When the driver who hit you carried no insurance or nowhere near enough, the company standing between you and payment is usually your own. An Austin uninsured motorist accident lawyer at Slingshot Law – Injury Attorneys turns your own UM and UIM coverage into the recovery it was meant to be, and holds your insurer to the promise you paid for.Â
We handle uninsured and underinsured driver claims for people across Austin and Travis County from our office at 1802 Lavaca Street, and a case review is free.
Here is the hard truth of a UM claim: the friendly carrier that took your premiums becomes the adversary the moment you file. It has every incentive to question your injuries and stall your payment. That reversal, the policyholder forced to fight the company they trusted, is precisely the mismatch Slingshot Law was created to level.
Put an Austin uninsured motorist accident lawyer on your side. Call (800) 488-7840 for a free review.
Do You Have an Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Claim?
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage exists for the moment the at-fault driver cannot pay. If any of the following describe your crash, you may have a claim against your own policy:
The driver who hit you had no liability insurance at all- The driver carried only Texas minimum limits that fell short of your losses
- A hit-and-run driver fled and was never identified
- The at-fault driver’s policy was exhausted by other injured people
- You were hurt as a passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian by an uninsured driver
How Texas UM and UIM Coverage Work
These two coverages solve two different problems, and Texas law treats them as a package that your insurer has to offer you. Knowing which one applies shapes the entire claim.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured motorist, or UM, coverage steps in when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance, and it also responds to a hit-and-run where the driver is never found. It pays for the injuries and losses that driver should have covered, up to your policy limits.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Underinsured motorist, or UIM, coverage fills the gap when the other driver had some insurance but not enough. If your damages run past their limits, your UIM coverage picks up the difference, again up to what your policy provides.
Texas Insurers Must Offer It
Under the Texas Insurance Code, insurers must offer UM and UIM coverage, and you keep it unless you rejected it in writing. Bodily injury and property damage are separate coverages with separate limits. If you are unsure what you carry, the Texas Department of Insurance explains these coverages, and we pull your policy to confirm exactly what applies.
The Brainard Trap: Why Your Own Insurer Can Delay Paying
A Texas Supreme Court decision, Brainard v. Trinity Universal, gives UIM insurers a powerful stall. Under it, your insurer owes nothing until you first establish the other driver’s fault and underinsured status and the full amount of your damages. In practice, that often means you have to prove your case, sometimes by taking your own insurer to court, before a dollar is paid.Â
A few consequences follow:
- A polite demand letter rarely triggers payment on its own
- You may need a judgment, an arbitration award, or a settlement that formally establishes fault and damages
- The process takes longer than an ordinary crash claim, so patience and preparation both matter
Never Settle Without Your Insurer’s Written Consent
This is the mistake that quietly destroys UIM claims. If you accept the at-fault driver’s policy limits and sign a release without your own insurer’s written consent, you can wipe out your right to UIM benefits, because that settlement interferes with the insurer’s subrogation rights.Â
Protect the claim by following a strict order:
- Do not sign any release from the at-fault driver’s carrier yet
- Notify your own UM/UIM insurer of the offer in writing
- Get the insurer’s written consent, or a waiver of subrogation, before you settle
- Let a lawyer manage the sequence so a fast check does not cost you a larger recovery
Stacking: Coverage Austin Drivers Overlook
Many Austin drivers carry more UM/UIM coverage than they realize, spread across the vehicles and policies in their household. Depending on how those policies are written, you may be able to look to more than one of them, which can turn a small recovery into a real one. We check every declaration page a household holds to find coverage a claimant would never think to ask about. Sources worth reviewing include:
- Every vehicle listed on your own auto policy
- A separate policy held by a spouse or resident family member
- Coverage that applies to you as a passenger in another insured vehicle
Deadlines and Shared Fault Under Texas Law
Texas sets firm limits on when and how much you can recover, and a UM claim adds its own wrinkles. Keep these rules in view:
- The two-year deadline. You generally have two years from the crash to sue the at-fault driver under Texas law.
- The UIM contract clock. Deadlines on the claim against your own insurer are treated differently by different courts, so acting early is the only safe course.
- Proportionate responsibility. Texas bars recovery only if you are more than 50 percent at fault, and reduces your award by your share below that line.
- Where the case is heard. An Austin claim is filed in the Travis County district courts, part of the Texas court system published by the Texas Judicial Branch.
