The crash wasn’t your fault. The other driver has no insurance — or only the bare minimum that won’t touch your bills. Clients assume they’re stuck and the medical debt is theirs. They’re not. Your own auto policy likely holds the answer: uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM).
The Short Answer
Massachusetts requires auto policies to include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage—Bodily Injury Caused by an Uninsured Auto—at least at compulsory minimum limits. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is optional: you may elect it, and many drivers should, but it is not automatic. When it applies, your own insurer steps in for injury damages the at-fault driver cannot cover. Check your declarations page for whether UIM was elected and at what limits.
A Real Example: The Hit-and-Run on Route 24
A Brockton client was rear-ended by a driver who fled. No plate, no ID, a totaled car and a sprained neck. The client’s own UM coverage paid his treatment and two months of lost wages. Without knowing that policy existed, he’d have eaten the bills himself and the at-fault driver would have paid nothing.
How UM/UIM Works
- Uninsured (UM): the at-fault driver has no coverage, or fled and can’t be identified.
- Underinsured (UIM): their limits are too low to cover your damages — your policy makes up the difference, up to your limits.
A Second Example: The Minimum-Limits Driver
A client’s injuries were worth $120,000. The at-fault driver carried only Massachusetts’ $25,000 minimum. His own UIM coverage of $100,000 filled most of the gap: after the $25,000 BI recovery was credited against the UIM limit, UIM could pay up to $75,000 more, for a combined $100,000—turning an otherwise largely uncollectible loss into a real recovery (still short of the full $120,000 in damages).
The Massachusetts Twist
The “setoff” rules and stacking limits are technical. Your insurer will apply every reduction it can — crediting the other driver’s payment, disputing the value, capping the total. Knowing the statute lets a lawyer maximize what UM/UIM actually pays you, not what the adjuster offers first.
Don’t Warn the Insurer You’re a Claimant
The moment you claim UM/UIM, you’re in a claim against your own company. They’ll use the same tactics as any insurer: the recorded statement, the medical authorization, the slow walk. A lawyer levels that field and protects your proof.
What Happens When You Call Shea Culgin Law
We read your declarations page, confirm your UM/UIM limits, and pursue the claim so you’re not negotiating against your own insurer alone. Call 508-510-5107. Most clients are surprised to learn this money was theirs all along.
How to Read Your Declarations Page
Pull your auto policy’s declarations page — the one-page summary your insurer emails at renewal. Look for the line marked “Uninsured Motorist” and “Underinsured Motorist.” The limit shown (often $50,000, $100,000, or $250,000 per person) is the most your own policy will pay on a UM/UIM claim. Many Brockton clients are shocked to find they carry $100,000 of this coverage and never knew it existed. If your limit is low, you can usually raise it for little cost at renewal — do it before you need it, not after.
The Underinsured Math, Step by Step
Say your injuries are worth $150,000. The at-fault driver has $25,000 in coverage. Your UIM limit is $100,000. Under G.L. c. 175, § 113L(2) and Mass. DOI guidance, underinsured coverage pays only to the extent your UIM limits exceed the tortfeasor’s bodily injury limits. The arithmetic: you collect the other driver’s $25,000, then UIM can pay up to $75,000 more ($100,000 UIM minus the $25,000 BI recovered), for a total of $100,000—still short of $150,000, but a world better than $25,000. The statute and your policy language control the setoff; a lawyer makes sure you get the full benefit of the limit you paid for.
UM/UIM and the “Other Insurance” Clause
One detail clients never see coming: your own policy may contain an “other insurance” or “anti-stacking” clause that limits how your UM/UIM pays when multiple policies apply — say, if you were driving a company car or a family member’s vehicle. These clauses are written to cap the insurer’s exposure, and they’re easy to misread in the company’s favor. A lawyer reads the actual policy language against the statute and pushes back on an improper reduction. The difference can be tens of thousands of dollars that the insurer would quietly keep.
Why You Shouldn’t Negotiate UM/UIM Alone
Because the claim is against your own insurer, the relationship gets awkward — and the tactics don’t soften. The adjuster will still want the recorded statement, the blanket authorization, and the quick release. The moment you assert a UM/UIM claim, you’re an adversarial claimant to a company you pay every month. Having a lawyer handle it keeps the relationship civil for your other coverage and forces the insurer to treat the claim on its merits, not on your reluctance to fight your own carrier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is UM/UIM coverage?
UM (uninsured motorist) is compulsory on Massachusetts auto policies. UIM (underinsured motorist) is optional coverage you may elect — check your declarations page for UIM limits. Both pay your bodily injury damages when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough, subject to your policy limits and Massachusetts setoff rules.
Can I claim UM if the other driver fled?
Yes. Hit-and-run and unidentified-driver cases are exactly what UM coverage is for.
Will using my own UM coverage raise my rates?
Massachusetts law generally prohibits surcharging for a not-at-fault UM claim; confirm with your agent, but fault-based rate hikes shouldn’t apply.
Is there a deadline?
Yes — three years for most injury claims, plus policy notice conditions. Report the crash and your UM claim promptly.
“text”: “Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is compulsory and pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or is unidentified in a qualifying hit-and-run. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is optional and pays when the at-fault driver has too little liability insurance—check your declarations page.”