Auto Insurance Claims: underinsured motorist at fault, insurance section, policy language

Question
Hi Mr. Hixenbaugh,
 Basically a woman caused a collision with my wife she admits fault and liability wise there insurance is only responsible for $30,000.00 with that understood my underinsured is $100,000.00 and my company is claiming the 30 is offset by the 100 so there only responsible for 70,000.00 is this valid. The way I see it my insurance rates are based on 100 thousand, after the other insurance pays out there 30.    thanks for your time   Rick


Answer
Hi Rick,

Each state and in many cases each company within a state may have slightly different policy language. Although most policy clauses are standardized, there are some companies that have unique policy language. Therefore I can not give you a specific answer since I do not have your policy to read. That having been said, to the best of my knowledge this is not correct. However, it will be based on the exact wording of your policy. You should pull out your policy and read two sections. First read the "Uninsured Motorist" section and then read the "Other Insurance" section. This section will explain how claim payouts are handled when other insurance is involved. You should look for words like "offset" or "coordination of coverage"

Based on your question, it sounds like you have a very expensive car. Also it sounds like the insurance company has already delcared it to be a total loss which generally only happens if the cost to repair the vehicle is in excess of 70% of the vehicles value.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh