Uninsured Motorist Clause - Litigating An Uninsured Motorist Claim

Litigating An Uninsured Motorist Claim

Most states require that you sue the uninsured motorist (or a fictitious John Doe hit and run driver when litigating the second category of uninsured motorist claim) for your injuries in order to prevail on a breach of contract action against your insurance carrier. Some states such as Virginia require that you actually obtain a judgment against the uninsured motorist (while serving your uninsured motorist carrier in the lawsuit so that your carrier can defend the suit) and then demand payment from the uninsured motorist carrier prior to suing your carrier for any breach of an uninsured motorist provision. Normally there is no need to sue the carrier in such states as Virginia unless there is a dispute as to coverage. Liability is rarely an issue in cases against John Doe defendants, and in any regard, must be litigated in the first suit against the John Doe, if at all. The insurance company will ordinarily pay the judgment, up to your policy limits, once a court determines that an uninsured motorist was at fault. Some states laws also allow additional insurance coverage to the insured policy holder through policy stacking provisions, whereby a claim may be made against multiple uninsured motorist policies.