LAS VEGAS UNDERINSURED/UNINSURED COVERAGE ATTORNEY

Minimum Insurance Coverage

Nevada law requires that all drivers purchase minimum car insurance coverage from a state-licensed insurer. Drivers must then provide proof of insurance to the Department of Motor Vehicles before their cars can be registered. According to state law, minimum coverage must include at least:

• $15,000 for bodily injury to one person in an accident;
• $30,000 for bodily injury when more than one person is hurt in an accident; and
• $10,000 for property damage per accident.

This minimum coverage for property damage covers the damage a policyholder causes to another person’s car. Unfortunately, it does not cover the cost of repairing or replacing the policyholder’s own car. To ensure that these costs are paid in the event of an accident, drivers should purchase comprehensive car insurance.

While having these minimum requirements ensures that injured parties will be able to recover at least a portion of the expenses related to an accident, it also means that in most cases, the other person’s insurance will not cover the entirety of the victim’s costs. For this reason, Nevada law also requires insurance companies to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in an amount equal to the minimum liability coverage required by law and no greater than the liability coverage limits already chosen by the insured on his or her policy. Furthermore, the offer must be made in writing on a pre-approved form and included with each policy renewal. Insurers are also required to obtain a policyholder’s rejection of this coverage in writing. In the event that an insurer fails to offer the required coverage, the court will proceed as though the coverage were included in the policy.

Drivers are strongly advised to purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to match their policy’s bodily injury limits as many accidents result in injuries that require treatment totaling more than $15,000. Even when injuries are relatively minor, injured parties may be required to pay for:

• Emergency transport;
• Diagnostic tests;
• Evaluation by a physician;
• Follow-up appointments;
• Transportation costs; and
• Prescription medications.

Injured parties may also be required to take time off from work until they have recovered. This can make it even more difficult to pay medical bills, creating additional stress for victims and their families.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Most uninsured motorist coverage pays up to a policy’s limits for:

• Injuries sustained by a policyholder while driving or riding in the car named in his or her policy, while a pedestrian, or while driving or riding in a car owned by someone else;
• Injuries sustained by a policyholder’s relative who resides with him or her while driving in the car named in the policy;
• Any person riding in or driving the car named in the policy as long as he or she obtained permission from the owner; or
• Any person riding in a car the policyholder is driving, but does not own.

Some types of uninsured motorist policies cover situations where a policyholder is involved in an accident with an unidentified hit-and-run driver. However, this coverage does not apply unless the policyholder or his or her car was struck. Most policies also require that the insured notify law enforcement of the accident within 24 hours of its occurrence. In these cases, if a policyholder fails to report the accident in time, his or her insurer may refuse to cover the costs of the injury.

Some policies are even more restrictive and do not cover hit-and-run accidents when the at-fault driver or car cannot be identified. Additionally, if a policyholder receives funds to cover medical bills from alternative coverage, the recoverable amount he or she is entitled to under an uninsured motorist policy will be reduced by that amount. Finally, when a policyholder is injured while in another person’s car, the uninsured motorist coverage of the car’s owner will primarily cover the policyholder’s injury. Only the amount that is not repaid by the car’s owner can be covered by an insured’s policy.

Once a person files a claim under his or her uninsured motorist coverage, an adjuster will be assigned to handle the claim. The parties will then decide on an amount based on the other person’s negligence, whether the policyholder contributed to the accident, the severity of the injuries sustained, and the number of victims involved in the accident.