Injured In Utah

Under Utah's 'no-fault' auto insurance laws, you are automatically entitled to coverage for the first $3,000.00 of your medical bills and lost wages, regardless of who is at fault for the auto accident. If the person who caused the accident is insured, there will be at least $25,000.00 in coverage for medical bills (present and future), lost wages and pain and suffering. Should this be insufficient, it is likely that your own insurance policy contains 'underinsured' coverage. This coverage begins where the liability insurance ends, i.e. if you are not fully compensated by the liability insurance, the underinsured coverage in your policy will pay for the remaining expenses. Finally, if the person who caused the accident is 'uninsured,' your policy may contain coverage which pays for your losses.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage can lead to some interesting situations. Namely, your own insurance company may actually defend the person who caused your injuries. This situation occurs if your insurance company believes that either (1) you are to some degree at fault for the accident; or, (2) you have been fully compensated. This is why it is so important to talk to an attorney experienced with auto accidents before giving recorded or written statements to anyone, even your own insurance company. Otherwise, you may be making statements which your insurance company can use against you later.

One consequence of not having enough auto insurance is that you may put yourself financially at risk. In a serious auto accident, the hospital bills alone can exceed the bare minimum coverage required under Utah law. Additionally, many people fail to understand that they can be responsible for the harm and damage caused to their passengers. While carrying high liability limits protects you if you make a mistake, you should also carry high underinsured and uninsured coverages as these will provide additional insurance when you might not be primarily at fault, but the other driver has insufficient coverage.