Helena, MontanaHelena Uninsured Motorist
Helena Uninsured Motorist Lawyers: UM/UIM Claims, Coverage Stacking and Hit-and-Run Crashes in Lewis and Clark County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run driver hurt you in Helena, your own auto policy may pay, and Montana law often lets you stack coverage you paid for on more than one vehicle. The rules on stacking turn on rate filings kept by the insurance commissioner’s office right here in Helena. Protect the 3-year injury deadline and notify your insurer promptly.
Key Takeaways
- Every Montana auto liability policy must include uninsured motorist coverage unless the named insured rejects it (§ 33-23-201, MCA).
- Anti-stacking is allowed only if the premiums actuarially reflect a single limit and the rates are filed with the commissioner (§ 33-23-203, MCA); see Hardy v. Progressive, 2003 MT 85.
- The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance is at 840 Helena Avenue in Helena (CSI).
Hurt by an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run driver in Helena? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Why do UM and UIM claims come up so often in Helena?
Minimum limits and serious injuries. Montana’s minimum liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (§ 61-6-103, MCA). A crash at highway speed on I-15, US-12 coming off MacDonald Pass, or US-287 toward Townsend and Wolf Creek can produce injuries that exhaust those limits in the emergency department. When the other driver carries only the minimum, your underinsured coverage is often where the real value of the claim lies.
Travelers and seasonal traffic. Helena sits on I-15 between Great Falls and Butte and on US-12 between Missoula and Townsend, and summer brings visitors bound for Canyon Ferry, the Gates of the Mountains and the national parks. An out-of-state driver’s policy may carry that state’s minimum limits, which can be lower than a serious injury requires.
Hit-and-run. In town, drivers leave the scene after rear-end crashes on Prospect Avenue or Montana Avenue, sideswipes at the I-15 interchanges, and collisions with pedestrians and cyclists downtown. Most policies treat an unidentified hit-and-run vehicle as uninsured, but many add conditions, such as prompt police reporting or proof that the other vehicle made contact.
The regulator is local. Montana’s stacking statute ties an insurer’s anti-stacking position to its rates being filed with the commissioner. The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, which regulates insurance companies doing business in Montana and takes consumer complaints, has its office at 840 Helena Avenue (csimt.gov). When an insurer refuses to stack, the question of whether its premiums were actually priced and filed to reflect a single limit is one we test with the insurer’s rating information.
What happens after a UM or UIM crash in Helena?
- Report the crash to police immediately. Inside city limits, that is usually the Helena Police Department; on county roads, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office; on I-15 and the state highways, the Montana Highway Patrol, headquartered on Prospect Avenue. For a hit-and-run, a prompt report is often a condition of coverage.
- Look for video. Downtown businesses, gas stations along the arterials and homes with doorbell cameras record over footage within days.
- Get medical care. Serious injuries in the Helena area are usually treated at St. Peter’s Health, a DPHHS-designated State Area Trauma Hospital. Keep every bill and record.
- Notify your own insurer in writing, and gather every policy in the household: cars, trucks, motorcycles and any umbrella policy.
- Do not sign the at-fault driver’s release before your UIM rights are protected. Many UIM policies require notice before you accept the other driver’s limits.
- If the claim becomes a lawsuit. A claim against the at-fault driver, or against your own insurer, is generally filed in the First Judicial District Court at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, 228 Broadway (§ 3-5-101(1), MCA). Most auto insurers are incorporated outside Montana, so a suit against your own insurer is often removed to the federal Helena Division at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, 901 Front Street (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2), where many coverage disputes are decided.
Montana law that applies
Briefly: UM coverage pays when the at-fault vehicle is not insured; UIM pays when its coverage is too small. In Hardy v. Progressive Specialty Insurance Co., the Montana Supreme Court called UIM coverage “personal and portable” and held that an insurer may not collect separate premiums for coverage it then refuses to provide (2003 MT 85). The 2007 amendment to § 33-23-203 permits anti-stacking only with actuarially reflective, filed premiums and written disclosure. You must still prove the other driver’s fault and your damages, subject to comparative fault (§ 27-1-702, MCA). An insurer that mishandles the claim may be liable under the Unfair Trade Practices Act (§ 33-18-242, MCA). Deadlines: generally 3 years against the at-fault driver (§ 27-2-204), and the written-contract period for a claim on your policy (§ 27-2-202). Our statewide Montana uninsured motorist lawyer page explains stacking and hit-and-run conditions in depth.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Helena case?
A UM or UIM claim is a claim against your own insurance company, which will often defend it as if it were the other driver. The insurer values the claim by what it expects a jury, or a federal judge, to do. We are based in Great Falls, we handle cases statewide, and our attorneys travel to Helena for depositions, hearings and trial in state and federal court. We do not have a Helena office.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We protect verdicts. After a rear-end crash, the Montana Supreme Court reinstated our client’s $168,500 jury verdict in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137.
- We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
- We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- You work with the lawyers, not an adjuster’s counterpart.
We also handle car accidents in Helena, insurance bad faith cases in Helena and other Helena personal injury cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
The driver who hit me in Helena drove off. Does my insurance cover it? Usually, through your uninsured motorist coverage. Report the crash to the Helena Police Department, the sheriff or the Highway Patrol right away and notify your insurer in writing, because policies often make that a condition.
The other driver was from out of state and had low limits. What now? Your own underinsured motorist coverage may pay the difference, and it may stack across vehicles. We look for every policy that applies.
Can I complain to the insurance commissioner about my UM or UIM claim? Yes. The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance in Helena takes consumer complaints. A complaint is not a lawsuit, though, and it does not stop your deadlines.
Will my claim against my own insurer be heard in Helena? It is generally filed in the First Judicial District Court in Helena, and it is often removed to the federal Helena Division at the Hatfield Courthouse. Either way, the trial would be in Helena.
Do I have to wait for the at-fault driver’s insurer to pay first? Usually its limits are paid first, but check your UIM policy’s notice and consent terms before you accept that payment or sign a release.
Talk to a Helena Uninsured Motorist Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Sources: § 33-23-201, MCA · § 33-23-203 · § 61-6-103 · § 27-1-702 · § 33-18-242 · § 27-2-202 · § 27-2-204 · § 3-5-101, MCA · Hardy v. Progressive, 2003 MT 85 · Commissioner of Securities and Insurance · D. Mont. L.R. 1.2
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
