation and Trial Law, LLC, is a Georgia trucking and commercial vehicle accident law firm serving Marietta, Atlanta, Douglasville, and surrounding areas. Our experience in this area gives us firsthand insight into how insurance carriers evaluate, delay, and defend underinsured motorist claims. We limit the number of cases we accept so each client receives focused attention and strategic guidance when experience matters.
What Is an Underinsured Motorist Claim?
You make an underinsured motorist claim through your own auto insurance policy when the driver who caused the crash did not carry enough liability insurance to cover your losses. Liability insurance covers injuries a driver causes to others, and Georgia’s minimum requirements often fall far short in serious injury cases.
What Is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage protects you when another driver’s insurance does not fully pay for your damages. Even when an at-fault driver carries insurance, underinsured motorist coverage may help pay what remains unpaid.
Underinsured motorist insurance claims frequently arise after crashes involving severe injuries with excessive medical bills or extended medical recovery periods.
Georgia offers underinsured motorist coverage in two forms. You can get add-on coverage, which allows you to recover your full underinsured motorist limits in addition to the at-fault driver’s liability coverage. Otherwise, you can get reduced-by coverage, which reduces your underinsured motorist benefits by the amount the at-fault driver’s insurer pays. In other words, the coverage available depends on whether another driver involved in the accident has insurance and what that insurance covers.
How Much Can I Get from an Underinsured Motorist Claim?
Georgia law does not set a fixed dollar amount for underinsured motorist claims. Your coverage limits and your losses determine the claim’s value. Policy limits cap what your insurer will pay, even when your medical bills pile up.
Several factors influence recovery, including:
- Your underinsured motorist coverage limits,
- The at-fault driver’s liability limits,
- The severity and permanence of your injuries,
- Any lost income and reduced earning capacity, and
- The degree of pain and emotional distress you have experienced.
In short, how much you can get depends on what happened and what different insurance policies say.
What an Underinsured Motorist Claim Can Cover
Underinsured motorist coverage can compensate you for the same categories of loss available in a personal injury claim. The law calls these losses damages, meaning the financial and personal harm caused by the crash.
Recoverable damages include:
- Medical expenses, such as emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation, and future treatment;
- Lost wages, including missed work and reduced future earnings;
- Pain and suffering, accounting for physical discomfort and emotional strain; and
- Loss of enjoyment, reflecting how your injuries limit independence or daily activities.
Your policy limits cap recovery, even when damages exceed available coverage. Many injured drivers do not realize this limitation until late in the claims process.
How an Underinsured Motorist Lawyer Guides the Process
You make an underinsured motorist claim through your insurer, but the insurance company still protects its financial interests and may wrongfully deny your claim. As a result, insurers often handle these claims as disputes rather than routine customer service matters. An underinsured motorist lawyer provides guidance by:
- Reviewing your policy to help you understand what you have the right to claim;
- Handling communications between you and the insurance company;
- Calculating how much to request in damages, including long-term medical and financial losses; and
- Pursuing litigation when insurers refuse fair payment, including filing suit to enforce coverage.
At Evans Litigation and Trial Law, LLC, our experience defending trucking companies allows us to anticipate insurer tactics and respond effectively on behalf of injured clients.
When Experience Matters for Underinsured Motorist Claims
Underinsured motorist claims often determine whether an injured person can secure the resources needed for recovery. Insurance companies understand the complexity of these claims and often rely on policyholders feeling overwhelmed. At Evans Litigation and Trial Law, LLC, we are here to help you and prevent overwhelm. We focus on trucking and commercial vehicle cases and limit the number of clients we represent at one time so that we can give you the attention you deserve.
Contact Evans Litigation and Trial Law, LLC, today for a free consultation. We serve clients in Marietta, Atlanta, Douglasville, and throughout Georgia and stand ready to challenge insurance companies.
Alfred L. Evans III, an Atlanta native and Hampden-Sydney College alum, is a seasoned personal injury lawyer with a unique background in insurance defense. Founding Evans Litigation and Trial Law in 2013, he specializes in wrongful death litigation, trucking litigation, and various vehicle accident cases. Recognized as a Super Lawyer and a “Rising Star” by Superlawyers, Alfred applies his in-depth knowledge of the insurance and trucking industries to maximize client recoveries.
Loading...