Protect Yourself From Uninsured Drivers in New York

Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine is an injury law firm based in New York City. Our offices are in Manhattan and Long Island, but our reach is all over the five boroughs of New York. We offer legal help to those who have been injured in car accidents, pedestrian accidents, construction accidents, victims of medical malpractice, and injuries due to slips or falls. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident in the New York City area, contact Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.

“Thank God for insurance.”

That thought has gone through the heads of car accidents victims everywhere. When the damage to the vehicle is minor, that initial thought is often proven true. When there are injuries involved, that thought is less easily rewarded. To be frank, insurance companies do not like to spend money on medical bills. They will actually spend more money on legal counsel to fight spending money on medical costs.

But as bad as insurance companies can be when it comes to paying off medical bills, there isn’t anything more difficult for an injury victim to deal with than being hit by someone with no insurance at all.

According to an old report in the Insurance Journal, if you get hit by another car in America, the odds are one in seven that the other car won’t have any insurance. That could be very bad news for you.

The five states with the highest level of uninsured drivers are Mississippi, where 26% of drivers are uninsured, Alabama and California, which both clock in at 25%, New Mexico, where 24% of drivers have no insurance, and Arizona, which has 22%.

All of these places are very far away from New York, of course, so the risk of getting hit by an uninsured driver seems like an unlikely prospect, but you should bear in mind that the last time the Insurance Journal really checked, the uninsured driver rate of our state was 7%. Our neighbors across the river in New Jersey have a rate of 9%.

Again, these numbers were put together in 2006. A lot has happened since then. The economy is in rotten shape and the unemployment rate has gone up considerably. When people are worried about paying their rent, paying an insurance premium takes a back seat.

A new report by the Insurance Research Council predicts that, due to the faltering economy, the uninsured driving rate is expected to go up to around 16%. That will surely have an effect here in New York City.

Most insurance policies have the option of underinsured or uninsured coverage, which is there to protect you in just such an event. If you get hit by someone with no insurance or by someone with no insurance at all, this coverage is there to help you. While some states mandate uninsured or underinsured coverage, New York does not. If you don’t have that option on your auto insurance, pick it up as soon as possible. It could be the difference between having your costs of injuries and property damage paid and being left with hardly any recourse at all.

If you get into an accident with an uninsured driver and the end result is minor damage, and you have an uninsured driver clause, there shouldn’t be a problem in terms of getting your car fixed. But if the end result is a serious injury, time off of work and real property damage, this is when things become problematic, even if you do have the uninsured/underinsured clause. If the costs of your injuries go past that limit, you are financially on your own.

This is where an experienced attorney can make the difference.

At Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine, we specialize in helping victims of crashes with uninsured drivers get compensation for their injuries. We are well aware that process can be very adversarial, both with the insurance company, which will fight as hard as they can to avoid paying, as well as with the uninsured driver, who will plead poverty and go out of his way to avoid responsibility. We have years of experience in dealing with this aspect of injury law, and will do our best to see to it that you are fairly compensated for your injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with an uninsured driver in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Long Island or Staten Island, contact Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.