Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage provides coverage for injuries resulting from someone who does not have insurance or who is "underinsured." Although not mandatory, most insurance policies issued in Colorado contain uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) motorist coverage. Whether or not someone is considered "underinsured" depends on how much liability coverage that person has and how much underinsured (UIM) coverage you have.
In Colorado, the minimum amount of required bodily injury insurance is $25,000.00. As you can imagine, in many cases $25,000.00 is not nearly enough to fairly compensate the injured party. If this occurs, the injured party can access his or her "uninsured/underinsured motorist" coverage. This is known as "first-party insurance coverage."
Here is an example of how UM/UIM coverage works. If the at-fault party has $25,000.00 in coverage and the injured party has $100,000.00 in underinsured motorist coverage, that coverage will provide an additional $75,000.00 in available coverage (the at-fault party's insurance is "set-off" against the injured party's underinsured coverage). If the injured party only has $25,000.00 in underinsured motorist coverage, unfortunately the $25,000.00 from the at-fault party offsets the underinsured coverage and the injured party is left with only $25,000.00 in available coverage.
In cases with serious injuries (more than $25,000.00 in harms and losses), it is imperative to investigate any sources of available insurance before resolving the case. This can include insurance policies on other vehicles in the house as well as your own automobile insurance if you are a passenger in a car when you are injured.
If you have questions about UM/UIM coverage or for a free case assessment, call or email us today. The highly skilled attorneys at the Kaudy Law Firm are experts in handling automobile injury cases and are here to help.
