Rego Park Underinsured Motorist Attorney
You can do everything right after a crash and still discover that the driver who caused it does not carry enough insurance to account for your injuries, which is when speaking with a Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney can become especially important. When the available liability coverage falls short, the claim may need to turn toward other insurance that could protect you. The Boyko Law Firm helps injured people identify the coverage available, understand what may be missing from the other driver’s policy, and pursue the compensation their injuries support while they focus on treatment and recovery.
A Rego Park Underinsured Motorist Attorney by the Numbers
You Thought the Insurance Part Was Already Handled
So You Thought The Crash Was Behind You
The accident happened weeks ago. You reported it, started treating, and have been trying to get back into some kind of normal routine.
You knew the other driver caused the crash. They handed over an insurance card at the scene. Their carrier accepted the claim and started asking questions. As frustrating as the accident was, at least you believed there was insurance there to deal with what happened.
Then you find out how much coverage they actually have.
And suddenly you are being told that the person who caused all of this may not carry enough bodily injury coverage to account for what the crash has actually taken from you.
Having Insurance Does Not Mean Having Enough
The other driver’s policy has a limit. If your injuries and losses extend beyond that available coverage, the claim may need to look somewhere else for additional protection.
Now Your Own Insurance Policy Is Part of the Conversation
That is usually when the situation starts feeling backwards.
You were not the person who caused the crash. You were not the one who failed to stop. Yet now someone is asking you to pull out your own insurance policy and figure out whether you purchased underinsured motorist protection.
Most likely you remember choosing the coverage years ago but never imagined actually needing it. Now you are looking at a declarations page full of numbers and trying to understand what any of them mean.
And if your injuries are still developing, there is an even bigger question underneath all of them:
How do I make sure I don’t give up coverage I may need before I even understand what this accident is going to cost me?
This Is Where the Claim Changes Direction
A Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney can review the other driver’s available coverage, examine your own policy for additional protection, and determine what needs to happen before the liability claim is resolved.
What Matters Next Depends on Where the Coverage Problem Appeared
I Just Learned the Other Driver Doesn’t Have Enough Coverage
You just learned the other driver may not have enough insurance to cover the full impact of your injuries, and you’re trying to understand whether another source of coverage may still be available.
The Other Insurer Offered the Policy Limit
You’ve been offered the other driver’s full policy limit, but you’re trying to understand whether signing the release could affect your ability to pursue additional coverage afterward.
I Already Signed a Release or Accepted the Other Driver’s Limits
You already accepted the other driver’s policy limits or signed a release and are now trying to determine whether your own underinsured motorist coverage may still be available.
I Found SUM Coverage on My Policy but Don’t Know How to Use It
You found SUM coverage on your own policy and are now trying to understand what the limit means, how much may actually be available, and what needs to happen before you can use it.
My Own Insurance Company Is Now Questioning My Claim
Your own insurance company is now questioning your SUM claim, and you’re trying to understand why they’re challenging coverage, fault, or the value of your injuries when another driver caused the crash.
If the at fault driver’s policy limit seems far too low for your injuries, you may be able to use your own SUM coverage or other available source of compensation the insurance provides.
What May Be Happening
Your treatment has been moving forward and you already know the other driver caused the crash. Then someone tells you the amount of bodily injury coverage actually available.
Maybe it is only $25,000.
That number may look completely disconnected from an injury involving surgery, months away from work, or limitations you are still dealing with. Until this moment, you may have assumed the other driver’s insurance would simply pay whatever your case ultimately justified.
Now you are realizing the insurance itself may have a ceiling.
What May Matter Right Now
Before assuming that policy limit is all that can ever be available, you need to understand both sides of the insurance picture.
That may mean determining:
- The other driver’s actual bodily injury limits
- Whether any additional liability policies apply
- Whether you have SUM coverage on your own policy
- How your SUM limits compare with the other driver’s coverage
What To Avoid
Don’t assume that learning the other driver has only $25,000 automatically means your entire injury claim is limited to $25,000.
