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North Carolina law requires all drivers to carry auto insurance. However, many people fail to pay their premiums or simply choose to drive without insurance. Fortunately, NC insurance laws also require all car insurance policies to include Uninsured Motorist coverage. This is the payment source for your injury claims if you are struck by an uninsured or hit & run driver.
Raleigh area accident caused by an uninsured driver? Our NC insurance law allows "stacking" of UM policies. Victims are covered by the UM on the vehicle they are riding in, on their own policy if they have separate insurance, and also on all family-owned insurance policies for residents of the victim's household.
Insurance analysts estimate that nearly one in eight motorists in the U.S. are either uninsured or underinsured. These careless drivers aren't just putting themselves in jeopardy; they also jeopardize your physical safety and financial well-being. The good news is UM coverage pays, but the insurance adjusters handling these claims will seek to minimize your benefits. Two other bits of good news: First, collecting UM benefits from your own policy will not harm your coverage or increase your premiums. Second, once your insurance company pays you, they will go after the uninsured driver seeking full reimbursement, and even suspend their drivers license until payment arrangements are made. Uninsured drivers do not escape justice!
At Nagle & Associates, we stand ready to protect and enforce your rights if you suffer injuries caused by a negligent driver without insurance. Please don't trust your insurance adjuster to simply volunteer full and fair payment. Former adjuster Carl Nagle cautions that "insurance adjusters are paid to minimize your claims, and they will pay you as little as you let them". Whether you choose our firm or another, an experienced underinsured or uninsured driver accident attorney in Raleigh can help access and collect from multiple insurance policies, present the strongest injury case, and collect the tax-free compensation you deserve.
Carl Nagle previously worked in Atlanta, Georgia for insurance companies as a claims adjuster and as an insurance company lawyer. He then moved to North Carolina and now only represents victims of NC motor vehicle accidents. Our firm has successfully handled many underinsured and uninsured motorist cases. Drawing on 30 years of focused motor vehicle accident experience, Carl Nagle is passionate about protecting the rights of injured victims and their families.
Our legal team is committed to recovering the compensation our clients' need to restore savings, pay for past and future medical needs, be compensated for scarring and lost quality-of-life, and to have tax-free compensation so they can improve their life following a serious collision. As such, every attorney at Nagle & Associates works tirelessly to help clients - just like you - understand how underinsured/uninsured driver claims work and how a great lawyer can help you maximize your injury claims and present the strongest legal case.
Underinsured and uninsured driver accident claims can be very complex and involve a variety of factors. Some of the most common situations we find in these cases include:
Regardless of the circumstances, you can rest easy knowing our uninsured and underinsured driver accident attorneys in Raleigh have the skills, experience, and commitment to pursue all of your legal claims and collect maximum payment for your past and future medical needs, for lost wages, and for your pain and suffering.
Nagle & Associates isn't like other underinsured and uninsured driver accident law firms, and that's by design. We don't advertise on television, on the radio, or on billboards. We focus on real injuries and devote ourselves to excellence in service and results. Instead, we focus those resources on benefiting our clients by providing caring yet highly effective legal services for every accident victim we represent.
We also have a better fee structure than other personal injury law firms that handle underinsured and uninsured driver crashes.
Our legal team works on a contingency fee basis, which means we only get paid once your case is settled or your trial concludes. Most cases settle privately, with no lawsuit filings and no court involvement. The contingency fee structure incentivizes your lawyer to pursue maximum compensation for your injury claims. Frankly, an experienced lawyer will collect more from insurance companies than an unrepresented victim. To the extent that your lawyer collects more than you could have, he/she pays his/her own fee. Our goal is to leave you with far more settlement money in hand than you would ever get handling your case alone, and we make the insurance claim process much easier for you.
While many underinsured and uninsured driver accident law firms charge 33.3% of the settlement and 40-44% of amounts collected after a lawsuit is filed, our firm offers a more client-oriented rate of 25% on the settlement and 33.3% on any amounts collected in litigation. We file lawsuits only when an insurer refuses to offer a fair settlement, and only when we agree together that suit filing is the best path toward full compensation for your accident claims. We are a boutique law firm dedicated to concierge level client service and excellent results. We only handle serious motor vehicle accident cases, and our discounted fee percentage leaves a larger share of your settlement money in your hands when the case closes.
We stand ready to begin working on your case now. We offer free consultations by phone and if you want our help, we can meet in our office, and we also have investigators who can meet with you where you are, whether its at your home, your work or even if you are still under care at Independence Village of Olde Raleigh near Raleigh. If you prefer, you can even retain us by exchanged mailings. We charge no legal fee to help our clients with their property damage claims, and charge nothing for home visits. And remember, there are no up-front costs because our fee is a percentage of settlement, so we are paid only if and when we collect a settlement that you accept.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage compensates crash victims for injuries and damages resulting from an accident caused by a driver who has no insurance whatsoever, or by a hit & run driver who cannot be identified. UM does not for property damage caused by a hit & run driver, but injury claims are fully covered by all applicable policies. In contrast, Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage steps in when a driver has liability insurance, but the coverage limits are insufficient to cover the injuries and damages they've caused.
