Can You Still Recover Compensation If the Driver Who Hit You Has No Insurance?
Being hit by an uninsured driver does not mean you have no path to compensation. In Montana, the uninsured motorist coverage on your policy may pay for bodily injuries if you have it, and other sources may also apply. You can still hold the at-fault driver legally responsible, although collecting directly from someone without insurance can be difficult.
Learning that the driver who caused your crash has no insurance can feel like a second collision. You may already be dealing with pain, medical appointments, missed work, and a damaged vehicle. Then you find out there may be no liability insurance behind the driver who caused it.
That does not mean you are out of options. Montana law requires auto insurers to provide uninsured motorist coverage unless the named insured rejects it. Depending on your policy and the facts of the crash, your own coverage or another responsible party may provide a path to recovery.
If you were injured in Billings, Yellowstone Law can review the crash and your insurance policy and explain where compensation may come from. Call 406-259-9986 or contact us online for a free consultation.
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Key Takeaways After a Crash With an Uninsured Driver
- The uninsured driver can still be legally responsible for the crash even though no liability policy covers them.
- Montana auto policies generally include uninsured motorist bodily-injury coverage unless the named insured rejects it.
- Uninsured motorist coverage usually addresses bodily injury, not damage to your vehicle.
- Your own insurer can still require proof of fault, injuries, and damages before paying a UM claim.
- Montana's comparative negligence rule can reduce or bar recovery when you share fault.
- Personal-injury and property-damage claims may have different filing deadlines.
An Uninsured Driver Changes the Path to Compensation
The biggest change is not who caused the crash. It is where the money may come from.
In a standard claim, you usually seek payment from the at-fault driver's liability insurer. In an uninsured driver accident in Montana, that source may not exist. The investigation still has to establish fault and damages, but the search for available coverage becomes just as important.
Your lawyer may examine your own auto policy, the other vehicles involved, the driver's employment status, and any other facts that could identify a valid source of payment. A crash on I-90 near Lockwood can involve the same negligence rules as a crash on Grand Avenue, but the available insurance can be very different.
Montana Requires Insurers to Offer Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Montana Code Annotated § 33-23-201 requires motor vehicle liability policies issued for vehicles registered and principally garaged in Montana to include uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury or death. The named insured has the right to reject that coverage.
That makes your declarations page and policy documents important after an uninsured crash. Do not assume you have UM coverage simply because you carry liability insurance, and do not assume you rejected it because an adjuster says so. The policy file can show what coverage was issued and what limits apply.
Montana's minimum bodily-injury liability limits are $25,000 for one injured person and $50,000 for two or more injured people in one accident. The UM statute ties required offered limits to those bodily-injury amounts.
Montana uninsured motorist coverage is designed to stand in for bodily-injury liability insurance that the at-fault driver should have carried. It can potentially address losses such as medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering, subject to the policy, the evidence, and the applicable limits.
UM Coverage Usually Does Not Pay for Vehicle Damage
This distinction is easy to miss. The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance explains that uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage generally does not include property-damage coverage.
If an uninsured driver damages your car, collision coverage on your own policy may pay for repairs or replacement, subject to your deductible and policy terms. A few insurers may offer separate uninsured or underinsured property-damage protection, so the policy still needs to be checked.
| Possible source of recovery | What it may address | Important question |
| Uninsured motorist coverage | Bodily injury losses caused by an uninsured at-fault driver | Did you have UM coverage on the date of the crash? |
| Collision coverage | Damage to your own vehicle | Do you carry collision coverage, and what deductible applies? |
| MedPay or health insurance | Medical bills while the liability or UM claim is pending | What coverage is available and what reimbursement rights may apply? |
| At-fault driver or another liable party | Losses not fully covered elsewhere | Is there a collectible driver, employer, or another party who shares legal responsibility? |
Can You Sue an Uninsured Driver in Montana?
Yes, driving without insurance does not protect someone from liability for the harm they caused. You can still bring a personal-injury claim against an uninsured at-fault driver and, when appropriate, file a lawsuit.
The harder question is whether a judgment can actually be collected. Someone who has no auto insurance may also have limited income or assets. A lawsuit can be legally valid and still be a poor source of practical recovery if there is nothing available to satisfy the judgment.
That is why we look beyond the simple fact that the driver was uninsured. For example, an employer may be responsible when an employee causes a crash while acting within the scope of employment. Another driver or entity may also share responsibility depending on how the collision happened.
A Billings uninsured motorist accident lawyer can investigate those possibilities while also reviewing your own coverage. The goal is to identify every realistic source of compensation before deciding which claims make sense to pursue.
Why Can Your Own Insurance Company Dispute a UM Claim?
A UM claim is made under your own policy, but your insurer does not automatically accept the amount you request. Montana's UM law protects people who are legally entitled to recover damages from an uninsured driver. That means fault and damages still have to be established.
Your insurer may examine how the crash happened, whether your injuries came from the collision, the treatment you received, your lost income, and the value of your non-economic losses. Disagreement can arise over any of those points.
This is why an uninsured motorist claim should be documented as carefully as a claim against another driver's insurer. Police reports, photographs, video, witness statements, medical records, wage records, and vehicle data can all help show what happened and what the crash cost you.
Do not sign a release or accept a final settlement until you understand which claims the document resolves. Once a claim is settled and released, reopening it later can be difficult or impossible.
