What Happens When The Driver Who Hit You Has No Insurance?
You did everything right. You carried the insurance the law requires, you drove carefully, and then someone else’s carelessness left you with medical bills, missed paychecks, and a damaged car. Now you’ve discovered the driver who caused the crash has no insurance at all. It’s a frustrating position to be in, but Rhode Island law anticipated this exact problem, and most drivers already have a tool built into their own policy to help.
Why Rhode Island Requires This Coverage in the First Place
Rhode Island law requires auto insurers to include uninsured motorist coverage in nearly every policy sold in the state. Under Rhode Island General Laws Section 27-7-2.1, insurers must offer this protection at limits matching a driver’s own bodily injury liability coverage, unless the policyholder specifically chooses a lower limit or, in narrow circumstances, waives it in writing. This coverage also extends to hit-and-run accidents and to situations where the at-fault driver’s insurance company becomes insolvent after the crash. In short, the law was built around a simple idea: an injured driver shouldn’t be left empty-handed just because the person who caused the harm skipped their legal obligation to carry insurance.
How the Claim Actually Works
Rather than suing the uninsured driver directly, which is often a dead end if that person has no meaningful assets, an injured driver typically files a claim against their own insurance company under their uninsured motorist provision. This can feel counterintuitive since it means negotiating with your own insurer after someone else caused the wreck. In practice, this process often involves:
- Reporting the accident promptly and confirming the other driver’s lack of coverage
- Gathering medical records, wage documentation, and repair estimates
- Submitting a formal claim and, in many cases, negotiating with an insurance adjuster
- Potentially pursuing arbitration if a fair settlement isn’t reached through negotiation
Because the policyholder is technically making a claim against their own carrier, insurers sometimes scrutinize these claims more closely than a typical third-party claim, which can slow things down or lead to lower initial offers.
Underinsured Drivers Present a Similar Problem
It isn’t only completely uninsured drivers who create this issue. Rhode Island also recognizes underinsured motorist claims, which apply when the at-fault driver does have insurance, but their policy limits are too low to cover the full extent of an injured person’s damages. The same statute governing uninsured motorist coverage extends similar protections here, and a policyholder is not required to first sue the underinsured driver before turning to their own insurer for the difference.
Contact Us Before Accepting a Settlement
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims can move quickly, and an early settlement offer isn’t always a fair reflection of what someone is truly owed. If you were injured by a driver without adequate insurance, the Rhode Island uninsured motorist attorneys at Robert E. Craven & Associates are ready to talk through what happened and outline the options available under your own policy. Reach out today.
Source:
webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/title27/27-7/27-7-2.1.htm
