You did everything right. You carry insurance. You drive carefully. And then someone hits you who has no insurance at all — or whose insurance is the bare statutory minimum, nowhere near enough to cover your medical bills.
This is one of the most frustrating situations a Mississippi driver can face. The good news is that if you were carrying uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, you may have substantial coverage you did not know you had — and your own insurance company is supposed to pay it.
Uninsured motorist coverage, often shortened to UM, pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage, UIM, pays when the at-fault driver has insurance, but the policy limits are too low to fully cover your damages.
Both are sold by your own insurance company as part of your auto policy. Mississippi requires insurance companies to offer this coverage but allows policyholders to reject it in writing. Many people accept it when they first get insurance and then forget they have it. Some reject it without realizing what they are giving up.
If you carry UM or UIM coverage and an uninsured or underinsured driver injures you, you submit the claim to your own insurance company — the same company you have been paying premiums to all along.
Mississippi has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country. Estimates have put the share well over 20 percent — roughly one in four or one in five drivers on any given trip. Mississippi’s minimum required liability coverage is also low: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury. A serious injury can run through that limit in a single hospital stay.
The combination of high uninsured rates and low minimum limits means that if you are seriously hurt by another driver in Mississippi, the chance that the at-fault driver’s insurance will fully cover your damages is unfortunately not great. UM and UIM coverage exists specifically to fill this gap.
Here is the part that surprises a lot of people. When you make a UM or UIM claim, you are filing a claim against your own insurance company. The same company you have paid premiums to for years.
You might expect the company to handle your claim more sympathetically than the at-fault driver’s insurer would. In reality, that is often not what happens. Once a UM or UIM claim is filed, your own insurance company shifts into adversarial mode. It assigns an adjuster whose job is to minimize what they pay. It requests medical records, asks about preexisting conditions, and looks for reasons to dispute the value of your claim — exactly the same way the at-fault driver’s insurer would.
This makes UM and UIM claims uniquely vulnerable to bad faith conduct. Your own insurance company has direct contractual duties of good faith to you under Mississippi law. When an insurer denies a valid UM/UIM claim without a legitimate reason, delays the claim unreasonably, or makes a settlement offer so low it cannot be defended on the facts, that conduct may give rise to a bad faith claim in addition to the underlying claim for the policy benefits.
The remedies for bad faith are significant: extracontractual damages, attorneys’ fees, and in serious cases punitive damages. Mississippi courts have not been shy about awarding these remedies when insurance companies abuse the trust of their own policyholders.
To recover under UM or UIM coverage, you generally need to establish three things. First, that the other driver was at fault for the wreck. Second, that the other driver was uninsured or underinsured. Third, that you suffered damages as a result of the wreck.
Fault is established the same way it would be in any liability claim — the police report, witness statements, photographs, and accident reconstruction. The uninsured or underinsured question is established by obtaining the at-fault driver’s insurance information and policy limits. The damages question requires the same documentation as any personal injury claim: medical bills, lost wages, future care, and pain and suffering.
What sometimes gets overlooked is that some UM/UIM policies require you to give your own insurance company notice of the claim within a specific time and to obtain consent before settling with the at-fault driver. Failing to follow these procedural requirements can give the company a basis to deny coverage even when the underlying claim is legitimate. This is one of the reasons it is important to talk to an attorney before settling with the at-fault driver in any case where UM or UIM coverage may be involved.
If you take one thing away from this article: if you are buying or renewing auto insurance in Mississippi, do not reject UM and UIM coverage. The cost is generally low compared to the benefit. The coverage protects you against the very real possibility that the person who hits you has no meaningful insurance. If you already have a policy and are not sure whether you have UM/UIM coverage, look at your declarations page or call your agent. The few minutes it takes to check is the most valuable insurance review you will ever do.
If you have been hurt by an uninsured or underinsured driver in Mississippi, the value of your claim depends on what coverage you have and how aggressively your own insurance company is willing to fight you. I offer a free consultation to evaluate your coverage and help you understand what you may be entitled to. Contact Weldy Law Firm.
