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Injured By an Uninsured Driver in NH? You Have Alternatives
Insurance is arguably one of the most important aspects of personal injury to understand. Because without knowing what you need, how can you know how to get it? Not all people who are injured have insurance. However, that’s no reason to give up hope or assume they don’t have options.
There are still ways to seek justice and go after who harmed them: even if the party at fault doesn’t carry any insurance and seemingly has nothing to lose by ignoring your pleas for help. The first step toward getting justice is understanding that there are many different insurance policies out there – and several names for each class – so sorting through them can be confusing at first glance. But don’t worry; we are here to break it all down for you:
Universal/ All Risks Insurance vs. Excess Liability Policies
If you have an accident and are injured while uninsured, your main concern is likely paying for all of your medical bills until you can recover, which may take months or even years, depending on how badly you were hurt. One option to consider is a universal or all-risks insurance policy. If you have questions, then let our experienced auto accident lawyers can guide you through the process.
Effectively this type of policy covers the costs associated with accidents that are not specifically excluded under the policy terms – in most cases. The real downside of this kind of coverage is that because it’s considered “excess liability,” it only pays out when other policies are exhausted, meaning the liable party’s insurer has paid their portion of covering the costs. You still have a balance to pay. That said, this type of policy is generally less expensive than most standard policies – so it’s worth looking into.
Standard Auto Insurance vs. Uninsured/ Underinsured Motorist Coverage
There are two main types of personal injury protection (PIP) benefits Standard car insurance, PIP benefits, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. The former typically covers injuries to passengers in your car, no matter who caused the accident. In contrast, the latter only covers you when the offending party doesn’t have insurance or enough insurance to pay for all of your medical bills.
In other words, if you get hit by a drunk driver who has no assets and no insurance coverage at all, you won’t be able to claim under your uninsured motorist policy – but if the guilty party is carrying some form of liability coverage, they should also carry uninsured/underinsured motorist protection which will payout instead. Car Accident Lawyers in Portsmouth NH offer every type of personal injury defense service.
Why You Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage
To be clear, both types of PIP benefits require that the other driver did not purposefully cause harm to others; that is, it’s not considered an accident when someone tries to run you off the road because they’re angry with you. In those cases, you would have to file a claim with their insurer and take them to court. However, in all other instances, both types of PIP benefits should be considered mandatory coverage. If injured by an uninsured driver in NH, then you should speak with our car accident lawyers in Portsmouth NH Today. 603-606-9709.