How an Uninsured Motorist Claim Works in Utah

Short answer: If the driver who hurt you had no insurance, you make a claim against your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. Your insurer then stands in the uninsured driver’s shoes: you still have to show that driver was at fault and prove your damages, and if you cannot agree on a number, you can choose binding arbitration or a lawsuit. The action must be started within four years after the inception of loss.

Finding out the other driver was uninsured can feel like the end of the road. For most Utah drivers it is not, because the coverage that pays is already on their own policy. Here is how the claim works from start to finish.

Do You Have UM Coverage?

Every Utah auto policy bought to meet the state’s insurance requirement must include uninsured motorist coverage unless it was affirmatively waived (Utah Code 31A-22-302(1)(b)). Rejecting it takes an express writing, on a form from the insurer that explains what the coverage does (Utah Code 31A-22-305(5)(a)).

The amount matters too. For new policies written since January 1, 2001, UM limits equal the lesser of your liability limits or the most UM coverage the insurer offers under your policy, unless you signed an acknowledgment choosing less (31A-22-305(4)(a)). UM coverage also cannot be sold with limits below the minimum bodily injury limits for liability policies (31A-22-305(4)(i)).

Pull your declarations page. If the insurer says you rejected or reduced UM coverage, ask for a copy of the signed form.

Who Can Make the Claim

UM coverage protects “covered persons,” which include the named insured, the named insured’s dependent minor children, relatives who live in the household, and anyone occupying a vehicle listed on the policy (31A-22-305(1)). A covered person hit by an uninsured vehicle while walking can also recover under one other policy on which they are a covered person (31A-22-305(8)(b)).

What Counts as “Uninsured”

The statute defines an uninsured motor vehicle to include (31A-22-305(2)):

• A vehicle with no liability coverage at the time of the crash.
• A vehicle insured for less than Utah’s minimum liability limits, to the extent of the shortfall.
• An unidentified vehicle that caused the crash and left the scene.
• A vehicle whose liability insurer disputes coverage for the crash for more than 60 days.
• A vehicle whose insurer is declared insolvent, to the extent the claim is not paid by a guaranty fund.

The 60-day rule is easy to miss. If the other driver has a policy but the insurer is refusing to cover the crash, for example because it says the driver was excluded, your UM coverage can come into play.

If the other driver was insured but simply carried too little, that is a different coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, which we explain in underinsured motorist claims in Utah. What to do right after a driver flees is covered in hit and run in Utah.

One point specific to UM claims: when a vehicle that was never identified caused the crash without ever touching you or your car, you must prove that vehicle existed by clear and convincing evidence consisting of more than your own testimony (31A-22-305(6)). An independent witness or video can decide these claims.

Your Own Insurer Becomes the Other Side

A UM claim is made against your own company, but on the question of damages it evaluates the claim much as the uninsured driver’s insurer would have. It can dispute fault, question whether your treatment was related to the crash, and argue about value. The coverage pays damages you are legally entitled to recover from the uninsured driver (31A-22-305(3)), so you still have to prove that driver was responsible.

Some rules work in your favor:

• Utah’s PIP tort threshold, which limits some claims for general damages such as pain and suffering, does not apply to a person making an uninsured motorist claim (Utah Code 31A-22-309(1)(b)).
• UM benefits may not be reduced by workers’ compensation benefits, and the workers’ compensation carrier may not subrogate against them (31A-22-305(5)(c)).
• Health insurance subrogation can reduce a UM recovery only after you have been made whole (31A-22-305(5)(c)(iv)).

Your insurer also owes you a duty of good faith in handling the claim. If it stalls or denies without a reasonable basis, see what to do when an insurance claim is denied in Utah.

Arbitration or a Lawsuit: Your Choice

If the claim does not settle, the person making the claim can choose to resolve it through binding arbitration or through litigation (31A-22-305(9)(a)). A few rules shape that choice:

• Once you start litigation, you cannot switch to arbitration under the statute without the insurer’s written consent.
• If the policy lets either side elect arbitration, the insurer can elect it, and that stays the lawsuit.
• Unless the parties agree otherwise, one arbitrator hears the claim if both sides agree on who it will be, and a three-person panel is used if they cannot. Each side pays an equal share of a single arbitrator’s fees unless otherwise agreed.
• The arbitrator cannot decide coverage questions or bad-faith claims, and an award generally cannot exceed the UM limits of all applicable UM policies.

What Happens After You Elect

Within 30 days after electing arbitration or filing suit, you must give the insurer a written demand stating a specific amount, with a computation of past medical expenses, lost wages and other past economic losses. You must also give a sworn statement listing your health care providers and health insurers for the five years before the crash, your employers for that period if you claim lost income, and any statutory lienholders such as Medicare or Medicaid, along with signed authorizations for records (31A-22-305(10)(a)).

The insurer then has a reasonable time, not more than 60 days, to respond in writing and pay the amount it believes it owes (31A-22-305(10)(c)). You can accept that payment in full, or accept it as a partial payment and keep going (31A-22-305(10)(d)). If the final award is greater than the average of your demand and the insurer’s response, the insurer must pay the award, up to the policy limits plus $15,000, along with certain costs (31A-22-305(10)(g)).

The Deadline

An action on a UM policy must be commenced within four years after the inception of loss (31A-22-305(11)). If you choose arbitration, the claim counts as filed when you submit it to arbitration (31A-22-305(9)(d)). This section does not define “inception of loss,” so the safe approach is to measure from the date of the crash. Your policy will also require prompt notice of the claim, so notify your insurer early. Other deadlines are listed in our Utah statute of limitations guide.

Talk to a Utah Car Accident Attorney

A UM claim puts you across the table from the company you pay every month, under a statute with its own procedures and deadlines. We handle the demand, the disclosures and the arbitration or lawsuit so the claim is presented the way the statute requires.

Hurt in Utah? Call (801) 921-5134 or send us your case for a free consultation. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.