But don’t assume you have additional underinsured coverage either.
The next step is finding out what insurance actually exists before making decisions based on one policy.
How The Boyko Law Firm May Help
A Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney can compare the available liability coverage with your own policy and determine whether another layer of insurance may need to be pursued.
The Boyko Law Firm can start by figuring out how much coverage actually exists before anyone treats the other driver’s limit as the end of the claim.
If the other driver’s insurer offers its full policy limit, be very weary about signing the release until you know if SUM coverage exists and having an injury lawyer look it all over.
What May Be Happening
The other driver’s insurance company has offered everything available under its policy.
At first, that may sound like good news. They are offering the full limit, and you may be ready to take the money and finally close that part of the claim.
Then a release arrives.
If your injuries are worth more than the amount being offered, signing that document can become a much bigger decision than simply accepting a check.
What May Matter Right Now
Before resolving the claim against the other driver, determine whether SUM coverage may exist and what your own policy requires.
New York’s standard SUM framework includes procedures designed to protect the SUM insurer’s rights when the injured person settles with a negligent party. Those requirements can matter before a release is signed.
What To Avoid
Don’t sign a full release simply because the other insurer says it is offering the maximum available under its policy.
A policy limit offer tells you how much that insurer can pay. It does not by itself answer whether additional coverage may exist elsewhere or what needs to happen before the settlement is completed.
How The Boyko Law Firm May Help
The Boyko Law Firm can review the policy limit offer, examine your available SUM coverage, and determine what steps need to be taken before the liability claim is resolved. That can help preserve the possibility of pursuing additional coverage rather than discovering after the release is signed that an important requirement was missed.
If you already settled with the other driver’s insurer, don’t assume your SUM claim is automatically lost. Keep all of the release documentation together so the timing and policy requirements can be reviewed.
What May Be Happening
You accepted the other insurance company’s offer because you believed that was all the money available.
Now you have learned about underinsured motorist coverage and are wondering whether you can still make a claim through your own policy.
This is one of the situations where waiting to get the policy reviewed can make the problem harder.
What May Matter Right Now
Find the documents surrounding the settlement and preserve them.
That may include:
- The settlement offer
- The release you signed
- Correspondence with the other insurer
- Communications with your own insurance company
- Your declarations page and SUM endorsement
The exact timing of what was sent to your insurer can matter.
What To Avoid
Don’t automatically assume the SUM claim is either completely lost or completely safe.
New York courts have enforced SUM provisions requiring the insured to protect the insurer’s rights before settling with a responsible party. A 2026 Second Department decision, for example, upheld the loss of SUM benefits where an insured settled without the written consent required by the policy.
What happened in your claim needs to be reviewed against the actual policy and communications.
How The Boyko Law Firm May Help
Our managing attorney can review the release, settlement history, SUM endorsement, and communications with the insurance companies to determine whether an additional claim remains available and what should happen next.
The important thing is to bring the documents you have rather than trying to interpret the policy language on your own.
If you found SUM coverage on your policy, don’t automatically assume the listed limit needs to be paid in full by the insurer.
What May Be Happening
You pulled out your declarations page and found something labeled SUM, Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists, or similar language.
Maybe it says $100,000. Maybe $250,000.
Now you have another problem:
What does that number actually mean?
You may also be wondering why your own insurance company is suddenly part of a claim caused by somebody else.
What May Matter Right Now
SUM is not simply an extra check added on top of whatever the other driver pays.
New York generally offsets qualifying payments from negligent parties against the available SUM limit. So if the other driver has $25,000 and you have $100,000 in applicable SUM protection, the potential SUM layer is generally up to the remaining $75,000 rather than another $100,000, assuming the damages and other coverage requirements support it.
