Most people think of their own auto policy as something that protects other drivers from them. After a crash caused by someone else, it is also one of the most important sources of money for you, and the coverages that matter are the ones nobody explained when you bought it.
Pull your declarations page
The dec page is the one- or two-page summary at the front of your policy listing each coverage and its limit. Find it, or ask your agent for it. Three lines matter now.
Medical payments (MedPay)
Pays your medical bills, and those of your passengers, regardless of fault, up to the limit, typically $1,000 to $10,000. No deductible, no waiting for the other insurer to accept liability, and in Indiana your own insurer’s right to reimbursement from the settlement is limited. If you have it, use it from the first visit.
Uninsured motorist (UM)
The other driver has no insurance, or the crash was a hit-and-run. Your UM coverage steps into their shoes and pays what their insurance would have paid, up to your UM limit. Indiana requires insurers to offer UM coverage and it can only be declined in writing, so most policies have it.
Underinsured motorist (UIM)
The coverage that matters most in serious crashes. The other driver has insurance, but only Indiana’s minimum of $25,000 per person, and your medical bills are $90,000. UIM coverage pays the difference between what the other driver’s policy paid and your UIM limit. Like UM, it must be offered and can only be declined in writing.
Two things to know. UIM is calculated against your limit, not stacked on top of the other policy: a $100,000 UIM limit minus the $25,000 paid by the other driver leaves $75,000 available. And once you make a UIM claim, your own insurer becomes the adverse party and evaluates your injuries exactly the way the other driver’s insurer did.
Other household policies
If you live with a relative who owns a vehicle, their policy may cover you. If you were a passenger in someone else’s car, that car’s UM/UIM and MedPay coverage may apply alongside your own. We review every policy in the household on every case, because the second policy is often where the recovery comes from.
Collision and rental
Covered in Part 5: your collision coverage repairs the car quickly when the other insurer is slow, and rental reimbursement pays for a car while yours is in the shop, but only if you bought it.
What reporting a claim does and does not do
Your policy requires you to report any crash promptly. Reporting a not-at-fault crash does not raise your premium in Indiana. Failing to report can give your insurer a reason to deny UM/UIM or MedPay later. Report the facts, decline to speculate about fault, and let the carrier open the file.
Raise your limits before you need them
The least expensive thing you will ever do for your family is raise your UM/UIM limits. The difference between $25,000 and $250,000 of UIM coverage is often a few dollars a month. Ask your agent this week.
Next: Part 7, the long middle of the case: treatment, documentation, lost wages, and the mistakes people make when they are tired of being hurt.
This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice about your situation. Laws change and every case is different. Talk to a lawyer about the facts of your case.