Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Accidents in North Carolina
Accidents involving uninsured or underinsured drivers can be challenging when pursuing compensation for your injuries. In these cases, it is important to contact an experienced uninsured driver lawyer to help find all available coverage and seek the compensation you deserve. Being injured in a car accident is already a traumatic and emotionally challenging experience, and it can be made even more difficult when you find out that the driver who hit you does not carry valid car insurance, or does not have enough car insurance coverage to adequately compensate for your injuries and pain and suffering.
Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage in North Carolina Car Accident Cases
The North Carolina DMV requires all auto owners to have liability insurance on their auto policies. Additionally, North Carolina law mandates that all cars with NC registration must be covered under North Carolina liability insurance. Unfortunately, North Carolina does not accept other states’ auto insurance policies under state law. This law is to ensure that negligent parties can compensate injured individuals after an accident.
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in North Carolina
North Carolina state law requires drivers to carry the following minimum coverage on their vehicles:
- $50,000 for per person injuries
- $100,000 per accident for personal injury – this means that if you are in a vehicle with 4 other passengers that is hit by an at-fault driver, all 5 victims will have to divide up the $100,000 recovery, with no person receiving more than $50,000 per the minimum per-person bodily injury limit.
- $50,000 for property damage.
You may notice that these minimum limits seem low. Depending on the severity of an accident, $50,000 may not be enough to cover a victim’s medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. In some cases, the injuries sustained by innocent parties are more severe than this minimum coverage allows, or, even worse, the negligent driver may not have any insurance coverage for his vehicle. Treatment and rehabilitation costs for injuries like broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and life-saving surgeries can easily surpass tens of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, if you are a victim of a serious car accident, you may be able to file under your own auto insurance policy’s uninsured or underinsured coverage if available on your insurance policy.
- Uninsured coverage (UM) is used when the at-fault driver does not have any auto insurance policy
- Underinsured coverage (UIM) is used when damages exceed the at-fault driver’s policy limits.
Filing a UM / UIM claim against your own insurance company can be daunting. Many people are surprised to discover that their own insurance company won’t offer a fair settlement. At Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers, we have spent decades handling these types of claims and know how to deal with insurance companies. We can assist you in filing your uninsured or underinsured motorist claim and will fight to ensure that you get the compensation you deserve.
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers’ car accident attorneys have more than 171 years of combined experience in representing clients in UM/UIM claims across the state of North Carolina. We offer FREE, no-obligation consultations and work on a contingency basis, which means we don’t get paid unless you do.
For a FREE consultation with an experienced uninsured driver attorney, please call (800) 525-7111 or complete the fast and convenient form below.
There is no obligation and there are no attorney fees unless we win your case and you receive compensation.
How Common Are Uninsured or Underinsured Drivers?
The Insurance Information Institute (III) and Insurance Research Council report that roughly 15 percent of motorists nationwide, or about one in every seven drivers, are uninsured. While North Carolina has historically maintained one of the highest financial responsibility compliance rates and most effective enforcement systems in the nation, its uninsured driver rate is roughly 10 percent. That means approximately 1 in 10 drivers on North Carolina roads are driving without insurance, making car accident victims vulnerable to uninsured-motorist claims. Fortunately, North Carolina law mandates Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage on all standard personal auto insurance policies, though drivers should verify their coverage limits to ensure they are adequately protected against uninsured drivers.
Why You Still Need Underinsured Motorist Coverage
While North Carolina’s uninsured driver rate (around 10%) remains lower than the national average of approximately 15%, many drivers on the road carry only the bare minimum mandatory coverage. If you are seriously injured in a car crash, the at-fault driver’s insurance policy may quickly hit its maximum payout—leaving you with unpaid medical bills, lost wages, and uncompensated pain and suffering.
This is where Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage becomes essential. Even if the other driver is fully compliant with North Carolina law, minimum policy limits ($50,000 per person) are often nowhere near enough to cover medical bills after a car accident, pain and suffering or other losses after a car crash. If you carry UIM coverage on your own policy, you can access your own insurance to cover the remaining damages beyond what the at-fault driver’s policy paid out, ensuring your financial recovery isn’t capped by someone else’s minimal coverage.
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers found me all the available money from the insurance companies.
B. F., Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers client
Can You “Stack” Insurance Coverage in North Carolina Accident Claims?
Auto accident cases often require identifying other coverages and how to “stack” policies of other coverages for maximum recovery. “Stacking” is a term used to describe combining a person’s multiple insurance policies for greater recovery.
Did You Know? North Carolina law does not limit drivers to draw upon only their own insurance policy in the case of an accident. Under certain circumstances, you may also be able to collect insurance money from the policies of anyone related by blood or marriage that lives in your household and has UM/UIM coverage available on his or her vehicle. This means if you live with a spouse, mother, father, sibling, or child with their own insurance policy, your attorney will need to investigate these other household policies to see if they may afford coverage for your accident as well.
Our dedicated North Carolina car accident lawyers work tirelessly to find all available coverage options and often use stacking to recover as much as possible for our clients. Unfortunately, it our attorneys find that all too often, the at-fault driver only has minimum coverage available on their vehicle. The good news is that in many cases, our team of attorneys and accident investigators are able to locate more coverage through household or excess liability policies to help pay for our clients’ damages.