The number of drivers on the road without insurance is quite alarming. According to the Insurance Information Institute, around 13% of motorists in the United States are uninsured. In North Carolina, that figure is notably lower, with about 6.5% of drivers operating without insurance coverage. However, the mandatory coverage limits in NC are quite low: before July 1, 2025, drivers can legally drive with only $30,000 per-person and $60,000 per-accident in bodily injury liability coverage. After July 1, 2025, our mandatory coverage increases to $50,000 per-person and $100,000 per-accident.
Our firm only handles real injury claims arising from forceful collisions. We commonly represent victims with injury claims worth more than $50,000. In these cases, we make sure the victim does not sign a Release for the liability coverage, because this destroys your payment rights for UIM coverage. We also notify and open claims for all stackable UIM policies. Once we bring all insurance companies and adjusters to the table, we present the strongest medical evidence, present a strong threat of litigation and trial, and push for the highest possible settlement offer.
UM and UIM are both stackable coverages in NC. If the at-fault driver had no insurance or was a hit & run driver, all UM policies stack. If the at-fault driver doesn't have enough coverage to fully fund your injury claims, all UIM policies stack to provide aggregate coverage and payment for all injury claims.
Policies stack from three sources - the policy on the vehicle the victim was riding in, the victim's personal auto policy if they were riding in someone else's vehicle, and every separate policy for anyone related to the victim by blood or marriage who resided with the victim on the date of the accident. Consider this hypothetical: Mary is riding with her friend Paula when they are struck by a hit & run driver. Paula's UM policy provides $50,000 per person in UM coverage. Mary has her own car and her policy has $100,000 in UM coverage. Mary lives with her son who has a separate auto insurance policy with $250,000 in UM coverage. In this case, Mary can stack and collect from all policies, and receive up to $400,000 in tax-free injury claim payments.
North Carolina's Motor Vehicle Safety and Financial Responsibility Act of 1953 (MVSFRA) defines a vehicle as "uninsured" if it lacks both bodily injury liability insurance and property liability insurance that meets at least the minimum limits set by state law. A vehicle may still be deemed uninsured if it has such insurance but the insurer denies coverage or has gone bankrupt.
According to the MVSFRA, a vehicle is deemed "underinsured" when the total liability limits from all applicable bodily injury insurance policies at the time of the accident fall short of the limits of underinsured motorist coverage for the vehicle involved in the collision and covered under the owner's policy.
When you file an uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance claim, your UM/UIM insurance carrier essentially acts as if they were the defendant. Despite being your own coverage, the insurance adjuster will try to reduce the amount they pay you just as the insurance company of the at-fault driver would. Always remember that insurance companies are for-profit businesses. They are in business to collect premiums, not to pay claims.
Your insurance adjuster might downplay your injuries or argue that you were fully or partially responsible for the accident. In North Carolina, under our pure contributory negligence law, if you are deemed even slightly at fault for the accident, you have no payment rights and cannot collect any compensation. If the adjuster can place you just 1% at fault, you get nothing. And insurance adjusters always challenge claims, question the extent of your injuries, argue that medical bills are unreasonable, and they offer pennies on the dollar to unrepresented victims. That's why it's crucial to involve an attorney as soon as possible—this helps protect your rights and increases your chances of collecting a settlement that reflects what you would receive from a jury of your neighbors following a successful trial.
Even if you prefer to handle your case without a lawyer, personal injury lawyers offer free consultations which can be accomplished by phone or in person. Invest time to talk with a victims' rights advocate who can explain your rights and options, and help you understand how to properly present your accident/insurance claims.
When it comes to collecting compensation after an uninsured or underinsured driver accident, the amount you get often depends on your auto insurance policy. In North Carolina, the law mandates that all car insurance policies include Uninsured Motorist coverage, but having Underinsured Motorist coverage is optional. That means you can collect benefits for Uninsured Motorist through your own policy, while benefits for Underinsured Motorists will depend on your coverage and the coverage on any other policies that apply.
Here's how you may be protected:
Uninsured Motorist coverage (UM) comes into play when another driver is at fault and lacks liability insurance. In such cases, the UM your insurance provider will assist in covering medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage, up to the limits set in your policy. UM coverage also applies if your collision was caused by a hit and run driver. In these cases, UM covers the injury claims but will not pay for repairs or replacement of your damaged vehicle. Thus, collision coverage is needed to collect for property damage caused by a hit and run driver.
Underinsured Motorist coverage (UIM) comes into play when the at-fault driver's insurance limits aren't enough to cover your accident-related losses. In such cases, your may be able to access multiple UIM policies to help cover your claims and damages that exceed what the at-fault driver's policy can provide.
In North Carolina, the minimum limits for Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage match the state's minimum liability requirements. This means you should have at least $30,000 for each injured person in an accident, $60,000 total for personal injuries per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. If you find yourself in an accident with a driver who lacks sufficient insurance and you don't have UIM coverage, don't lose hope. You may be able to access other policies, or you can still work with an underinsured driver accident attorney in Raleigh to pursue a lawsuit against the at-fault driver's personal assets.
