Automobile polices provide coverage for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This insurance provides protection to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians who:

• Are injured by a motor vehicle that does not have insurance;
  
• Are victims of hit-and-run accidents, where a vehicle leaves the accident scene before anyone can obtain the driver’s insurance information;
  
• Are injured by a driver whose automobile insurance is minimal, and not enough to compensate for any injuries suffered in the accident.

New Jersey requires a driver to have uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage in at least the same minimum amounts that are required for liability insurance.

Uninsured Coverage
If a driver’s vehicle is hit by another vehicle that either leaves the scene of an accident, or is not covered by liability insurance, the driver would file a claim with his or her own insurance company, and may possibly even sue the insurance company.

• Such claims are usually resolved through arbitration proceedings, rather than through a traditional jury trial.

Underinsured Coverage
Underinsured motorist coverage protects a person whose injuries are caused by someone who does not have enough insurance. If the injuries are very serious, an injured person may be able to file a claim under this part of his or her auto insurance policy, as long the injured person has a higher insurance limit than the driver who caused the injury.

Filing a Claim
For a driver to make either of these claims against an insurance company, he or she must give the correct amount of notice, and follow all of the other instructions listed by his or her insurance policy.

• The time periods and requirements can vary, and it is important to check an insurance policy for exact notice and time periods.