Bozeman, MontanaBozeman Uninsured Motorist
Bozeman Uninsured Motorist Lawyers: UM/UIM Claims, Hit-and-Run Crashes and Stacking in Gallatin County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run driver injured you in Bozeman or anywhere in Gallatin County, your own auto policy may pay. Uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) coverage is protection you bought for yourself. Montana law often lets you stack it, and your insurer must handle the claim fairly and promptly.
Hurt by a driver with little or no insurance? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Why do UM and UIM claims come up so often around Bozeman?
Montana’s minimum liability limits are $25,000 for one person and $50,000 for everyone hurt in one crash (§ 61-6-103, MCA). A serious crash on I-90 or U.S. 191 can exceed that before a patient leaves the hospital. Several features of the Gallatin Valley make low-limit and no-limit drivers a real concern:
- A young, changing population. Montana State University students and new arrivals often carry minimum policies, or coverage from another state.
- Visitors and rental cars. Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport reported more than 2.8 million passengers in 2025 (BZN year-end 2025). Many of those travelers drive rental cars to Big Sky and Yellowstone National Park through Gallatin Canyon. Rental coverage, the renter’s own policy and any credit-card coverage all have to be sorted out.
- Hit-and-run crashes. A driver who leaves the scene of a crash on North 19th Avenue, Main Street or a county road leaves the injured person’s own UM coverage as the main source of recovery.
- People on foot and on bikes. Bozeman’s trail system and downtown streets put many pedestrians and cyclists near traffic. UM and UIM coverage generally follows the person, not only the car.
What happens after a crash with an uninsured or hit-and-run driver in Bozeman?
Call police and get a report. Inside city limits, the Bozeman Police Department investigates. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office covers the unincorporated county, and the Montana Highway Patrol covers I-90 and the highways. A police report matters in every UM claim, and many policies require prompt reporting of a hit-and-run. Reports from the Bozeman Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office are kept by Gallatin County Support Services/Records at 1709 West College Street (gallatinmt.gov); Highway Patrol reports come through the Montana Department of Justice.
Look for video quickly. Downtown businesses, apartment buildings, gas stations and doorbell cameras may have caught the other car, but many systems record over within days.
Notify your own insurer in writing. Keep a copy. Read the notice and cooperation provisions of your policy before giving a recorded statement.
Do not accept the other driver’s limits too fast. If the at-fault driver has a small policy, your UIM insurer may need notice before you settle. A release signed too early can create a fight that did not need to happen.
The court. If your insurer will not pay fairly, the claim against it, and any claim against the at-fault driver, can be filed in the Eighteenth Judicial District Court at the Gallatin County Law and Justice Center, 515 South 16th Avenue, Bozeman (§ 3-5-101, MCA). Most auto insurers are incorporated outside Montana and may remove the case to the federal court’s Butte Division (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2).
Montana law that applies
Our Montana uninsured motorist lawyer page explains these rules in detail. In brief:
- Every Montana auto liability policy must include uninsured motorist coverage unless the named insured rejects it (§ 33-23-201, MCA).
- An insurer may not collect separate premiums for underinsured coverage and then refuse to stack it (Hardy v. Progressive Specialty Ins. Co., 2003 MT 85). Since 2007, anti-stacking is allowed only when the premiums actuarially reflect the limit and the rates are filed with the Commissioner (§ 33-23-203, MCA).
- Your insurer must investigate reasonably and pay promptly when liability is reasonably clear; violations can support a separate claim (§§ 33-18-201, 33-18-242, MCA).
- Deadlines: generally 3 years against the at-fault driver (§ 27-2-204, MCA); claims on the written policy follow the contract statute (§ 27-2-202, MCA), and the policy’s own notice requirements come first. Treat the earliest deadline as the one that controls.
What about out-of-state drivers and policies?
Gallatin County sees a lot of both. If the at-fault driver lives in another state, their policy may have been written under different minimum limits. If you are a recent arrival still insured under another state’s policy, that policy’s terms, and possibly another state’s law, may govern your UM or UIM claim. If you were hurt in a rental car, the rental company’s coverage, your own policy and a credit card benefit may each apply in a set order. We gather every declarations page and endorsement in the household before we tell you what is available.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Bozeman case?
A UM or UIM claim is a claim against your own insurer, which will often defend it as if it were the other driver. We are based in Great Falls and handle these claims across Montana, and our attorneys travel to Bozeman for depositions, hearings and trial. We do not have a Bozeman office. We prepare UM and UIM claims as carefully as a lawsuit, because that is often what they become.
The Boland Aarab Way
- Verdicts protected on appeal. In a rear-end crash case, the Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- Trial-ready. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom, and our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties.
- Federal court experience. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, which matters when an out-of-state insurer removes the case.
- Trial bar. Both attorneys are AAJ and MTLA members; Caitlin Boland Aarab is an AAJ Governor and on the MTLA Board.
We also handle car accident cases in Bozeman and insurance bad faith cases in Bozeman. See our Bozeman personal injury page for more.
Frequently Asked Questions
A driver hit me on North 19th Avenue and drove off. Does my insurance cover it? Usually your uninsured motorist coverage treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver as uninsured, but the policy may require prompt reporting to police and your insurer. Report it to the Bozeman Police Department right away.
The driver who hit me in Bozeman was a college student with a minimum policy. What now? Your underinsured motorist coverage may pay the difference between the student’s $25,000 limit and your full damages, and you may be able to stack coverage from more than one vehicle.
I was hit by a tourist in a rental car on U.S. 191. Whose insurance pays? Possibly the rental company’s coverage, the driver’s own policy, any credit card benefit, and then your own UIM coverage. The order depends on the policies involved.
I just moved to Bozeman and still have an out-of-state policy. Am I covered? Probably, but the policy’s terms and possibly another state’s law may govern. Update your policy promptly, and have the current one reviewed after a crash.
I was hit while biking in Bozeman. Can I use my car insurance? Often yes. UM and UIM coverage generally follows the person, so it may apply to you as a cyclist or pedestrian, depending on your policy language.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
