If you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident or are involved in an accident with a motorist who has no insurance, then you can make a claim for SUM (Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) benefits through your own insurance company. Everyone in New York must have at least $25,000 of SUM coverage, and this is what most people have. However, you can (and should) opt to increase this coverage to much higher amounts to protect yourself. Therefore, if you are unfortunately injured by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver, you will be protected and can make a claim for SUM benefits against your own insurance carrier.
Here is how SUM coverage and claims work.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage:
If you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident or are involved in an accident with a motorist who has no insurance, then you can make a claim for SUM benefits through your own insurance company. Everyone in New York must have at least $25,000 of SUM coverage, and this is what most people have. However, you can (and should) opt to increase this coverage to much higher amounts to protect yourselves and your friends and family who are drivers and passengers in your car. Therefore, if you are unfortunately injured by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver, you will be protected and can make a claim for SUM benefits against your own insurance carrier.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage:
If you are involved in an accident with a motorist who has the bare minimum insurance policy or not enough insurance to fairly and fully compensate you for your injuries and losses, then you can pursue an SUM claim against your own insurance company to obtain additional insurance coverage. We recently settled an SUM claim for one of our clients in this exact scenario. Our client sustained numerous fractures in a car accident when he was rear-ended by another vehicle.
The rear-ending vehicle only had a $25,000 policy, but our client had a $100,000 SUM policy with his own insurance carrier. In light of the serious injuries sustained by our client, we were able to secure the full $25,000 policy from the other vehicle’s insurance company thereby allowing us to now make a claim for additional benefits through our client’s own SUM policy.
Had our client not obtained this additional SUM coverage, he would have only been limited to the $25,000 policy of the other driver involved in the accident. Instead, we were able to get for him an additional $75,000 of settlement money from his own insurance carrier.
If you have any questions concerning personal injury matters, please call our firm for a free consultation. We would be happy to speak with you.
“Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage – What you need to know” was written by Michael S. Mosscrop. If you have additional questions as to how the new regulations affect your company, do not hesitate to contact one of the attorneys at our firm.