UM

04.26.2017

Kentucky Court of Appeals Dismisses Underinsured Motorist Claim as Untimely

The Kentucky appellate courts seem to have heard more uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) insurance cases than usual lately. Perhaps the court has done this intentionally for the sake of judicial economy - the reason being that it is easier to decide cases with similar issues while all of the intricacies of a particular branch of law are still fresh in the court's mind. Another reason may be that there are simply more UM/UIM disputes these days than in past years. Kentucky does have mandatory automobile liability insurance requirement, but the minimum required is just $25,000 per person (or $50,000 per accident) for bodily injury claims. Given the rapidly increasing costs of medical care, this coverage is often not enough to fully compensate an accident victim for his or her medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. UM/UIM coverage bridges the gap between a defendant's liability coverage and a plaintiff's total amount of damages, at least up to the plaintiff's own policy limits. It is important to note that, just as in other types of personal injury cases, timeliness is very important when it comes to asserting one's rights under a UM/UIM policy. Read More

04.12.2017

Kentucky Appeals Court affirms verdict in favor of insured in Underinsured Motorist case

If you don't have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, you should talk to your insurance agent about purchasing this very important coverage as soon as you can. Such coverage can mean the difference between a fair recovery and financial ruin in the event of a serious accident with a driver who has no insurance or who has only the minimum policy limits. However, should you ever need to actually use your uninsured or underinsured coverage, do not expect your insurance company to be on "your side" of the case. Read More

08.30.2016

Kentucky Court holds that case qualifies for Underinsured Motorist Coverage

It is always a good idea to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage insurance, but settling a UM/UIM claim can be more complicated than it might initially seem. This is true even when the claimant is the insured person, but settlements can be even more difficult when a person other than the insured is seeking to recover UM/UIM benefits. The Kentucky Court of Appeals was recently presented with a rather unusual UIM case filed by the friend of the insured under a policy issued by State Farm. Read More

12.22.2015

Tennessee court rules that Texas driver was entitled to coverage under his employer’s uninsured motorist policy

By Kyle Roby, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Many people assume that making a claim on an uninsured motorist insurance policy is fairly straightforward. After all, the other driver either had insurance or didn't have insurance, right? Unfortunately, uninsured motorist cases can be just as contentious and adversarial as lawsuits that are litigated between injured parties and defendants who have insurance. Not only is the amount to which the injured party is entitled a common source of dispute, but also it is not unusual for there to be a disagreement about whether the uninsured motorist policy covered the accident in question. Read More