Uninsured Motorist Insurance in Utah

Dear Law Guru:

Q. I was rear ended by another driver. He gave me his insurance information at the time of the accident but it turns out to be bogus. It looks like his insurance had lapsed before the crash. What do I do?

A. Check with your insurance agent to see if you have “uninsured motorist” coverage. It would show up on a document your insurance company sends you periodically called a “declaration page” or “dec page” for short.

The symbol on the dec page might look like this “UM/UIM."

With uninsured motorist coverage you make your claim directly with your own insurance company.

Will your rates go up? Maybe, but you can always change companies.

Will you need an attorney for your uninsured motorist claim? Here’s something to keep in mind. Once you have a claim against your company, at that time your respective interests become adversarial in nature. So, even though they may tell you that you don’t need a lawyer, they are looking out for their interests, and they have a desire to keep their claims payouts as low as possible. So, It may be wise for you to consult with a lawyer about the case. __________________ The above answer and a variation of the above question first appeared at Chat.law.info.com where Mr. Bush is a member of the “Legal Forum.” _______________