To recover damages for a car accident, generally, three things must be true: the defendant must have been at least partially at fault, you must suffer an injury, and there must be some source to pay for your recovery. Typically, the source for the recovery is some form of insurance. Usually that means the other side should have liability insurance to cover your damages. In those circumstances, your claim is a third party claim.
If the other side does not have any liability insurance, then you can still recover under a first party claim if you carried uninsured (UM) motorist coverage. That would mean you made a claim under your personal insurance coverage to protect you when a person without any liability insurance damages you. However, unlike liability insurance, Arizona law does not require you to carry uninsured coverage. But your insurance agent must offer you uninsured coverage in an amount at least equal to your liability coverage.
If you are hurt in an accident and the defendant's liability insurance is not enough to cover all your damages, you can still make a claim under your first party underinsured (UIM) policy. Like uninsured coverage, Arizona law does not require you carry it, but your agent must offer it to you. Unfortunately, some people carry either underinsured or uninsured coverage, but not both at the same time.
Most IM and UIM insurance covers three classes of persons, class 1, the named insured and resident relatives of the named insured; class 2, any other person while occupying a vehicle insured under the policy; and class 3, others who sustain damages by reason of injury to persons in class 1 or 2. The nature and extend of coverage differs for class 1 and 2. For the named insured and resident family members, UM/UIM covers them wherever and whenever an uninsured or underinsured driver injures them.
Generally, UM coverage pays all of an insured's bodily injury damages caused by an uninsured motorist, up to the purchased limits of coverage. UIM coverage pays the difference between the amount of available liability coverage paid to the insured and the insured's total damages, up the purchased limit of coverage. An insured who purchases both UM and UIM coverage may pursue claims under both for injuries caused by two negligent drivers, on of whom was uninsured.
Importantly, the statute of limitations for an UM or a UIM claim is the contract statute of limitations. In 1999, the Arizona state legislature enacted a three year statute of limitations for UM and UIM claims. ARS 12-555.
Finally, most UM and UIM coverages in Arizona personal auto policies provide for arbitration of disagreements between the insurer and the claimant regarding the fault of the uninsured/underinsured driver, and the value of the claimants loss.
If you are seeking legal representation or would like more information about our services, contact the law offices of Vladimir Gagic today to set up your free consultation. You can reach us at 602-955-1985, toll free at 855-843-6274 (855-THE MARINE) or by contacting us online.