The policy also needs to be reviewed to determine:
- Who qualifies as an insured
- Which SUM limits apply
- What other coverage must first be exhausted
- What notices or policy conditions must be satisfied
What To Avoid
Don’t assume the number printed beside SUM is automatically the amount your insurance company owes you.
It is a coverage limit, not a case valuation.
Your insurer can still examine liability, injuries, damages, coverage conditions, and the amounts already available from the responsible parties.
How The Boyko Law Firm May Help
A Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney can read the full policy, explain how the SUM limit applies to your crash, and determine how much additional coverage may realistically be available.
Smartly, you bought the protection before the accident, so the next step is figuring out what that protection actually provides now that you need it.
If your own insurer starts disputing your SUM claim, don't freak out because you purchased the coverage. Simply contact an injury attorney to address the disputes and communicate with the insurer.
What May Be Happening
This can be the part that feels the most backwards.
Someone else caused the accident, their insurance was not enough, and now the company you have been paying to protect you is asking questions about your injuries.
You may have assumed your own insurer would simply pay the difference.
Instead, it can begin to feel like you are dealing with another insurance company defending its own money.
What May Matter Right Now
Keep every communication connected with the SUM claim and pay attention to what your insurer is actually requesting.
The disagreement could involve:
- Whether SUM coverage applies
- Who was responsible for the collision
- Whether your injuries were caused by the crash
- The seriousness of the injuries
- The value of the losses being claimed
- Whether policy requirements were satisfied
A SUM claim is made under your own insurance contract, but that does not mean the carrier automatically agrees with your position.
What To Avoid
Don’t treat a request from your own insurer as meaningless simply because you are their customer.
At the same time, you should not feel pressured to give a detailed recorded account, sign something you do not understand, or resolve a disputed claim without knowing what the request means.
If the insurer sends something that appears to require a formal response or participation, don’t ignore it.
How The Boyko Law Firm May Help
The Boyko Law Firm can communicate with your insurer, develop the evidence supporting the claim, and address disputes over the compensation being sought.
If the parties cannot agree, the SUM endorsement and New York law can provide procedures for resolving the dispute.
You just learned the other driver may not have enough insurance to cover the full impact of your injuries, and you’re trying to understand whether another source of coverage may still be available.
You’ve been offered the other driver’s full policy limit, but you’re trying to understand whether signing the release could affect your ability to pursue additional coverage afterward.
You already accepted the other driver’s policy limits or signed a release and are now trying to determine whether your own underinsured motorist coverage may still be available.
You found SUM coverage on your own policy and are now trying to understand what the limit means, how much may actually be available, and what needs to happen before you can use it.
Your own insurance company is now questioning your SUM claim, and you’re trying to understand why they’re challenging coverage, fault, or the value of your injuries when another driver caused the crash.
Protect the Coverage You May Need Before You Accept What They Have
Confirm How Much Coverage the Other Driver Actually Has
Before treating the other driver’s policy as the limit of your recovery, confirm how much bodily injury coverage is actually available.
New York allows someone covered by SUM, or their authorized representative, to request disclosure of the other vehicle’s bodily injury limits under certain conditions.
Once the required information is provided, the other insurer generally has 45 days to disclose those limits.
You may discover that the driver who caused a serious injury carried only New York’s minimum liability protection.
In the event there isn't a coverage problem, a lawyer that represents car accident victims will continue investigating the driver.
Find the SUM Coverage in Your Own Policy
Once you know the other driver’s limits, compare them with the protection you purchased for yourself.
Look at your declarations page and policy for Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage, usually shown as SUM. Do not assume you have a particular amount simply because you carry auto insurance.
In New York, underinsured protection generally becomes relevant when the negligent vehicle’s bodily injury limits are lower than the applicable SUM protection available to you.
Don’t Sign the Policy Limit Release Yet
If the other insurer offers its full policy limit, getting the maximum available from that company may sound like an easy decision.
