Experienced Naperville Personal Injury Attorneys

Uninsured Motorist Claims In Naperville, Illinois

Were you in an accident with an uninsured driver? Uninsured motorist claims in Naperville, Illinois, can be complicated. You may have multiple options for recovering compensation, including your own insurance and/or a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

The Naperville car accident lawyers at Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers can advise you of your legal rights if you were injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver. We have more than 75 years of combined legal experience handling car accident claims. Since 2005, we’ve recovered over $150 million for our clients.

Table of Contents

How Our Naperville Car Accident Lawyers Can Help After A Collision With An Uninsured Driver
What Is An Uninsured Motorist Claim?
How Uninsured Motorist Coverage Can Help
What If The Other Driver Didn’t Have Enough Insurance In Naperville, Illinois?
Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Required In Illinois?
How Do You File An Uninsured Motorist Claim In Naperville?
Contact An Experienced Car Accident Lawyer In Naperville For Help With Your Uninsured Motorist Claim

How Our Naperville Car Accident Lawyers Can Help After A Collision With An Uninsured Driver

Our lawyers have extensive experience handling uninsured motorist claims. We can help you understand your rights and options. When you hire us, we will:

Investigate the car accident and identify all parties who are at fault
Gather evidence to establish the fault
Collect documentation of the full extent of your damages
Interview witnesses
Negotiate for fair compensation on your behalf

Contact us today to schedule a free, no-pressure consultation with a member of our legal team. We’re standing by to help.

What Is An Uninsured Motorist Claim, And When Is It Filed?

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is a type of insurance that covers the damages you sustain if you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver. There are two primary situations in which it is used.

The first and most obvious is for accidents caused by a driver who lacks insurance. You will file an uninsured motorist claim with your own provider for the injuries you and your passengers suffered.

The Insurance Research Council reports that approximately 12.6% of drivers in America were driving without insurance in 2019. Illinois drivers were a little under this number at 11.8% of uninsured drivers, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). Unfortunately, this means that more than 1 in 10 drivers in Illinois do not have insurance. If an uninsured motorist hits you, you may be without coverage for the accident unless you have uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist claims are also commonly filed after a hit-and-run car accident in which the fleeing driver cannot be identified. When a driver leaves the scene of an accident, victims and police are often unable to identify them and bill their insurance accordingly (if they have it). Uninsured motorist coverage can fill that gap.

How Uninsured Motorist Coverage Can Help

If you are involved in a car accident, you could face the following costs:

Emergency medical treatment
Follow-up care
Rehabilitation expenses
Lost wages
Costs to repair or replace your vehicle

If the at-fault party does not have insurance, you could be responsible for paying for these expenses out-of-pocket. Uninsured motorist coverage steps in to pay some or all of these damages if the at-fault driver is uninsured or can’t be identified.

What If The Other Driver Didn’t Have Enough Insurance?

If the other driver had some liability insurance, but it was not enough to cover your damages, you could pursue an underinsured motorist (UIM) claim. Illinois law requires all drivers to maintain liability insurance to pay for damages they cause to another person at the following minimum levels.

$25,000 for bodily injury to one person
$50,000 for bodily injury per accident
$20,000 for property damage

Note that the minimum limits above are for just $25,000 for a single victim. If you suffer a serious injury, you may incur medical expenses alone that far exceed this minimal liability coverage. Moreover, the minimum cap is $50,000 for more than one victim, regardless of how many additional victims there are. For an accident of any significant severity, this level of coverage is likely to be inadequate. If you have UIM coverage, however, you can file a claim with your own insurance provider for damages that exceed the value of the at-fault driver’s insurance policy.

Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Required In Illinois?

Yes. Uninsured motorist coverage is required in Illinois. Uninsured motorist coverage must be equal to at least the state’s minimum liability coverage limits.

Underinsured motorist coverage is not required in Illinois. However, it is automatically included if you purchase higher limits of uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist property damage coverage is also not required. However, you can purchase this additional insurance to cover your vehicle’s damage in case you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver.

How Do You File An Uninsured Motorist Claim In Naperville?

To make an uninsured motorist claim, you must notify your insurance provider of the accident. A claims adjuster is assigned to your claim. They may ask for additional information about the accident to show that another party was at fault, such as a copy of the accident report and any photos of the accident scene. You work with your own insurance carrier throughout this process.

In the event of filing an underinsured motorist claim, you would still notify your insurance company of the accident. However, you would also file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance provider. Their insurance company is responsible for paying on your claim first, and then your own insurance policy covers the rest, up to your policy limits.

For example, if you suffered damages of $100,000, the at-fault driver’s insurance policy would cover the first $25,000 of damages if they only have minimum liability coverage. Then, you could pursue the remainder of $75,000 in damages from your uninsured motorist coverage, provided you have that amount of coverage.

Contact An Experienced Car Accident Lawyer In Naperville For Help With Your Uninsured Motorist Claim

If you were hurt by an uninsured motorist, you should not have to bear the costs of their irresponsibility. The compassionate car accident lawyers at Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers can help with uninsured motorist claims in Naperville, Illinois.

We can assist you by reviewing all applicable insurance policies and advising you of your options. Contact us today for a free case review.

We can also help you fight for compensation if your accident involved any of the following types of car crashes in Naperville:

You can also read Naperville Car Accident Statistics.