You’re driving down Academy Boulevard on a Tuesday morning, minding your own business, when BAM – some driver runs a red light and slams into your car. After the dust settles and you’re dealing with injuries, car repairs, and missed work, you discover the worst possible news: the other driver doesn’t have insurance.
If this scenario makes your stomach drop, you’re not alone. About 13% of drivers in Colorado don’t carry insurance, which means roughly 1 in 8 cars on our roads are uninsured. That’s way too many for comfort, especially when you’re the one dealing with the aftermath of their mistake.
Here’s the thing though: you’re not necessarily stuck with all those bills. Colorado has some pretty unique laws about uninsured motorist coverage that can protect you, but only if you understand how they work. I’ve seen too many people miss out on compensation they deserved simply because they didn’t know their rights or how to properly file their claims.
What Exactly Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Let’s start with the basics. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is like having a backup plan for when the person who hits you can’t pay for the damage they caused. Think of it as insurance for your insurance situation.
In Colorado, you have two main types of UM coverage:
Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) covers your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering when an uninsured driver hurts you. This is the big one – it can literally save you from financial disaster if you’re seriously injured.
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD) pays for your car repairs when an uninsured driver damages your vehicle. Colorado requires this coverage, but here’s the catch – the minimum is only $25,000, which doesn’t go very far with today’s car prices.
How Colorado’s Uninsured Motorist Laws Actually Work
Colorado has some pretty unique rules you’ll definitely want to know about. First off, the state requires all drivers to carry UMPD coverage, but UMBI is technically optional. However, your insurance company has to offer it to you, and you have to specifically reject it in writing if you don’t want it.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Colorado follows what’s called “stacking” rules. If you have multiple vehicles on your policy, you might be able to stack (combine) your UM coverage limits. So if you have two cars with $100,000 each in UMBI coverage, you could potentially access up to $200,000 for a single accident. Not all policies allow this, but it’s worth checking.
The state also has a “set-off” rule that can work against you. This means your insurance company can reduce what they pay you by the amount you receive from the at-fault driver’s insurance. If the other driver has some insurance but not enough, your UM coverage kicks in for the difference, minus what you already got.
When You Can Actually File an Uninsured Motorist Claim
You might think UM claims only apply when the other driver has zero insurance, but that’s not true. Colorado law covers several situations:
The Classic Uninsured Driver – They have no insurance at all. This is the obvious one, but not the only one.
The Underinsured Driver – They have some insurance, but not enough to cover your damages. If their policy limit is $50,000 but your medical bills are $150,000, your underinsured motorist coverage can help with the gap.
Hit-and-Run Accidents – The driver who hit you took off, and you can’t identify them. Your UM coverage treats this like an uninsured driver situation.
Phantom Vehicle Claims – Another car forces you off the road or causes you to crash, but they don’t actually hit you and they leave the scene. These are tricky claims, but they’re covered under certain circumstances.
Drivers with Insolvent Insurance Companies – If the other driver’s insurance company goes bankrupt or can’t pay claims, your UM coverage can step in.
The Real Process of Filing Your Claim
Filing a UM claim isn’t just about calling your insurance company and asking for money. There’s a specific process, and knowing what to expect can save you a lot of headaches.
Step 1: Document Everything Immediately
Right after the accident, start gathering evidence like your life depends on it. Get photos of all vehicles, the accident scene, street signs, traffic lights, and any visible injuries. If there are witnesses, get their contact information. Don’t rely on the police report to capture everything – they might miss details that become important later.
Step 2: Report to Your Insurance Company
You need to notify your insurance company about the accident as soon as possible, even if you’re not sure yet whether the other driver has insurance. Most policies require prompt notification, and waiting too long can give your insurer grounds to deny your claim.
Step 3: Determine the Other Driver’s Insurance Status
Your insurance company will usually investigate whether the at-fault driver has coverage, but don’t just sit back and wait. You can check with the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles or ask the other driver directly for their insurance information.
Step 4: File Your UM Claim
Once you’ve established that the other driver is uninsured or underinsured, formally file your UM claim. This isn’t just a phone call – you’ll need to submit documentation including medical records, proof of lost wages, repair estimates, and evidence that the other driver was at fault.
Step 5: The Investigation Phase
Your insurance company will investigate just like they would for any other claim. They’ll review the accident, examine your medical treatment, and determine fault. Don’t assume they’ll automatically take your side just because you’re their customer – they’re still trying to minimize what they pay out.
What Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage Actually Pays For
The scope of UM coverage is broader than many people realize, but it’s also more limited than you might hope. Let’s break down what’s typically covered and what isn’t.
Medical Expenses and Ongoing Treatment
Your UMBI coverage should pay for hospital bills, doctor visits, physical therapy, prescription medications, and medical equipment related to your accident injuries. This includes both immediate treatment and future medical care if you have ongoing problems from your injuries.