But accepting the money usually comes with a release of the responsible party.
Before signing it, determine whether you intend to pursue SUM coverage and what your own policy requires. New York’s prescribed SUM endorsement contains specific rules governing settlements with negligent parties because your insurer may have rights that need to be preserved.
Notify Your Own Insurer About the SUM Claim
Finding SUM on your declarations page is not the same thing as actually making a claim under it.
New York’s prescribed SUM endorsement requires written notice of a SUM claim as soon as practicable. The insurer may later request proof concerning your injuries, treatment, and the amount being claimed.
Don’t wait until after the other driver’s case has been completely resolved to first ask whether your own coverage matters.
Protect the Move From Their Policy to Yours
This is the point where an ordinary bodily injury claim can turn into an underinsured motorist claim.
New York generally requires the applicable bodily injury liability limits to be exhausted before the SUM insurer becomes obligated to pay. New York's prescribed SUM endorsement also provides a procedure when you intend to settle with a negligent party for that party’s available limit.
After the SUM insurer receives the required written notice, the endorsement generally allows the release to be executed after 30 calendar days unless the SUM insurer advances the settlement amount to preserve its rights.
Speak With a Rego Park Underinsured Motorist Attorney
You shouldn’t have to interpret two insurance policies and figure out the transition between them while you are still recovering from the crash.
A Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney at the Boyko Law Firm can review the liability limits, examine your SUM endorsement, and help pursue the additional coverage supported by your injuries.
And once your own insurer becomes part of the claim, our managing attorney can deal with that carrier while continuing to build the evidence showing what the accident has actually cost you.
Your Attorney Sorts Out the Coverage and Protects the Claim
Find the Insurance That May Actually Be Available
The amount carried by the driver who caused the crash is only one part of the coverage picture.
The Boyko Law Firm can confirm those liability limits, review the policies that may provide SUM protection to you, and determine how the different layers of insurance fit together.
This may include:
- Confirming the other driver’s bodily injury limits
- Reviewing your declarations page and SUM endorsement
- Determining whether you qualify for coverage under the policy
- Identifying other policies that may need to be examined
- Comparing the liability and SUM limits
- Determining how much additional coverage may potentially remain
Protect Your SUM Claim Before the Other Case Is Closed
Getting the other driver’s policy limit can be an important step, but it is not necessarily the last one.
New York generally requires the applicable bodily injury liability coverage to be exhausted before the SUM carrier becomes obligated to pay. The SUM endorsement can also impose requirements involving notice and settlement with the responsible driver. That means the order in which the claims are handled can matter.
The Boyko Law Firm can manage that process so you are not trying to interpret policy conditions while deciding whether to sign a release.
This may include:
- Putting the SUM carrier on notice
- Reviewing a policy limit settlement before you accept it
- Following the required procedure before releasing the responsible driver
- Protecting the insurer’s rights when the policy requires it
- Tracking SUM related notices and deadlines
- Making sure the liability claim and SUM claim move in the proper sequence
Build the Case and Make Your Own Insurer Answer It
Once the coverage is identified and the procedural requirements are protected, the question becomes how much your injuries actually justify.
Your own insurance company does not automatically owe the full SUM limit simply because the other driver was underinsured. The claim still needs to establish responsibility, causation, and the seriousness of your injuries.
The Boyko Law Firm can develop that evidence and challenge the insurer when the amount being offered does not reasonably account for the case.
This may include:
- Developing the medical evidence supporting your injuries
- Documenting lost income and other financial consequences
- Addressing New York’s serious injury requirement when it applies
- Calculating the SUM amount remaining after applicable offsets
- Presenting and negotiating the claim with your insurer
- Pursuing arbitration or litigation when a coverage or value dispute cannot be resolved
The Coverage Gap May Be Worth a Closer Look
An underinsured motorist claim depends on more than the fact that the other driver carried limited insurance. Answer the three questions below to see whether speaking with a Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney could be a sensible next step.