Your Insurer Still Owes You Good Faith
The Brainard rule lets your carrier wait for proof, but it does not let the company treat you unfairly along the way. Texas gives policyholders real leverage under two chapters of the Insurance Code, and knowing they exist changes how an adjuster handles your file.
The Duty to Handle Your Claim Fairly (Chapter 541)
Chapter 541 bars an insurer from a list of unfair practices when it handles your claim. A carrier is not allowed to:
- Misrepresent the terms of your own policy
- Deny or delay a claim without conducting a reasonable investigation
- Refuse to pay when the other driver’s fault is reasonably clear
- Lowball an offer without a reasonable basis for the amount
When an insurer crosses that line, the remedy has teeth. A policyholder who proves a Chapter 541 violation may recover actual damages, up to three times those damages if the conduct was knowing, plus attorney’s fees.
The Duty to Pay Promptly (Chapter 542)
Chapter 542, the Prompt Payment of Claims Act, puts your insurer on the clock. Once your right to benefits is established, the carrier faces strict deadlines to:
- Acknowledge your claim and begin its review
- Request any information it reasonably needs to evaluate payment
- Accept or reject the claim within the statutory window
An insurer that blows those deadlines faces an 18 percent annual penalty on the amount owed, plus attorney’s fees. One timing point matters for uninsured and underinsured claims: because of the Brainard rule, these prompt-payment deadlines generally start once your entitlement to benefits is established, not the day you first file. That makes proving fault and damages efficiently a core part of the strategy.
How This Leverage Helps Your Case
These rules shift the balance in a claim that is otherwise stacked in the insurer’s favor:
- A carrier that stalls, lowballs, or denies without a reasonable basis risks exposure well beyond your policy limits.
- Every documented delay and unreasonable demand strengthens your position rather than weakening it.
- The prospect of penalty interest and attorney’s fees gives a stubborn adjuster a reason to deal fairly.
Even when the fight is against your own insurance company, you are not without power. We document how the claim is handled from the first contact, so that if the carrier chooses to play games, its own conduct becomes part of the case.
Why Austin Drivers Choose Slingshot Law
- We treat your insurer like the opponent it becomes. A UM claim is a fight against a carrier, and we prepare it that way from the start.
- We know the Brainard playbook. We build the proof of fault and damages the insurer will demand before it pays.
- We guard your consent-to-settle rights. We keep a quick settlement from quietly forfeiting your UIM coverage.
- We are Austin lawyers. We work these claims in the Travis County courts and know the local carriers and defense firms.
Austin Uninsured Motorist FAQ
The driver who hit me had no insurance. What can I do?
File a claim under your own uninsured motorist coverage, which is built for exactly this situation and also covers hit-and-run crashes. It pays the losses the uninsured driver should have covered, up to your limits.
Why is my own insurance company fighting me?
Because a UM claim puts your interests against the carrier’s. Thanks to the Brainard decision, your insurer can withhold payment until you prove fault and damages, which is why these claims often turn adversarial.
Can I just take the at-fault driver’s policy limits?
Not without protecting your UIM rights first. Signing their release without your own insurer’s written consent can end your underinsured claim. Get consent before you accept anything.
What is stacking, and could it help me?
Stacking means drawing on more than one UM/UIM coverage across your household’s policies. Depending on how the policies are written, it can substantially increase what is available, and it is easy to miss without reviewing every policy.
How long do I have to bring an uninsured motorist claim in Texas?
The claim against the at-fault driver generally must be filed within two years. Deadlines for the claim against your own insurer are handled inconsistently by the courts, so you should not wait to get advice.
What will a UM lawyer cost me up front?
Nothing to start. The first consultation is free, and we spell out our fees clearly before you sign anything, so there is no financial risk in simply finding out what your policy owes you.
Does UM coverage help if I was a passenger or on foot?
Often, yes. UM and UIM coverage can protect you as a passenger, a pedestrian, or a cyclist struck by an uninsured or underinsured driver, depending on the policies that apply to you or your household.
Your Own Insurer Should Keep Its Promise. We Make Sure It Does.
You paid for uninsured motorist protection for a day you hoped would never come. Now that it has, an Austin uninsured motorist accident lawyer at Slingshot Law will review your policy for free, prove the claim your insurer wants to delay, and pursue every coverage that applies to you.
- The first consultation is free and confidential
- You can reach us at any hour, any day
- Finding out what your coverage owes you costs nothing
Call (800) 488-7840 now to speak with an Austin uninsured motorist accident lawyer.