Mr. Schwartz, what happens if my Virginia underinsured motorist coverage is not enough to cover the value of my case and the other driver has no assets? This is a common problem faced by Virginia car accident lawyers. Assume you were in a Herndon, Virginia, Fairfax County car accident with serious personal injuries caused by Danielle who is charged by the Fairfax County Police with reckless driving. The reckless driver, Danielle, has only $25,000 in auto liability insurance. You have $100,000 in Virginia underinsured motorist coverage with State Farm. This gives you $75,000 in underinsured motorist coverage, in addition to $25,000 liability coverage, for a total recovery of $100,000. Your Herndon, Virginia auto accident case is worth over $1,000,000. What do you do?
Answer: Ask is there anyone in your household that owns a car and has a separate auto insurance policy? If the answer is yes, Virginia law allows you to stack the underinsured motorist coverage on all the separate policies in the same household to increase your total Herndon, Virginia automobile accident recovery.
The reckless driver, Danielle, has $25,000 per person auto liability limits. In our example, you have $100,000 in liability and underinsured motorist coverage with State Farm. You live with your mom and brothers, Andy and Bill. Each owns a car and has a separate auto policy. Your mom insures her car with Travelers and has per person auto liability and uninsured motorist limits of $500,000. Brother Andy insures his car with Allstate and has per person liability and uninsured motorist limits of $250,000. Brother Bill insures his car with Nationwide and has per person motor vehicle liability and uninsured motorist limits of $250,000.
The total underinsured motorist coverage available to you is determined by stacking the following: $100,000 (you); $500,000 (mom); $250,000 (brother Andy); and $250,000 (brother Bill). This equals $1,100,000. Since the reckless driving defendant, Danielle, had $25,000 in liability insurance coverage, you are entitled to the difference, $1,075,000 ($1,100,000 - $25,000) in Virginia underinsured motorist coverage, in addition to Danielle's $25,000 in liability coverage for a total personal injury recovery of $1,100,000. To learn more about stacking Virginia underinsured motorist coverage, click here.
Fredericksburg car accident lawyer Gerald Schwartz is a master at stacking underinsured motorist coverage which helps seriously injured people receive adequate compensation. Schwartz represents clients injured in major auto accidents from Arlington to Fredericksburg, Virginia and beyond.
For a free consultation with Gerald Schwartz, call 1-800-423-0055 to discuss your auto accident case and learn your options.