You are stopped at a traffic light waiting for the redlight to change and suddenly rear-ended. Your car is totaled, and you are injured. A month or two pass, your medical costs add up, you miss work, and your suffering continues. All this, and the other driver is uninsured. What do you do?

You may want to make a bodily injury claim with your own insurance company. Hopefully, you have uninsured motorist coverage, which allows you to do so in such an event.  

Why should you make a claim against your own insurance?

If you have uninsured motorist coverage listed on your automobile insurance declarations page, you probably pay insurance premiums for it. The insurance company, however, may not be excited about paying for your injuries and treatment. Sometimes, the insurance company is the problem, not the solution. You must show that you are legally entitled to compensation from the uninsured driver in order to recover from your own insurance company. The purpose of uninsured motorist coverage is to provide coverage when the at fault driver does not have automobile liability insurance. 

What is uninsured motorist coverage?

This coverage provides benefits when you are injured or your property is damaged by the driver of an automobile who is uninsured, and it may be purchased through automobile insurers such as: State Farm, Progressive, GEICO, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Allstate, etc. If "uninsured" motorist coverage does not appear on your declarations page, it is still worth speaking with an attorney because you may have the coverage through a different source. Here, uninsured motorist claims involving personal injury are discussed in detail.

Uninsured motorist coverage may apply in numerous situations, including hit-and-run accidents, incidents during which a pedestrian is stuck by an automobile, or when the at fault driver is not identified. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at fault driver has insufficient coverage to provide for the damages that you suffer as a result of the occurrence. For example, your medical bills may exceed the total liability coverage from the other driver's insurance. 

Below are some examples of the types of damages that you may be able to recover:

• Pain and suffering;
• Mental anguish;
• Lost wages;
• Medical bills; and 
• Other out-of-pocket expenses.

The above list is not exhaustive. Every case is different and you may need to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer to learn about the sort of compensation to which you may be entitled.  

What steps can you take to make a claim?

Make sure that you have certain pieces of information such as the crash report.  It is important to gather the contact information from any witnesses. Photographs of the damage to the vehicles involved and your injuries may be helpful to prove your claim. 

See if you have uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage. It should be listed on the declarations page of your automobile insurance policy.

If you have uninsured motorist coverage, you may want to report a claim to your insurance company:

• State Farm: "How to handle an auto accident."
• Progressive: "How to file an auto insurance claim."
• GEICO: "What to Do After a Car Accident."
• Nationwide: "How to file a car insurance claim."
• Liberty Mutual: "File a car insurance claim in 3 easy steps."  

You will need documentation to substantiate your injuries and treatment. This includes bills and records for your treatment. 

Hopefully, the above information will help you get started on your claim. It is important to remember, however, that your insurance company may try to make a "low ball" offer. 

Should you contact an attorney?

It is very wise to consider using a personal injury lawyer in pursuing your uninsured bodily injury claim against an insurance company from the start. Your insurance company is not your friend.

Attorney Dillon Hobbs handles uninsured motorist personal injury claims, and seeks to hold the insurance companies accountable. If you have been injured by an uninsured motorist, do not hesitate to contact Hobbs Law for a free initial consultation and call 205-683-2892 today. It is best to act sooner rather than later.