Insurance works in two basic ways:

First, when you have your own personal injury insurance, i.e. car insurance,  it protects you from being held financially responsible for damages or injuries you may cause to others in an accident.  This provides you with peace of mind and financial security for your and your family.  If you’re unsure of your own insurance coverage, you should discuss it with your insurance agent. There are many types of insurance to protect your and your family.

Second, insurance works to help protect you when someone else is at fault for an accident.  When you are in an accident, insurance can help cover the costs of damages or injuries you may incur. This includes the easily calculable damages like medical expenses, repairs to your vehicle or property, and lost wages and income if you cannot work due to injury, but also damages much more difficult to calculate, like the pain and suffering, or loss of your established course of life damages.

Montana’s insurance rules:

Montana law requires the injured accident victim to prove that the other person was at-fault or “liable” to receive compensation for their injuries.  Once fault is proven, the person responsible for the accident is liable for the damages caused by and related to the accident, e.g. car crash injuries.  Proving fault is simple in a rear-end car crash, but can be more complicated in a multi-car pile up with icy conditions, or other cases like a slip and fall or medical malpractice case.

In personal injury and car accident cases, the insurance covers the person at-fault for causing the accident.  The person at-fault is financially responsible for any injuries or damages that were caused by the accident.

Once liability is established, Montana law allows you to seek compensation in one of two ways:

  • Filing a claim with your insurance policy under med-pay; and
  • Filing a claim with the “at-fault” driver’s insurance carrier

Ultimately, a personal injury lawsuit may be what is required if the insurance company is wrongfully denying payments, or undervaluing the claim.  The insurance company will not tell you they are undervaluing a claim, but they rely on the fact that most people don’t understand how an insurance claim is valued – that is where an attorney can help.

Most often, the amount of compensation you will be able to receive from the “at-fault” driver is tied directly to their policy limits.  For instance, if the compensable value of the injuries from the crash (i.e. broken arm, head injury, broken ribs, etc.) are less than the policy limits then there are no issues with the money compensation available to pay for the claim.  However, if the compensable value of the injuries exceeds the at-fault policy limits, or the at-fault driver did not have insurance, you will need to seek recourse from your own insurance policy through what is called “uninsured” or “underinsured” motorist coverage.

Insurance Requirements and Laws in Montana

In Montana, all drivers are required to purchase liability insurance for damages or injuries they may cause to another person or their property while operating a vehicle. Driving without insurance is against the law and you can be cited for failure to have insurance.

Drivers must purchase a policy that meets the state’s minimum coverage limits as outlined in § 61-6-103, MCA. The minimum liability limits required by law in Montana are:

  • $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person
  • $50,000 for bodily injury or death of more than one person
  • $20,000 for property damage

In addition to liability insurance, Montana also requires that insurers offer drivers uninsured motorist coverage. This covers your own damages or injuries if you are in an accident with someone who does not have insurance. However, drivers can reject this additional insurance by signing a waiver.  This is not recommended.

It is important to note that these are the minimum requirements. Drivers in Montana should consider purchasing higher limits of coverage to gain better protection after a crash.

What if I am at-fault and I Don’t Have Enough Insurance Coverage After a Crash?

If you do not have enough insurance coverage after a crash, you may be responsible for paying for any damages or injuries that exceed your policy limits. This can include medical expenses, property damage, and other costs related to the accident. One way to mitigate this risk is to purchase additional insurance coverage, such as an umbrella policy, which can provide additional liability coverage above and beyond the limits of your standard auto insurance policy.

Finding Other Liable Parties

One of the best ways to increase your compensation is to identify all other liable parties. In some cases, multiple parties can share the blame for the accident. For example, the truck driver and the trucking company could share the blame for a severe truck accident in Montana. By identifying both liable parties, your lawyer can seek compensation from both insurance policies – increasing the compensation you could receive.

Contact Our Helena Personal Injury Lawyers

If your or someone you love got hurt in an accident in Montana, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side from the start.  Let Doubek, Pyfer & Storrar fight aggressively to get the money you need to pay for medical expenses, lost income, and more.

To learn more about your legal options, you can fill out a contact form on our website, and we can contact you, or you can call us now at 406-442-7830 and get your immediate questions answered.