Were you injured in a crash caused by another driver?
Your injuries may require medical treatment, time away from work, or ongoing care that creates losses beyond the immediate accident.
YESNOIs the other driver’s insurance enough to cover the full impact of your injuries?
Medical treatment, lost income, and other losses can exceed the amount available under the responsible driver’s policy.
YESNOWhat It Feels Like to Have Someone Untangle the Insurance
I had the pleasure of working with Nataliya for almost 6 years. She is a very hard working, knowledgeable, professional, and experienced attorney. She is very dedicated to her clients, she is attentive to their need, and makes sure to fight hard for the justice and compensation that they each deserve.
I highly recommend this attorney. She is very professional, knowledgeable. She always takes the time to answer questions, explain the process clearly. I am very thankful for her help and would confidently recommend her services to anyone in need after a pedestrian no-fault accident.
The best lawyer I know and I recommend her to everyone! A true professional in her field, very pleased with the results. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Having SUM Coverage Does Not Mean Your Insurer Has to Agree With the Claim
Finding underinsured motorist coverage can solve the problem of where additional insurance may come from, but it does not automatically settle the claim. Your own insurer can still challenge the coverage to limit the potential payout.
They May Say Your SUM Coverage Does Not Apply
Before your insurer ever gets to the value of your injuries, it may question whether the SUM coverage applies to your claim in the first place.
The disagreement could involve whether you qualify as an insured under the policy, whether the other vehicle meets the requirements for an underinsured motorist claim, or whether a condition of the policy was not satisfied.
The dispute may involve:
- If you are protected by the SUM policy
- Whether the other driver qualifies as underinsured
- If a policy exclusion affects the claim
- Whether required notices or claim procedures were followed
They May Disagree About Who Caused the Crash
Your own insurance company does not automatically have to accept that the other driver was responsible simply because their liability coverage was exhausted.
If there is a disagreement about how the collision happened, your SUM carrier may investigate the accident and argue that there was shared responsibility.
This may become an issue when:
- The drivers give different accounts of the crash
- More than two vehicles were involved
- Responsibility was never clearly established
- Your insurer reaches a different conclusion about how the collision occurred
They May Question Which Injuries Came From the Crash
Your insurer may agree that the collision occurred while still disputing whether every injury or limitation you are claiming was actually caused by it.
This can become especially important when you had an existing medical condition or symptoms that developed after the accident rather than immediately at the scene. The medical record may need to show what existed beforehand and what changed because of this crash.
The dispute may focus on:
- A particular injury that resulted from the collision
- An existing condition the crash aggravated
- The medical timeline that supports the connection
- Current limitations that can be reasonably tied to the accident
They May Disagree About What the Claim Is Worth
Having $100,000 or $250,000 in SUM coverage establishes a limit on the protection available. It does not mean your insurer automatically owes the full amount.
Even when coverage applies and responsibility is clear, the carrier can still disagree about the seriousness of your injuries and the value of what the crash has taken from you.
Once the dispute reaches that point, a lawyer who specialized in personal injury can develop the medical and financial evidence behind the damages rather than treating the SUM claim as an insurance policy question alone.
The disagreement may involve:
- The severity and duration of your injuries
- If your limitations are temporary or lasting
- Future treatment or care supported by the medical evidence
- Income and other financial losses caused by the crash
- The amount of SUM benefits that may still be available after applicable payments
SUM Opens Another Source of Coverage, Not an Automatic Check
Your own insurer may challenge a SUM claim for very different reasons. The important question is identifying what the carrier is actually disputing, because each reason requires a different response.
Have Us Review Why Your SUM Claim Is Being ChallengedSUM Can Help Cover the Losses the Other Driver’s Insurance Couldn’t
The other driver’s policy limit does not determine what your injuries are worth. When your damages extend beyond the liability coverage they carried, SUM may provide another source of compensation for losses that remain, subject to your policy limits and the requirements of the claim.
