My damages are more than the other driver's insurance. What now?

Why the other driver's policy runs out so fast

Texas sets the floor for liability insurance in Transportation Code § 601.072: $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for everyone hurt in one crash, and $25,000 for property damage. Plenty of drivers carry exactly that. A hospital stay, a surgery or a few months out of work can pass $30,000 quickly, and the $60,000 per-crash limit gets split if several people were hurt.

When the insurer says, “We'll pay our limits,” that is not the end of the case. It means the next step is finding every other source of money, in the right order, before anything is signed.

Is the other driver “underinsured” under Texas law?

Your own policy is the first place we look. Texas insurers must include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in every auto liability policy unless a named insured rejected it in writing (Ins. Code § 1952.101). Many people have it and don't know.

The Texas definition matters. Under § 1952.103, the other car is “underinsured” when its liability limits are lower than the UIM limit on your policy, or have been reduced below it by payments to other people hurt in the same crash. So if the at-fault driver has $30,000 and your UIM limit is also $30,000, your UIM usually does not come into play. If your UIM limit is $100,000, it does.

Under § 1952.106, UIM pays what you are legally entitled to recover from the at-fault driver, up to your UIM limit, with a credit for what that driver's insurer pays or owes. We work out that math for you. How a UIM claim moves, and why it is slower than people expect, is explained in what if the driver who hit me has no insurance.

Can I stack my coverage?

Not within one policy. If one policy covers three cars, you do not get three times the UIM limit. The Texas Supreme Court held in Upshaw v. Trinity Cos. (1992) that the limit-of-liability language in a multi-vehicle policy prohibits that kind of “intrapolicy stacking,” even when a separate premium is charged for each car.

Separate policies are a different question. The policy on the car you were riding in, your own policy and a policy held by a relative you live with may each apply under their own terms. We read every one of them. If you were a passenger, see passenger injury claims in Texas.

Who else can be responsible?

A crash often has more than one cause, and each responsible party may bring its own insurance:

• Other drivers. In a chain-reaction crash, more than one driver may share the fault. See freeway pileups.
• An employer. If the driver was working, the company and its commercial policy may be responsible. See hit by a company vehicle.
• The car's owner and the driver's own policy. If the driver was in someone else's car, the owner's policy usually pays first, and most Texas policies make the driver's own coverage excess, which adds a second layer. An owner who lends a car to someone they knew or should have known was unlicensed, incompetent or reckless can be liable for negligent entrustment (Schneider v. Esperanza Transmission Co., Tex. 1987).
• A bar that over-served a drunk driver, in some cases. See suing the bar.

What is a Stowers demand?

Texas has protected people in exactly this spot since G.A. Stowers Furniture Co. v. American Indemnity Co. (Tex. Comm'n App. 1929). The rule: an insurer has a duty to use reasonable care in settling claims against its own customer. When the injured person makes a settlement demand that (1) is within the scope of the coverage, (2) is within the policy limits, (3) offers a full release of the insured, and (4) is one an ordinarily prudent insurer would accept, the insurer has to take it seriously.

If it refuses and a jury later awards more than the limits, the insurer can be liable for the entire judgment, including the part above the policy limit. That is the pressure that gets low-limit claims resolved, and why the demand has to be built carefully: complete medical proof, a clear deadline, and terms the law recognizes. A sloppy demand gives the insurer an easy way out.

Why not just go after the driver personally?

People ask this a lot. You can sue the driver for the full amount of your damages. Collecting is the problem. Texas protects a person's homestead from creditors (Property Code § 41.001), and current wages cannot be seized except for child support (§ 42.001). Someone who carries only the state minimum usually has little else that can be collected. That is why the work goes into insurance: UIM, other parties, excess policies and Stowers.

The order you do things in matters

When the at-fault insurer offers its limits, it is tempting to sign right away. Don't. Accepting and releasing the driver before your UIM carrier is properly notified and consents can cost you the UIM claim. Health insurance and PIP reimbursement also have to be planned for; see should I use my own insurance. And to see what a full valuation looks like, see is the insurance offer fair.

After you hire us, we deal with every insurer, including yours. We find the policies, send the notices, make the demand and keep the order straight. You talk directly with Jimmy by phone, text, email or video call, and in person when needed, wherever you are in Texas. The deadline to sue is generally two years from the crash (CPRC § 16.003), but a limits case needs work long before that.

Other ways people ask this

What is the minimum car insurance in Texas?

$30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for everyone injured in one crash, and $25,000 for property damage, under Transportation Code § 601.072. Many drivers carry only that.

Do I have underinsured motorist coverage?

Probably, unless someone named on your policy rejected it in writing. Texas insurers must include UM/UIM in every auto liability policy otherwise. Your declarations page shows it, and we check it for you.

My UIM limit is the same as the other driver's limit. Can I use it?

Usually not. Under Insurance Code § 1952.103, the other car counts as underinsured only when its limits are lower than your UIM limit, or have been reduced below it by payments to others hurt in the same crash.

I have three cars on my policy. Can I add up the UIM limits?

No. The Texas Supreme Court held in Upshaw v. Trinity Cos. that a single multi-vehicle policy doesn't allow stacking. Separate policies, like the one on the car you were in, may each apply under their own terms.

What is a Stowers demand?

A settlement demand within the policy limits that offers a full release of the insured. If the insurer unreasonably refuses it and a jury later awards more, the insurer can be liable for the whole judgment, even above the limits.

Should I take the insurer's policy-limits offer?

Not before your own UIM carrier has been notified and consents, and not before every other source of coverage has been checked. Releasing the driver too early can end your UIM claim.

Can I make the driver pay the rest out of pocket?

You can get a judgment for the full amount, but collecting is hard. Texas protects homesteads and current wages from creditors, so the realistic money is usually in insurance.

Authority: Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072 (minimum coverage) · Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101 (UM/UIM required unless rejected in writing) · Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.103 (underinsured motor vehicle) · Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.106 (recovery under UIM) · Upshaw v. Trinity Cos., 842 S.W.2d 631 (Tex. 1992) · Golden Bear Ins. Co. v. 34th S&S (5th Cir. 2025), applying Stowers and Garcia · Tex. Prop. Code § 41.001 (homestead exemption) · Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001 (current wages exempt)