Auto Insurance Forum

My friend Joe's car hit the rear end of Janet's car four years ago. Janet said she was injured and filed a lawsuit against Joe. Joe's liability coverage of 25/50/25 will not be enough to cover the claim, so Janet's lawyer is filing a claim against her Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist portion of her policy. They are in arbitration. Suppose the arbitration agreement is higher than Joe's coverage? What happens then?

Ying, Ohio

Underinsured motorist coverage pays when the person who hits you doesn't have enough coverage to pay the claim and doesn't have enough personal assets to pay any difference. Janet would file for coverage under her UM/UIM policy once Joe's liability limits were reached and he was unable to pay for any more of her claim. If, however, Joe has assets that Janet can pursue to pay her claim, she may choose to file a lawsuit against him.

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