In some cases, our attorneys have even found excess or underinsured coverage of $1,000,000 or more (see disclaimer below). This is exactly what happened when attorney Gene Riddle represented a woman injured in a motorcycle wreck. He found two underinsured policies, one for $50,000 and the other for $1,000,000. He was able to stack them for a combined recovery of $1,050,000.
For a FREE consultation with an experienced underinsured motorist lawyer, please call (800) 525-7111.
We will review your claim and advise you on your legal options at no cost to you. If you decide to hire us, you’ll only pay attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.
Is UM / UIM Coverage Required in North Carolina?
North Carolina law requires all standard car insurance policies to include Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage is automatically included on policies that carry coverage limits greater than the state minimum required bodily injury limit of $50,000 per person.
In many cases, crash victims have underinsured motorist coverage without even realizing it. Because UIM coverage in North Carolina operates on an offset system (your UIM limit minus the at-fault driver’s liability limit), having limits above the state minimum is crucial. For example, if you carry a $100,000 UIM limit and are injured by a driver with minimum $50,000 liability limits, your UIM coverage can provide up to an additional $50,000 to cover your remaining damages. Likewise, if you are struck by a hit-and-run or completely uninsured driver, your UM coverage steps in to pay for your injuries directly.
The best way to think about UM/UIM coverage is that it is insurance you buy to protect yourself against another driver’s lack of adequate coverage.
Our attorneys strongly advise carrying UM/UIM limits well above the state minimum. It is typically a very inexpensive addition to your monthly premium that can provide tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in vital protection if you or your family members suffer serious injuries in an accident.
Free Case Review
If you’ve been involved in a car accident, it’s crucial to understand your rights. Riddle & Riddle is here to guide you through the process and help you secure the compensation you deserve.
What Happens if an Uninsured (or Underinsured) Driver Hits Me?
If you have car insurance in North Carolina, you also have uninsured motorist coverage of at least $50,000. This means that if you are hit by an uninsured driver and you have valid insurance on your vehicle, there will be at least $50,000 of potential recovery available, depending on the extent of your injuries. However, the amount you collect from your policy will depend on the type of car crash and the other driver.
Possible scenarios include:
- The at-fault driver had no insurance. In these cases, you may file an uninsured motorist claim and collect compensation for your personal injuries and property damage up to your policy limits. These claims are very similar to a regular claim with the at-fault driver’s provider. Your insurance premium will typically not increase for a UM claim where you did not contribute to the collision.
- The at-fault driver had minimal limits of $50,000. If the other driver has insurance, but not enough to cover all of your damages, then you may file an underinsured motorist claim. However, you may only claim the difference between the total amount the at-fault driver’s insurance paid and your policy limits. As a result, you cannot collect more total compensation than your policy limits. As stated above, North Carolina does not require all vehicles to have underinsured policies.
- Hit and run accidents. Insurance claims for hit and run accidents depend on whether law enforcement identifies the driver. If the driver is found, then you may file an insurance claim with his or her provider. In the event the driver has no insurance, then you can file against your own uninsured policy. However, you can only recover compensation for your personal injuries in this kind of case. The insurance company will not cover the property damage.
Suing an Uninsured Driver in North Carolina
In North Carolina, you generally pursue compensation through your own UM/UIM coverage rather than suing the uninsured driver directly, since an uninsured driver often has no assets or insurance to collect from. The personal injury lawyers at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers have experience representing victims of car accident injuries in UM/UIM claims, including claims for hit and run accidents.
Our Results
Since 1985, Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers’ uninsured driver attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for victims of accidents due to others’ negligence (see disclaimer below).
We’re proud of the results we’ve secured for our deserving clients, and we invite you to review our recent case results (see disclaimer below).
In one recent case, we represented a passenger who was injured by an 18-wheeler in a hit and run accident. The impact was so great that it pushed our client’s vehicle off the road. Unfortunately, law enforcement could not identify the defendant truck driver. We continued to vigorously represent our client and successfully pursued an uninsured motorist claim.
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers found me all the available money from the insurance companies.
D. Howard, Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers client
Call Our Uninsured Driver Accident Lawyers
Even though you have UM/UIM benefits under your own automobile policy, do not expect your insurance carrier to offer up compensation so easily. After all, insurance companies are for-profit businesses. They have a vested interest in minimizing the amounts they pay out in claims — even to their own clients. This means that when you file UM/UIM claim with your carrier, they step into the role of the defendant. Therefore, the insurance adjuster will try to minimize your payout in the same way that at-fault driver’s insurance company would. Remember: Insurance adjusters are professionals at negotiating claims, and they are looking out for the company’s interests, not yours.
At Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers, we deal with insurance adjusters all day, every day. We know the tricks they use, and we know how to read your policy to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
For a FREE consultation concerning an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim, call our car accident lawyers at (800) 525-7111.
We are proud to serve clients throughout North Carolina from our many convenient locations. If you are unable to come to us, we will come to you. Our team of accident investigators regularly meets with clients across North Carolina to answer their car accident questions and set up consultations with our NC accident attorneys. Our personal injury attorneys are available to speak with you by phone, email, text, or video conference—whatever is most convenient for you.
Remember, we work on a contingency basis, so there are no attorney fees unless we win your case and you receive compensation.
When Justice Counts™, count on the team at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers.