You may not know how common hit-and-run car crashes have become in the United States. However, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, a hit-and-run car accident occurs every 43 seconds in the United States. That is a shocking statistic.
Required car insurance
Every car that operates in Austin, Texas, or anywhere in Texas, must have liability auto insurance. However, this type of insurance will not pay for the repair of your car. It only pays for the repair of the other driver’s car, if you caused the collision. Unfortunately, even if the other driver has this required insurance, in a hit-and-run crash, you may not be able to locate the other vehicle to use their insurance.
What happens?
If you only have Texas minimum car insurance coverage (liability insurance), you would not be covered after a hit-and-run motor vehicle accident. To have coverage for these accident types, you need uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage coverage (also known as, an UM/UIM insurance rider). UM/UIM coverage pays for your car repairs after an accident. It usually has a lower deductible, pays a different amount for your rental car and has different policy limits than your normal coverage as well. Luckily, the costs associated with UM/UIM are normally negligible, but not always.
Are you covered?
Your wallet-sized insurance card may not include information on whether you have UM/UIM coverage. You will need to check your policy, which can usually be found on your insurance company’s website. A paper copy should have been mailed to your home as well.
What if this happened to you?
If you have UM/UIM coverage, you should get checked out by the ambulance. And, go to the emergency room, if needed. After you are well enough to speak, you should contact your personal injury attorney. While you may not know who hit you, your attorney can do their own investigation, in addition to the one conducted by the police, to try and figure out who hit you.
Sometimes, businesses have cameras that point to the streets, and these videos may be used to identify the driver and the vehicle. Even if that is not the case, the attorney can help you deal with your insurance company to make sure you get what you are owed.