Here is a fact every driver deserves to know: studies estimate that roughly one in seven drivers nationwide carries no insurance at all, and in some states the share runs far higher. Florida does not even require most drivers to carry bodily injury coverage. So when the driver who hit you cannot pay for what they did, the claim often turns to a policy you already own: your own. Verde Law handles uninsured and underinsured motorist claims in all 50 states.
What UM and UIM coverage does
Uninsured motorist coverage stands in the shoes of the at-fault driver's missing insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage fills the gap when their policy is too small for your injuries. Together they protect you as a driver, a passenger, a pedestrian, or a cyclist, and they cover hit-and-run and phantom drivers who are never found.
You may have coverage you were never told about
UM rules vary by state, but a common thread runs through them: insurers must offer the coverage, and rejecting or reducing it usually requires signed paperwork. In Florida, UM must be offered at your bodily injury limits, and a rejection is only valid in writing. If no one ever signed that form, coverage may exist even though it is missing from your declarations page. We request the rejection paperwork as a matter of routine, and the answer sometimes changes the entire case.
Stacked and non-stacked coverage
In states that allow stacking, including Florida, UM coverage can multiply across the vehicles and policies in a household. Reading the policy correctly is not a formality. It is how money gets found.
Your own insurer becomes the adversary
A UM claim flips the relationship: the company you have paid for years now sits across the table, and it evaluates your claim the way any defendant's insurer would. The difference is that your insurer owes you duties of good faith, and the law gives those duties consequences when they are ignored. We document every UM claim so those obligations have teeth.
One warning before you sign anything
UM policies commonly contain consent-to-settle clauses. Accepting the at-fault driver's policy limits without your UM carrier's consent can jeopardize the UM claim entirely. Never sign a release until the UM layer has been analyzed. This single mistake quietly kills more claims than almost any other.
Am I suing my own insurance company?
You are making a claim under a contract you paid for. Litigation only enters the picture if the company refuses to pay what the policy owes.
I think I rejected UM years ago. Is it worth checking?
Yes. Memories and paperwork disagree constantly. Send us your declarations page with your free case review and we will pull the documents that actually decide it.
No fee unless we win, in any of the 50 states. Read your policy tonight, or better, let us read it for you.