Imagine driving home to Frisco, Celina, or Sherman after a long day. You are following the traffic laws and paying attention to the road. Suddenly — bam. You’ve been sideswiped by the unexpected.
In that moment, your life changes. You are hurt, your car is damaged, and you are stressed. But then you find out the bad news: the driver who hit you doesn’t have insurance. Or, maybe they have insurance, but it is a very small amount that won’t cover your hospital bills.
This is a nightmare scenario for many Texas families. However, at Snellings Law, we see this happen all the time. This is where a specific part of your own auto insurance policy comes into play. It is called Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage, often shortened to UM/UIM
If you have ever wondered about this coverage, why you need it, or why you might have to use your own insurance even when the accident wasn’t your fault, this guide is for you.
What is UM and UIM Coverage?
First, let’s break down what these terms mean. They sound complicated, but they are actually simple protections for you.
- Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage: This protects you if the person who hits you has zero insurance. It steps in to act like the insurance the other driver should have had.
- Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage: This protects you if the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough to pay for all your medical bills and car repairs.
Think of these coverages as a safety net. You hope you never fall, but if you do, that net is the only thing stopping you from hitting the ground financially.
The Big Question: “Why Should I Use My Insurance?”
At Snellings Law, one of the first questions we ask a new client is, “Do you have UM/UIM coverage?”.
Almost immediately, clients will ask us a very fair question: “Why do I have to give you my coverage information? I didn’t do anything wrong!”.
If you feel this way, you are 110% correct. It feels unfair. If you were driving safely and someone else made a mistake, their insurance should pay for everything. In a perfect world, that is exactly how it would work.
But unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. We share the roads with many drivers who are irresponsible. Some drive without any insurance at all. Others carry only the state minimum, which in Texas is often just $30,000 for injuries. If you need surgery or a stay in the hospital, $30,000 runs out very quickly.
You Are Paying for Your Own Protection
Here is the best way to think about it: You pay your insurance premiums every month to protect yourself and your family.
You aren’t paying that money to protect the other driver. You are paying it to make sure that if a disaster strikes, you are taken care of. As Scott Snellings explains, “Maybe we need to use it, maybe we don’t. But that is what you are paying for… a circumstance where you get hit by somebody with not enough coverage”.
Using this coverage does not mean you are admitting guilt. It means you are smart enough to have a backup plan.
The Problem with Suing the At-Fault Driver
You might be thinking, “If their insurance won’t pay, I’ll just sue the other driver!”
This is a logical thought, but it rarely works in real life. Why? Because you cannot get blood from a turnip.
Drivers who do not carry insurance usually don’t have money to pay a judgment. If they couldn’t afford a monthly insurance bill, they likely do not have thousands of dollars sitting in a bank account to pay for your medical bills. As noted in our internal reviews, people without insurance “probably don’t have any assets to go after to cover a judgment”.
Even people who are “underinsured” (those with small policies) often don’t have the personal wealth to make a lawsuit worth it. Texas law also protects certain assets from being taken in a lawsuit.
This means if you don’t have UM/UIM coverage, and the other driver can’t pay, there is often nothing we can do to help the victim recover more money. That is a hard reality to face, and it is why we fight so hard to find every penny of insurance coverage available.
Preventing You From Being “Upside Down”
One of the biggest risks in a personal injury case is ending up “upside down.”
Being upside down means the cost of your medical treatment is higher than the amount of money you get from the settlement. If that happens, you might technically “win” your case against the other driver, but you still owe money to doctors and hospitals. You could be left paying for damages you never caused.
At Snellings Law, our goal is to ensure no one is left holding the bag on our watch.
We use UM/UIM coverage to prevent this.
- If we know you have this coverage, we know we have a bigger budget to work with.
- We can ensure you get the MRIs, physical therapy, or evaluations you need without worrying that the money will run out halfway through your recovery.
- It allows you to focus on healing while we handle the bills.
The Snellings Law Strategy: How We Use Coverage
We don’t just sit back and hope for the best. From day one, we map out the smartest path forward.
When we know a client has UIM coverage, we can use a strategy called “stacking.” For example, if the bad driver has a $30,000 policy, and you have a UIM policy, we can add your coverage on top of theirs.
This helps us ensure you can get started with treatment immediately. We don’t have to wait and wonder if the other driver can pay. We know the funds are there. This allows us to pursue the “policy limits” (the maximum amount of money allowed) from the at-fault driver, knowing your own policy is there to catch the overflow costs.
This strategic approach is essential because cases with multiple cars or multiple injured people can get messy. If three people are hurt and the at-fault driver only has $30,000 total, that money can get split up fast. Your UIM coverage ensures you aren’t left fighting for crumbs.
What If I Don’t Have UM/UIM Coverage?
We always ask our clients to check their policies. But what if you look and realize you don’t have it?
It does not prevent us from taking your case, but it does mean we have to change our strategy.
As outlined in our strategy notes, we never want a client to end up in a position where they are upside down given the amount of their treatment and the lack of insurance out there. With this goal in mind, we must jump into action quickly to determine the amount of medical expenses, lost wages, etc. that have already accumulated, and then determine next steps to move forward with your best interests in mind.
Without UIM, we are stuck working with whatever insurance the other driver has purchased. If they have no insurance and no assets, there is very little any lawyer can do.
Why Early Planning Matters
This is why contacting a personal injury attorney immediately after an accident is so important.
If you wait too long, you might rack up medical bills that the insurance policies simply cannot cover. Poor planning at the start of a case can put you at a disadvantage.
At Snellings Law, we empower you to make sense of your policy. We look at:
- Liability Coverage: What the other driver has.
- UM/UIM Coverage: What you have.
- PIP/MedPay: Other types of coverage you might have for medical bills.
- We combine all these pieces to build a wall of protection around you. We want to maximize your compensation so that your medical bills are paid, your car is fixed, and you are compensated for your pain and suffering.
True Peace of Mind for Texas Families
You take every step to keep your family safe—locking your doors, wearing seatbelts, and driving carefully. Don’t let someone else’s lack of coverage threaten what matters most.
If you have been hurt in a crash in North Texas, don’t let the stress of medical bills add insult to injury. You need a team that understands the complexities of insurance law. You need someone who knows how to find every dollar available to help you recover.
At Snellings Law, we specialize in making sure drivers just like you get every bit of protection and compensation your insurance was meant to provide. Whether the other driver is uninsured, underinsured, or just negligent, we will be your advocate every step of the way.
Don’t navigate this alone. If you have questions about your accident or your insurance coverage, reach out to us. We are here to untangle the mess so you can focus on what matters most: getting better.
Summary of Key Points:
- UM/UIM covers you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough.
- Using it is safe: You pay for it to protect your family; it is not “wrong” to use it.
- Suing often fails: Drivers with no or minimal insurance rarely have assets.
- Strategy is key: We identify these coverages early to plan your medical treatment safely.