But here’s something most people don’t know: your UM coverage might be secondary to your health insurance. This means your health insurance pays first, then your UM coverage covers deductibles, co-pays, and anything your health insurance doesn’t cover.
Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
If your injuries keep you out of work, UM coverage can compensate you for lost income. This isn’t just your immediate lost wages – it can also cover reduced earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term.
The tricky part, though, is proving your lost wages, especially if you’re self-employed or work irregular hours. You’ll need tax returns, pay stubs, and sometimes testimony from your employer about your typical earnings.
Pain and Suffering
This is often the largest component of a UM claim, but also the hardest to calculate. Pain and suffering includes physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the general inconvenience of dealing with your injuries.
Colorado doesn’t have a specific formula for calculating pain and suffering, so insurance companies often use multipliers based on your medical expenses or per-diem calculations based on how long you’re affected by your injuries.
What’s Usually Not Covered
UM coverage typically doesn’t pay for punitive damages, and it won’t cover property damage if you only have UMBI coverage (you need UMPD for that). It also won’t pay for injuries to family members living in your household in some situations, though this varies by policy.
Common Challenges You’ll Face with UM Claims
Insurance companies don’t hand out UM claim payments easily, even though you’re technically their customer. They’ll use many of the same tactics they use to minimize claims against other drivers.
The Fault Game
Even in a UM claim, your insurance company will scrutinize whether the uninsured driver was really at fault. They might argue that you were partially responsible for the accident, which can reduce your payout under Colorado’s comparative negligence laws.
If you’re found to be 30% at fault, for example, your UM payment gets reduced by 30%. This is why thorough documentation of the accident scene and circumstances is so important.
Medical Treatment Disputes
Your insurance company might question whether all your medical treatment was really necessary or related to the accident. They love to argue that your back pain was pre-existing or that you didn’t really need that MRI your doctor ordered.
They might also send you to their own doctor for an “independent” medical examination. Spoiler alert: these exams are rarely independent and almost always favor the insurance company’s position.
Lowball Settlement Offers
Just like with third-party claims, UM insurers often start with lowball settlement offers hoping you’ll take the quick money and go away. They’re counting on you not knowing what your claim is really worth or being too overwhelmed to fight for fair compensation.
The Arbitration Clause
Most UM policies include arbitration clauses, which means if you can’t agree on the value of your claim, you have to go to arbitration instead of court. This can be good or bad depending on your situation, but it’s different from the normal lawsuit process.
How to Maximize Your UM Claim Value
Getting full value from your UM claim requires strategy and persistence. Here are the key things that can make or break your claim’s value.
Document Your Injuries Thoroughly
Keep detailed records of all your symptoms, not just the obvious ones. If you’re having trouble sleeping, feeling anxious about driving, or struggling with daily activities, document it. These impacts on your life are part of your damages.
Take photos of visible injuries as they heal, keep a pain journal, and make sure all your medical providers document how the accident affected you. Don’t downplay your symptoms to doctors – they need the full picture to treat you properly and document your claim.
Don’t Rush Back to Work
I get it – you need the income and you don’t want to seem like you’re milking your injuries. But returning to work too quickly can hurt your claim in two ways. First, it suggests your injuries weren’t that serious. Second, you might be pushing through pain and making your injuries worse.
Work with your doctor to determine when you’re truly ready to return to work, and consider whether you need restrictions or accommodations initially.
Be Careful with Social Media
Your insurance company might be watching your social media accounts for evidence that you’re not as injured as you claim. That photo of you at your kid’s baseball game could be taken out of context to suggest you’re fully recovered, even if you were in pain the whole time.
You don’t have to become a hermit, but be thoughtful about what you post and consider adjusting your privacy settings during your claim.
Get Multiple Opinions on Property Damage
If your car was damaged, don’t just accept the insurance company’s repair estimate. Get quotes from reputable shops, especially if you think there might be hidden damage. Sometimes frame damage or other issues don’t show up in initial estimates.
Also, don’t forget about diminished value – your car is worth less now that it’s been in an accident, even after perfect repairs. This is compensable damage in Colorado.
Special Situations That Complicate UM Claims
Some accidents create unique challenges for UM claims. Knowing about these situations ahead of time can help you handle them better.
Accidents Involving Multiple Vehicles
When your accident involves several cars, figuring out insurance coverage gets complicated fast. You might have one uninsured driver and two underinsured drivers, or various combinations of coverage levels.
In these situations, you need to understand how Colorado’s joint and several liability laws work, and how your UM coverage interacts with multiple potentially responsible parties.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents often result in severe injuries, which means higher claim values and more insurance company scrutiny. If you’re a motorcyclist hit by an uninsured driver, expect your UM insurer to look for any reason to blame you for the accident.
