State Farm Auto Insurance Wrongfully Denies Underinsured Motorist Claims

Like the other auto insurance companies, most State Farm auto claim policies carry Underinsured motorist (UIM) insurance coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage protects policyholders when the at-fault party causing your accident lacks coverage or carries insufficient coverage to pay the full value of your claim. UIM coverage provides additional coverage when the insurance limits of the defendant are not adequate to cover your damages. For example: if the at-fault driver has only a minimum limits of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) in liability coverage, and you have a UIM policy of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,0000.00), you may be able to recover twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) from the at-fault party, and as much as eighty thousand dollars ($75,000.00) from your own UIM policy to equal the maximum limit of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00), if your injuries warrant such a recovery.

State Farm Wrongfully Denies UIM Claims When Government Employees Are Injured and Receiving Workers Compensation Benefits

State Farm takes the position that it does not owe its customers any UIM Auto Coverage benefits when the customer is injured on duty at work and the employer’s workers compensation pays any medical expenses. State Farm’s position is that because the government’s workers comp program may have a right of subrogation (reimbursement of the expenses paid) against the employee’s UIM coverage benefits, State Farm would just be paying the government if any UIM funds were paid to its customer. This position is simply wrong.

State Farm’s Denial of UIM Benefits to Its Own Customers who are Employees of a Government Entity is False

State Farm’s claim that paying UIM benefits to its customers who are government employes would just be paying the government is simply insurance bad faith. For example, if a State Farm customer who works for any Federal government entity is injured on the job, they are entitled to workers compensation benefits through the Office of Workers Compensation Program ("OWCP"). The OWCP does not and will not make any subrogation claim against any government employee’s UIM policy and its says so in the OWCP Third Party Liability Manual.

Wrongfully Denying UIM Claims to Government Employees is Insurance Bad Faith by State Farm

So, when a customer pays money to State Farm for coverage under their own personal policy in case some other driver with inadequate insurance causes them injuries, if the customer is a government employee, the coverage doesn’t exist and is illusory. Due to State Farm’s decision to deny all UIM claims where a government (or what they call a “government opened business”) may have a subrogation lien the customer is paying simply paying State Farm for nothing. This occurs despite the fact that State Farm’s position is completely false; government self-insured plans and workers comp plans have no right of subrogation as to UIM benefits and have no intention of making a claim for any funds State Farm owes its customer under any UIM Automobile Coverage

State Farm Fights Hard to Avoid Paying UIM Claims

If you are insured with State Farm, you have a policy with the largest auto insurance company in the country. State Farm boasts 17% of the market share. Founded in 1922, it has 19,000 agents and 83 million car, fire, life, and health policies across the United States and Canada. UIM claims can be tricky, especially with State Farm. Once you seek to have State Farm pay your UIM claim, you might be surprised when you are treated like an adversary rather than a State Farm customer. State Farm claims are a battle. This insurer will fight to pay out as little for your claim as possible. But you can win your insurance claim against State Farm if you know your rights. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, the stress and aggravation and time required in dealing with injuries, rehabilitation, lost time at work and other crash-related expenses, can be made much worse when your own insurance company works against you.

Experienced State Farm UIM Bad Faith Attorney

The Aughtman Law Firm has experience with State Farm’s bad faith insurance practices and can assist you in negotiating with your insurance company. If your insurer refuses to pay out UM/UIM benefits that you are entitled to receive, we may choose to file a lawsuit seeking damages for insurance bad faith. We invite you to contact our office today at 334.215.9873 or e-mail us to schedule your free case evaluation.