Does Shared Fault Affect an Uninsured Motorist Claim?
It can. Montana uses a modified comparative negligence rule under Montana Code Annotated § 27-1-702.
You can generally recover damages when your share of negligence is not greater than the negligence of the person or people from whom you seek recovery. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If your fault is greater, recovery can be barred.
Suppose an uninsured driver runs a red light at King Avenue West and Shiloh Road, but evidence shows you were also speeding. The insurer may argue that your speed contributed to the collision or increased the severity of the crash.
That makes evidence of fault important even though you are dealing with your own insurance company. A UM claim still depends on what the uninsured driver legally owed you after Montana's fault rules are applied.
What Should You Do After a Crash With an Uninsured Driver?
If you have already received emergency care or started treatment for your injuries, you have taken the most important step to protect yourself. If you have not been medically evaluated, do so as soon as possible. Some injuries are not immediately obvious, and prompt medical care also creates a record connecting your injuries to the crash.
Once your immediate medical needs are being addressed, there are several steps you can take to protect your health and your claim:
- Hire a lawyer. An uninsured motorist claim can involve your own insurance policy, but that does not mean the process is automatically simple or conflict-free. Your insurer will evaluate the claim and determine how much it will pay. A lawyer can review your policy, identify all available coverage, handle insurer communications, and protect you from adjusters who work to minimize your recovery.
- Keep every medical appointment and follow your treatment plan. Consistent care gives you the best chance to recover and documents how your injuries affect you over time. Missed appointments or long gaps in treatment can also give an insurer room to argue that your injuries improved or were less serious than claimed.
- Keep a written or video journal. Record your pain levels, physical limitations, sleep problems, medications, missed family activities, and other ways the injuries affect your daily life. These details can support pain and suffering damages and they can be difficult to reconstruct months later.
- Save records of your financial losses. Keep medical bills, prescription receipts, pay stubs, work restrictions, mileage to appointments, and documentation of any other accident-related expenses or lost income.
- Preserve insurance correspondence. Save emails, letters, claim numbers, policy documents, and notes about conversations with adjusters. Before giving a detailed recorded statement, talk with your lawyer about what your policy requires and how to respond accurately.
- Be careful about social media. Photos, videos, check-ins, and casual comments can be taken out of context and used to question the severity of your injuries.
Your own insurance company has contractual obligations to you, which makes a UM claim different from dealing with the other driver's insurer. But insurance companies still make financial decisions about what claims are worth and what they will pay. Having someone focused solely on protecting your interests can help keep that imbalance from working against you.
A Billings car accident lawyer can preserve evidence, sort through the insurance policies, and handle communications with the adjusters while you focus on treatment.
How Long Do You Have to Act After an Uninsured Driver Crash?
For a typical negligence claim involving personal injuries, Montana generally gives you three years to file suit under Montana Code Annotated § 27-2-204. A claim for injury to personal property, including vehicle damage, generally has a two-year period under § 27-2-207.
These deadlines generally apply to claims against the uninsured driver. A claim for uninsured motorist benefits is also based on your insurance policy and may involve different deadlines.
Your policy may require prompt notice, cooperation with the insurer’s investigation, or other steps. Because several timelines may apply, it is important to identify the applicable deadlines early.
Compensation after an uninsured driver crash can depend on more than one policy and more than one legal theory, each with its own requirements. The safest approach is to identify every possible claim and deadline early. Common Questions About Uninsured
Common Questions About Uninsured Driver Accidents in Montana
What if I do not know whether I have uninsured motorist coverage?
Start with your policy’s declarations page, which lists the coverages and limits on the policy. If the documents are unclear, request the complete policy and any UM rejection documents from the insurer. A lawyer can review them and determine what coverage was in force on the accident date.
What if the driver who hit me was insured, but the policy is not enough?
That is an underinsured motorist issue rather than an uninsured motorist claim. UIM coverage may apply if you purchased it and the at-fault driver's liability limits are not enough to cover your losses. The terms and limits of your own policy control.
Will my health insurance still pay medical bills after the crash?
Health insurance may pay covered medical expenses according to your plan while the accident claim is pending. The health plan may later have reimbursement or subrogation rights against a recovery. Keep the benefit statements and bills so those amounts can be addressed correctly.
What if an uninsured driver caused a hit-and-run?
A hit-and-run can create a UM issue, but coverage depends on the policy language and the facts. Report the crash promptly to law enforcement and your insurer, preserve any video or witness information, and have the policy reviewed before assuming the claim is covered or excluded.
Can I recover if I was a passenger?
Potentially. A passenger injured by an uninsured negligent driver may have coverage under one or more policies, depending on the vehicle, the passenger's household coverage, and the policy terms. Identifying all applicable policies is an important early step.
Talk With Yellowstone Law After an Uninsured Driver Crash
Finding out that the person who injured you has no insurance can make an already difficult week feel financially impossible. It does not end the case. It changes the work required to find coverage, prove the claim, and pursue payment.
Yellowstone Law has 81+ years of combined legal experience and more than $250 million in verdicts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We represent injured people from our Billings office and know how insurance disputes can complicate an otherwise clear crash claim.
Call 406-259-9986 or contact Yellowstone Law online for a free consultation. We can review the crash, the insurance policies, and the next steps with you.