Both types of insurance coverage provide compensation for injuries that typically arise from motor vehicle collisions. For a claim to be valid, the at-fault driver's negligence must be the "proximate cause" of the costs or damages incurred. Some of the UM and UIM damages you can claim include:
Under North Carolina law, you can draw not only from your own insurance policy but also from the policy of any relative by blood or marriage who currently lives with you and has UM/UIM coverage for their vehicle. For instance, a student going to North Carolina State University near Raleigh, who is living at home, can stack and collect from both their UIM policy and their parents' UIM policy if each has separate vehicles and separate insurance policies. The key is separate policies. If a single crash victim has multiple auto insurance policies, the can stack and use all of those policies, and still collect from family-owned policies AND the policy for the vehicle they occupied during the accident.
It's important to understand that UM/UIM coverage isn't automatically applied - North Carolina has specific regulations that outline when an injured party can file a UM/UIM claim. Since these rules can be quite complex, it's wise to work with an uninsured or underinsured driver accident attorney in Raleigh who is knowledgeable about underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage to help navigate the process and effectively resolve your claim.
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we get from clients who were hit and injured by an underinsured or uninsured driver in North Carolina.
Uninsured Motorist coverage does cover injury claims arising from a hit-and-run accident, but certain criteria must be met to prevent fraudulent claims. First, victims should report the crash to police immediately Period Second, if your injuries are significant, you should speak with a lawyer about how to report claims and speak safely with insurance carriers. Lastly, there must be actual contact between the vehicles involved. This is often referred to as the "no contact rule." For instance, if one vehicle forces another off the road without any physical contact, the uninsured motorist coverage is not liable and North Carolina law allows them to deny the claim.
After an accident, the process of recovery can feel daunting and overwhelming, especially if you're dealing with injuries or recovering at Magnolia Glen near Raleigh. That's why it's wise to reach out to one of our experienced personal injury attorneys, who can help take that burden off your shoulders. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won't owe us a dime unless we secure compensation for you. That means there's no downside to giving us a call at (800) 411-1583 to explore your options.
According to North Carolina law, interpolicy stacking is applicable only to insurance for "nonfleet private passenger motor vehicles," as outlined in N. C. Gen. Stat. §58-40-15 (9) and (10). Furthermore, any uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage included in a policy that covers five or more vehicles, or that pertains to vehicles not classified as a "private passenger motor vehicle" under the statute, does not qualify as a "separate or additional policy." Therefore, the limits of such coverage cannot be stacked with those of any other policies when determining the uninsured and underinsured motorist limits.
To protect your right to payment for your injury claims, it's important to be aware of the deadlines for filing uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, referred to as the statute of limitations. In North Carolina, you typically have three years from the date of the accident to file your lawsuit against all liable parties. However, in fatal injury cases, our NC Wrongful Death Act requires suit to be filed within two years. You should never wait until the last minute to you're your lawsuit! Navigating the claims process can be tricky, and the last thing you want is to miss out on the compensation you deserve because you didn't meet the deadline. That's why it's a good idea to team up with a skilled uninsured driver accident attorney in Raleigh who can help you handle your claim more effectively.
Many drivers shell out significant premiums to insurance companies for coverage in the event of an accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies commonly oppose, minimize and deny valid claims. This leaves injured individuals and victims of motor vehicle accidents in a tough spot when they need assistance the most. Unfortunately, it happens frequently and insurance companies often resort to various tactics to safeguard their profits.
Tactics like these are made in bad faith. They can include:
Insurance companies often rely on these claim-opposition tactics to delay, minimize & deny claims, which underscores the importance of having a strong advocate by your side. Partnering with an experienced NC underinsured or uninsured accident lawyer can help your claim get approved, and help you collect maximum payment for your crash-related losses.
If you've been in an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, it's very easy for insurance adjusters to control the dialogue and steer you toward a bad result. Even though you're dealing with your own insurance company, they know you don't intend to go to court without a lawyer, and they will not help you find reasons to pay full value for your accident and injury claims. Expect opposition and don't trust the insurance adjuster who is being paid to minimize your claims.
At Nagle & Associates, our experienced attorneys in North Carolina only handle motor vehicle accident cases and we know exactly how to pursue and collect maximum payment fo any victim of an uninsured or underinsured driver. We have decades of experience with complex traumatic medical cases, and we know how to collect and present your medical evidence, and how to compel the insurance adjusters to pay the full value of your case. We have mastered all NC insurance laws, and we know how to access multiple policies and compel maximum payment for your injury claims. We work closely with every client, develop a relationship that helps us understand your story, and work to solve your problems every step. We work for you, and with you! Together, we'll gather the details of your situation, thoroughly investigate the incident, and outline the best legal options for you. Whether you need guidance through the entire process, assistance in negotiating with the insurance company, or representation in court against a negligent driver or insurer, we've got your back. We're not afraid to take a strong stance to ensure you get the compensation you're entitled to.
Contact our office today for your free consultation.
