Car totaled by underinsured motorist

[markawil]

My $6K car was one of four totaled by an underinsured motorist; I had uninsured motorist coverage, but it didn’t cover underinsured motorists (lesson learned there). The driver who totaled my car had $10K insurance to cover property damage, but caused $40K in damage among the four cars, so his insurance company is offering me only about $1500 for my "share" of the damage.

How can I get a better share of the settlement, or get closer to recovering my loss? I don’t expect to get the full $6K, but $1500 seems pretty paltry. I don’t think that the driver who hit me has many if any personal assets to go after. Is it worth taking the driver / insurance company to court to try to get a better settlement from the insurance co? Anyone know of any ways to increase my share of the settlement, or recover more than $1500? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My $6K car was one of four totaled by an underinsured motorist; I had uninsured motorist coverage, but it didn’t cover underinsured motorists (lesson learned there). The driver who totaled my car had $10K insurance to cover property damage, but caused $40K in damage among the four cars, so his insurance company is offering me only about $1500 for my "share" of the damage.

How can I get a better share of the settlement, or get closer to recovering my loss? I don’t expect to get the full $6K, but $1500 seems pretty paltry. I don’t think that the driver who hit me has many if any personal assets to go after. Is it worth taking the driver / insurance company to court to try to get a better settlement from the insurance co? Anyone know of any ways to increase my share of the settlement, or recover more than $1500? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

My response:

Where's YOUR insurance company in this scenario?

IAAL

 

[markawil]

My carrier, 21st Century Insurance, won't help out because I didn't have "underinsured" motorist coverage, just uninsured motorist coverage. Basically, they've indicated that I'm on my own as the driver who hit my car did have some coverage, just not enough.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My carrier, 21st Century Insurance, won't help out because I didn't have "underinsured" motorist coverage, just uninsured motorist coverage. Basically, they've indicated that I'm on my own as the driver who hit my car did have some coverage, just not enough.

My response:

And that's what I'm telling you, also - - "You're on your own."

Do you realize that you had to specifically sign away that coverage? Did you realize that Underinsured Motorist coverage would have only added another $8.00 per year to your insurance?

Unless, you just had "California Minimum" coverage of 15/30/5. And, anyone who just has that coverage in California is an absolute FOOL.

IAAL

 

[lwpat]

You have the option of filing suit but good luck collecting the judgement.

 

[markawil]

To clarify (and to serve as a warning to others who might find themselves in a similar situation!), I did have all the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage offered by 21st Century; as it turns out, 21st Century doesn't offer underinsured motorist coverage for property damage (at least in California). If the driver who hit me had NO insurance, my uninsured motorist coverage would have kicked in. But because he had SOME BUT NOT ENOUGH coverage, I'm left to fend for myself. Ouch!

Anyone have any thoughts on how to manage a better settlement?

Thanks!

 

[tammy8]

Did you have state minimums in coverage? That is the only way IN MY STATE would not cover underinsured PD.

Lesson learned for you the hard I am afaird, spend a couple extra dollars each month and get higher limits on everything. Cutting corners on insurance is not a smart thing to do.

Good luck to you.

 

[markawil]

Thanks to IAAL, Tammy8, and Iwpat, for the responses!

I had 50/100/50 liability, comprehensive and uninsured motorist; not the max but well above the minimums. I didn't carry collision as it would have added about $600+ / year even with a perfect driving record, and I assummed that if someone hit me and it was their fault, either their insurance or my UM insurance would cover the damage (which it would have, except that the driver of the vehicle who hit mine was UNDERinsured, not UNinsured, so I'm getting no help from my carrier 21st Century).

Another question (thanks for entertaining the many I'm posing):

If I go to court over this, do I sue the owner or the driver? In this case, the driver was not the owner, and the insurance company offering me the very limited settlement is representing the driver not the owner. I'm in CA, so I think the owner's PD liability may be limited to $5K, but even this is a big improvement over the $1500 they're currently offering. Any thoughts on who I sue, and whether I can go after both the driver and the owner to seek compensation? Thanks!