You were injured in a car accident. The medical bills are pouring in, and you’re missing work. Then you find out there’s not enough insurance on the at-fault driver to cover your expenses. That’s bad enough. But what really stings is realizing there’s a perfectly good auto policy in your own household that could cover the rest with uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) money, but the person whose name is on that policy is saying, “Don’t drag my insurance into this.”
Try not to worry—this is common. The good news is that Virginia law gives people who live at the same residence as the policyholder real rights to that coverage, even when the relative is uncomfortable using it. And there are ways to handle it without having a huge family blowup.
At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, we’ve been handling Virginia injury and auto insurance cases for decades. Our lawyers carry top recognitions, including a 10.0 “Superb” Avvo rating and Client’s Choice awards.
We spend a lot of time on exactly this kind of problem, helping injured victims find every dollar of insurance coverage possible to manage their expenses. If you or a loved one has been injured and you have questions, contact us at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation with our Virginia Beach car accident attorneys.
Are All Residents In the Household Covered?
Most Virginia auto policies say something like this: the policy covers you, your spouse, and any family member who lives in your household. That means if you live under the same roof and are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, you’re usually treated as an insured, even if your name is nowhere on the policy. If you were hurt while in the vehicle, even if you weren’t driving it, the policy would cover you.
The insurance company also knows that you live at this residence. When your relative applied for or renewed their policy, they had to list all household members. The insurance company then calculates the rates based on everyone in the home, not just those on the policy. In other words, your relative is already paying for coverage that includes you as a household member.
What About When the Other Driver Was Uninsured?
If you were hit by a driver who either had no insurance or whose insurance doesn’t provide enough to cover your expenses, that means you were hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver, which in Virginia is abbreviated as UM/UIM.
Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck when it comes to being compensated for your damages.
State law requires that every insurance policy has to offer UI/UIM coverage. Drivers don’t have to take it, but insurance companies have to offer it. According to Virginia Code 38.2-2206, insurance companies have to provide uninsured motorist coverage in amounts equal to the liability limits in the policy, unless the person buying the insurance rejects this coverage in writing. That means many Virginia drivers have this extra protection, even if they don’t realize it.
The law is designed this way because Virginia lawmakers realized that too many drivers on the road were carrying either no insurance at all or only the minimum required, which in Virginia is now $50,000 per person for bodily injury and $100,000 per accident (as of January 2025). If someone with minimal coverage hit you and you suffered serious injuries, you could be left with tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills.
UM/UIM coverage can then step in to fill that gap by allowing you to make a claim against your own policy, or a household member’s policy, to get the funds you need.
In summary:
- Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance, or if you suffered an injury in a hit-and-run accident.
- Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays you when the at-fault driver’s insurance isn’t enough to cover your expenses.
What If My Relative Doesn’t Want Me to Use the Insurance?
Sometimes, the insurance policyholder in your household may not want you to file a claim against their insurance. This could be because they’re worried their premiums would go up.
According to Virginia Code 38.2-1905, insurance companies are not supposed to increase premiums or charge points after a claim unless you were partially or wholly at fault for the accident. UM/UIM claims, by their very nature, are made because of another at-fault driver. The insurance company knows you were not at fault for the accident.
Your relative may also worry that filing a claim may somehow ruin their relationship with the insurance company. But it’s important for them to realize that this coverage is what they’re paying for. The insurance company has already collected money to provide this protection. Using it to cover a legitimate claim is what it was intended for.
The bottom line is that if you are insured under that policy, Virginia law says you are covered. It’s not about whether your relative “approves” of the claim. You have a legal right to that coverage, whether your relative is pleased about that or not.
Nonetheless, if your relative refuses to cooperate with an insurance company, that can make things difficult for you. The company may need that person to participate in the claims process. If they refuse outright, you could be in a tough spot.
What Are My Options for Accessing Coverage?
You do have a few options in this type of situation. Your best bet is to talk to your car accident attorney. At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, we don’t charge you anything unless we help you win compensation, so you have nothing to lose by allowing us to help you.
1. Confirm you are a resident relative.
The first thing you’ll want to do is confirm that you are a “resident relative” as the law requires. If you truly live in the household, you probably qualify. If you just crash on the couch sometimes, you probably wouldn’t. You can prove that you live there with mail, your driver’s license, school records, and other similar documents. As your lawyers, we can help you put that together.
2. Discuss the situation.
If your relative agrees, you both can sit down with your lawyer and discuss the situation. If you think another relative might help (grandparent, aunt, uncle), invite them as well. Sometimes, a more thorough understanding of how UM/UIM insurance works can help people realize their risks are low. If they’re worried about rate increases, you could call the insurance agent together and ask specific questions about how a UI/UIM claim might affect those premiums. You may get the answers you need to ease any concerns your relative may have.
3. Explore other options.
There may be other ways you can get the money you need. The at-fault driver, for example, may have a business, property, or other assets that would make it worth filing a claim directly against them. You may also have other insurance through your own policies. Your lawyer can help you look into these.
4. Contact the insurance company yourself.
You or your attorney could write directly to the insurance company and let them know about the accident and that you need to make a UM/UIM claim. That takes the family member out of the direct line of fire and puts the ball in the insurance company’s court. The insurance company may then ask the policyholder for their cooperation, but at that point, it’s an issue between them, leaving you out of it.
5. Ask your car accident lawyer for help.
Ultimately, it’s often easiest to let your car accident lawyer handle this type of situation. Hearing that your policy is going to be contacted either way from a lawyer is often easier than hearing it from a relative, and it may help smooth things over in the family.
The bottom line is that this is about the law, and the law says that you should be covered and are entitled to compensation for your injuries.
How A Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
If you find yourself injured in a borrowed-car accident, contact our offices right away. We will review all the insurance policies involved to give you a complete picture of your available coverage, and then we can handle the communications with those insurance companies on your behalf. We can also help facilitate conversations with your reluctant relative. Sometimes, having a third party who is a professional involved makes it easier for everyone.
You don’t have to deal with this alone. We can help you get the compensation you need to cover your expenses, as we did for our client, who suffered several upper-body injuries and had to go through surgery after an out-of-control driver slammed into his car. We handled communications with the insurance company to reach a quick settlement for the at-fault driver’s maximum liability coverage ($25,000 at the time), and when that failed to cover our client’s medical bills, we pursued an UM/UIM claim against his own insurance policy. The company argued against it, but we presented evidence that allowed us to negotiate an additional settlement of $75,000, for a total of $100,000 in compensation.
You can find our offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.