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♪ (music) ♪
I'm attorney Tim Semelroth with RSH Legal.
Let's talk today about why you
must sue your own auto insurance company
after a car accident.
Sometimes, the only way to get fair
compensation for your Iowa car accident
is to file a lawsuit.
Most people realize that Iowa law requires
that that lawsuit be filed against the driver
who caused your crash and the owner
of the vehicle that he or she was driving,
even if you are only seeking money
from their auto insurance companies.
Many people don't know that Iowa law
may require you to sue your own
auto insurance company as well.
Why would you have to sue your own
auto insurance company when the
other driver was at fault for the crash?
The short answer is because the
other driver may not have auto insurance,
or may not have enough of it
to compensate you for all of your
accident-related losses.
If the person who has injured you has
no insurance, you have two options:
You can still sue that person, but since
they don't have any insurance, it's
unlikely they have enough personal
money or assets to pay you for your
harms and losses.
Or two, if you carry uninsured motorist
coverage, you can make a claim for
compensation against your own
auto insurance company.
Now, just because you are dealing with
your own auto insurance company does
not mean that you will be treated fairly.
Insurance companies rarely pay out big
claims without a fight.
That is why it is often necessary to file
a lawsuit to get a fair amount of
uninsured motorist benefits.
Now, if the person who injured you has
some insurance, but not enough to fairly
compensate you for your crash-related
losses, you may have to make a claim
under the underinsured motorist portion
of your auto insurance policy.
How underinsured motorist coverage
works is that if your losses exceed the
amount of the at fault driver's insurance,
then your own auto insurance company
will cover the remaining losses up to
a certain amount.
Now again, just because you're dealing with
your own insurance company does not
mean you will be treated any better when
you make a claim.
That is why it is often necessary to sue
your own auto insurance company for
underinsured motorist benefits.
How do you find out whether the other
driver is underinsured?
Sometimes, the only way to find out is
to file a lawsuit.
That is because Iowa law does not require
another driver to reveal how much
insurance coverage he or she has until
after a lawsuit is filed.
Because people can legally drive in Iowa
with only $20,000 in auto insurance,
it is very possible that the other driver
will not have enough insurance to
fully compensate you.
Even if the limits of the other driver's
insurance policy are known, your attorney
may not know if those limits will
be enough to cover all of your crash
related damages.
For example, if you're still treating from
your injuries from the crash, that means
medical bills will still be coming in.
Your car accident attorney will not know
how much your case is worth until you
are done treating for your injuries.
If you're still treating, including both
the other driver and your own auto
insurance company in the lawsuit
is a good idea.
You may be wondering whether you can
wait to see how much insurance the other
driver has before you sue your own auto
insurance company for uninsured or
underinsured motorist benefits.
That is not always possible, and it is
because of how some auto insurance
policies are written.
You probably know that Iowa law typically
gives a person two years from the date
of any injury to file a car accident
lawsuit.
That deadline is called the
statute of limitations.
You may not realize that your auto
insurance policy can also place a time
limit on how long you have to bring
an uninsured or underinsured
motorist claim.
Many auto policies in Iowa require those
claims to be brought within two years
as well.
That is why it is often necessary to sue
the driver responsible for your crash and
your own auto insurance company
at the same time.
If you don't, you could permanently miss
out on your opportunity to make an
uninsured or underinsured
motorist claim.
When it is necessary to file a car accident
lawsuit, it is our firm's general policy
to file the uninsured and underinsured
motorist claims at the same time.
We do this to protect our clients' rights
if it turns out that the other driver
didn't have adequate insurance and it
is necessary to seek another source of
compensation for your accident
related losses.
If you have further questions about
suing your own auto insurance company,
you can download a free copy of the
Law Guide to Iowa Car Accident Claims
on this page.