They might argue you were speeding, lane-splitting, or not wearing proper protective gear. Having strong evidence about the accident circumstances becomes even more critical.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents
If you’re a pedestrian or cyclist hit by an uninsured driver, you might be able to make a UM claim under your auto insurance policy, your family member’s policy, or even through other types of coverage.
The rules about which policy applies can be complex, and you might have multiple options to explore.
Commercial Vehicle Accidents
When an uninsured commercial vehicle hits you, there might be additional parties who could be responsible, like the company that owns the truck or the company that hired the driver. Your UM claim might be just one part of a larger case.
Working with Insurance Adjusters on UM Claims
Dealing with your own insurance company on a UM claim creates a weird dynamic. They’re supposed to be on your side, but they’re also trying to pay you as little as possible. Here’s how to handle this relationship.
Remember They’re Not Really Your Friend
Even though you pay premiums to this company, the adjuster handling your UM claim is not your advocate. They’re trying to settle your claim for the least amount possible while staying within legal bounds.
Be polite and professional, but don’t share information that could hurt your claim. You don’t need to give recorded statements about every detail of your life or provide unlimited access to your medical records.
Know What Information You Must Provide
You do have obligations under your UM coverage. You typically need to cooperate with their investigation, provide medical records related to your accident injuries, and give them information about your lost wages.
But you don’t have to provide medical records from 10 years ago or detailed information about unrelated health conditions. Stick to what’s relevant to your accident claim.
Don’t Accept the First Offer
First settlement offers in UM claims are almost always low. The adjuster might make it sound like this is all your coverage allows, but that’s rarely true. They’re hoping you’ll take the quick money without understanding what your claim is really worth.
Take time to evaluate any settlement offer. Consider not just your current expenses, but your future medical needs, ongoing lost wages, and the full impact of your injuries on your life.
Get Everything in Writing
Don’t rely on verbal promises or explanations from adjusters. If they tell you something important about your coverage or claim, ask them to put it in writing. This protects you if there are disputes later about what was said.
When You Need a Lawyer for Your UM Claim
Not every UM claim requires an attorney, but many do. Here are the situations where legal help becomes valuable.
Serious Injuries with Long-Term Effects
If your accident caused significant injuries that will affect you for months or years, the stakes are too high to handle alone. Insurance companies know that serious injury claims are worth a lot of money, so they’ll fight harder to minimize what they pay.
An experienced attorney knows how to properly value these claims and has the resources to prove your damages. They can also help you understand the long-term implications of settlement offers.
Disputed Fault or Coverage Issues
If your insurance company is arguing that you were at fault for the accident, or if there are questions about whether your UM coverage applies, you need legal help. These issues can make or break your claim, and they’re too complex for most people to handle effectively.
Bad Faith by Your Insurance Company
Sometimes UM insurers cross the line from aggressive claims handling into bad faith. If your insurer is unreasonably delaying your claim, refusing to investigate properly, or making lowball offers on clearly valuable claims, you might have a bad faith case in addition to your UM claim.
Colorado has strong bad faith laws that can result in penalties against insurance companies, but you need an attorney who understands this area of law.
Policy Limits Issues
If your damages go beyond your UM policy limits, an attorney might be able to find additional coverage you didn’t know about, or identify other responsible parties who can help compensate you for your remaining damages.
How Colorado Springs Location Affects Your Claim
Being in Colorado Springs creates some unique considerations for your UM claim that might not apply in other parts of Colorado.
Local Traffic Patterns and Accident Causes
Colorado Springs has specific traffic challenges that can affect how accidents happen and how fault gets determined. The mix of military personnel, tourists, and locals creates unique driving patterns, and our weather conditions can contribute to accidents.
If your accident happened on a road like Powers Boulevard during rush hour, or involved a tourist unfamiliar with our mountain driving conditions, these factors might be relevant to your claim.
Military Considerations
With several military installations in the area, some UM claims involve active duty service members. This can create complications with jurisdiction, applicable laws, and available remedies that don’t exist in civilian-only accidents.
Local Medical Providers and Documentation
The quality and completeness of your medical documentation can significantly affect your UM claim value. Colorado Springs has excellent medical facilities, but you need to make sure your treatment is properly documented for insurance purposes.
Some local providers are more experienced with personal injury documentation than others, which can affect how well your medical records support your claim.
Recent Changes in Colorado UM Law
Colorado’s UM laws have evolved in recent years, and staying current with these changes can affect your claim strategy.
2024 Legislative Updates
Recent legislative sessions have addressed various aspects of auto insurance law in Colorado. While major UM law changes are rare, smaller modifications in related areas can impact how claims are handled.
