Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Arizona
Learning that the driver who hurt you carries no insurance feels like the end of the road. In Arizona it usually is not, and there is a wrinkle in Arizona law that occasionally puts coverage in place even for drivers who believe they never bought it.
Your own coverage is the starting point
Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance, and typically when a hit-and-run driver is never identified. Underinsured motorist coverage covers the gap when a driver has a policy that is far too small for what happened. Both are first-party coverage on your own policy — claiming on them is not an admission that anything was your fault.
The written-offer rule worth knowing about
Arizona requires insurers to offer UM and UIM coverage in writing, in amounts up to the policy's liability limits. That requirement matters after the fact: where an insurer cannot show a valid written offer was made, coverage can end up applying by operation of law even though the declarations page shows none. If you have been told you have no UM/UIM, that answer is worth testing against the policy file before it is accepted.
Hit-and-run claims have their own requirements
A hit-and-run is usually handled as an uninsured motorist claim, and those claims tend to carry extra conditions — prompt reporting to law enforcement and to your own insurer among them. Report it to the police and get a report number, note everything you can about the vehicle and direction of travel, and notify your carrier right away rather than waiting to see whether the driver is found.
Your insurer is now the other side
A UM/UIM claim is made against the company you pay premiums to, and it will value your injury the way any insurer does. Arizona law requires your carrier to handle that claim in good faith, and an unreasonable denial or delay can become its own claim. Be careful, too, about settling with the at-fault driver before your own coverage picture is settled — releasing that driver without your insurer's consent can undo the underinsured claim entirely.
Frequently asked questions
What if the driver who hit me in Arizona had no insurance?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage is built for that situation and can pay for the injuries the uninsured driver caused, up to your limits. Check every policy in the household, not only the one on the car you were driving.
My policy says I have no UM coverage. Is that final?
Not necessarily. Arizona requires insurers to offer that coverage in writing, and where no valid offer was made, coverage can apply regardless of what the declarations page says. It is worth having the policy file reviewed.
Keep reading
This article is general information about Arizona injury law, not legal advice. Every case is different — talk to a lawyer about your situation.
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