The Hardest Lawsuit Was Against My Own Insurance Company
When I bought uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, I believed I was buying peace of mind.
Like most people, I assumed that if I was ever seriously injured by someone who didn’t have enough insurance, the company I faithfully paid premiums to would be there to help make me whole.
I was wrong.
In 2018, my life changed after a serious motor vehicle collision. The liability insurance companies for the at-fault parties ultimately paid every dollar they were obligated to pay. Their policy limits were exhausted.
But my medical bills weren’t.
The insurance coverage I had counted on for years, the coverage I had paid for precisely because I wanted to protect my family from this exact situation, was suddenly nowhere to be found.
Instead of honoring my claim, my own insurance company refused to pay.
Think about that for a moment.
I wasn’t asking for a favor. I wasn’t looking for a windfall. I wasn’t trying to “beat the system.” I was asking my own insurance company to honor the contract we had made.
The answer was no.
The Betrayal No One Warns You About
Nothing prepares you for the moment you realize the fight isn’t with the driver who caused the crash.
It’s with the company whose commercials promise to be there “when life happens.”
After years of paying premiums, trusting that I had protected myself against the unexpected, I was forced to hire a lawyer and sue my own insurance company just to pursue the benefits I had purchased.
That is a reality many people never imagine until it happens to them.
The Invisible Opponent
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the lawsuit was that the insurance company wasn’t even required to stand openly behind its decision.
Instead, it remained behind the scenes, effectively hiding behind the defendants during the litigation. The jury wasn’t told that my own insurer was the reason the case continued. The company fighting my claim could challenge my injuries, question my medical treatment, and dispute the value of my losses, all while remaining largely invisible.
To the outside world, it looked like I was simply continuing a lawsuit against the at-fault parties.
The truth was far different.
The real battle had become one against the company I trusted to protect me.
Why This Matters
People purchase UM/UIM coverage because they want certainty in an uncertain world. They pay premiums believing that if the unthinkable happens, their own insurer will step in after the liability insurance runs out.
Sometimes that happens.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
When an insurance company refuses to honor its obligations, the law may leave policyholders with only one option: litigation.
No one wants to sue their own insurance company.
No one buys insurance hoping they’ll someday have to fight the very company they trusted.
But when an insurer chooses to deny a legitimate claim, standing up for your rights isn’t about greed. It’s about accountability.
Insurance is a promise.
And when that promise is broken, policyholders deserve the opportunity to hold their own insurer accountable.
My experience taught me something I never expected to learn: sometimes the most difficult fight isn’t against the person who caused the accident. Sometimes it’s against the company that promised to protect you when everything else went wrong.