Court Decisions Affecting UM Claims
Colorado courts regularly issue decisions that clarify how UM laws should be interpreted. Recent cases have addressed issues like stacking of coverage, the relationship between UM coverage and health insurance, and what constitutes proper notice to insurance companies.
Insurance Industry Changes
The insurance industry itself is evolving, with new policy forms, coverage options, and claims handling procedures. Some companies are offering enhanced UM coverage options, while others are finding new ways to limit their exposure.
Preventing Future UM Claim Issues
While you can’t control whether other drivers have insurance, you can protect yourself better going forward.
Reviewing Your Current Coverage
Take a close look at your current UM coverage limits. The minimum required coverage in Colorado isn’t enough if you’re seriously injured. Consider increasing your UMBI limits to at least match your liability coverage, and preferably higher.
Don’t forget about UMPD coverage either. With average car prices continuing to rise, $25,000 might not fully cover your vehicle damage.
Understanding Your Policy Details
Read your actual insurance policy, not just the declarations page. Look for stacking provisions, deductibles, and exclusions that could affect future claims. If you don’t understand something, ask your agent to explain it.
Documentation Habits
Develop good habits for documenting accidents before you need them. Keep a camera in your car, know what information to gather at accident scenes, and understand your obligations under your policy.
What to Do Right After Your Accident
If you’re reading this after an accident, here’s your immediate action plan:
At the Scene
Get medical attention first – your health is more important than your claim. If you’re able, take photos of everything: vehicles, damage, the accident scene, street signs, and any injuries.
Get contact information from the other driver and any witnesses. Don’t admit fault or discuss details of how the accident happened, but be cooperative with police.
In the First 24-48 Hours
Report the accident to your insurance company, even if you’re not sure about the other driver’s coverage status. Seek medical attention if you haven’t already, even if you think you’re fine – some injuries don’t show symptoms immediately.
Start a file with all accident-related documents: police reports, insurance information, medical records, and photos. This organization will help you throughout the claims process.
In the First Week
Follow up with your insurance company about the other driver’s coverage status. If they’re uninsured or underinsured, formally notify your insurer that you’re making a UM claim.
Continue documenting your injuries and how they’re affecting your daily life. Keep track of missed work, medical appointments, and any expenses related to the accident.
Making the Decision About Legal Representation
Deciding whether to hire an attorney for your UM claim is a personal choice that depends on your specific situation. Here are some factors to consider:
The Complexity Factor
UM claims can be more complex than regular insurance claims because you’re dealing with coverage interpretation, fault determination, and damage valuation all at once. If any of these areas is disputed, the complexity increases significantly.
The Stakes Involved
Consider not just your current damages, but your potential future damages. If you’re facing ongoing medical treatment, permanent disability, or long-term lost earning capacity, the financial stakes are high enough to justify legal help.
Your Comfort Level
Some people are comfortable negotiating with insurance companies and handling legal paperwork, while others find it overwhelming. There’s no shame in recognizing that you need help with something this important.
Time and Energy Considerations
Handling a UM claim properly takes significant time and energy. If you’re recovering from injuries or dealing with other life challenges, an attorney can handle the legal work while you focus on getting better.
At McCormick & Murphy P.C., we’ve been helping Colorado Springs residents with UM claims since 1995. Our attorneys, Kirk McCormick and Jay Murphy, have specialized in personal injury and insurance bad faith cases for over 60 years combined. We understand the unique challenges of UM claims and have the experience to maximize your recovery.
We handle most personal injury claims on a contingent fee basis, which means you don’t pay attorney fees unless we recover money for you. If there’s no recovery, there’s no fee. You can find our office at 929 W Colorado Ave in Colorado Springs, and we’re always happy to discuss your case with you.
Final Thoughts on UM Claims in Colorado Springs
Dealing with an uninsured motorist accident is frustrating and stressful, but you don’t have to face it alone. Understanding your rights under Colorado’s UM laws is the first step toward getting the compensation you deserve.
Remember that UM coverage exists specifically to protect you in these situations. Don’t let insurance companies minimize your claim or convince you to accept less than you’re entitled to. These claims can be complex, but with the right approach and proper legal guidance when needed, you can achieve a fair resolution.
The most important thing is to act promptly and protect your rights from the beginning. Document everything, follow proper procedures for notifying your insurance company, and don’t hesitate to seek legal help if your claim becomes complicated or if you’re not getting fair treatment from your insurer.
Your UM coverage is there for a reason – to protect you when irresponsible drivers cause accidents they can’t pay for. Make sure you get the full benefit of the coverage you’ve been paying for, and don’t let the insurance company shortchange you during one of the most difficult times in your life.
If you have questions about your UM claim or need help dealing with your insurance company, don’t hesitate to reach out to experienced personal injury attorneys who understand Colorado’s UM laws. Your financial recovery and peace of mind are too important to leave to chance.