What SUM May Help You Recover
Pain and suffering from a qualifying injury
Income and economic losses beyond No Fault
Future losses caused by the injury
The remaining value of the bodily injury claim
What SUM Is Trying to Fill
The other driver’s liability insurance is the first layer. SUM can potentially address part of the remaining bodily injury damages when that first layer runs out and your own coverage applies.
What SUM Doesn't Automatically Give
The full amount printed on your declarations page
A second full policy stacked on top of the first
A duplicate payment for the same No Fault losses
Coverage for damage to your car
What the SUM Limit Really Means
Your SUM limit tells you how much protection may be available under that coverage. It does not decide what your claim is worth or what the insurer ultimately has to pay.
Work With an Attorney Who Knows the Case From Start to Finish
For more than 20 years, Nataliya has worked on legal matters involving the details that shape personal injury claims, from insurance paperwork and medical records to litigation and trial preparation. Before becoming an attorney herself, she spent years working alongside lawyers and clients as cases developed from their earliest stages.
That background is especially valuable when a claim begins with another driver’s insurance and later turns toward coverage under your own policy. Understanding what has already happened, what the policies require, and what still needs to be done can make a complicated insurance problem much easier to manage.
Through her personal injury work as an attorney, Nataliya has contributed to cases that recovered more than $154 million for injured clients.
At the Boyko Law Firm, you work directly with Nataliya throughout the case. She takes the time to understand your injuries, reviews the insurance issues affecting the claim, and remains involved as the case moves toward resolution.
For someone looking for a Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney, that means you are not handed from one person to another as the claim becomes more complicated. The attorney you hire is the attorney reviewing the coverage, following the progress of your recovery, and pursuing the strongest result the evidence supports.
A Focused Approach to a More Complicated Insurance Claim
These principles shape how the Boyko Law Firm handles the claim while keeping your recovery and the final result at the center of the case.
Direct Access to Your Attorney
You speak directly with the attorney handling your underinsured motorist claim. Questions about SUM coverage, policy limits, settlement offers, or your own insurance company aren’t passed through layers of staff.
Guidance Through Each Decision
Underinsured motorist claims can involve important choices before the other driver’s claim is resolved. Our attorney helps you understand what coverage exists, what your policy requires, and what should happen before you sign or accept anything.
A Strategy Built Around The Available Coverage
Your claim is developed around the value of your injuries, the insurance available from the responsible driver, and any SUM protection that may apply through your own policy. We look beyond one policy limit to determine what coverage may still be available.
Communication as the Claim Moves Forward
You shouldn’t have to wonder what the other insurer offered or why your own carrier is asking questions. Our firm keeps you informed as coverage is reviewed, settlement issues are addressed, and the SUM claim develops.
Clear Answers When the Other Driver’s Insurance Falls Short
Learning that the driver who caused your crash does not carry enough insurance usually creates a new set of questions. These answers explain how speaking with a Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney may help you understand the coverage and choices still available.
Fill Out Our Form To Schedule A Consult
Thank you for reaching out!
Our managing attorney, Nataliya Boyko, will review what you shared and contact you by phone or text using the number you provided within 15 minutes.
What is the difference between uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in New York?
They deal with two different insurance problems. Uninsured motorist coverage is generally for a crash caused by a driver who has no applicable liability insurance or for certain hit and run accidents. An underinsured motorist claim starts with a driver who does have liability insurance, but whose limits are lower than the protection available through the applicable SUM coverage.
New York requires basic uninsured motorist protection. SUM, which stands for Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage, expands that protection and can also apply when the responsible vehicle has insurance but carries lower bodily injury limits. SUM can also provide qualifying protection for accidents in other states and Canadian provinces.
The practical difference is simple:
- Uninsured: there is no applicable liability insurance to collect from first
- Underinsured: liability insurance exists, but another layer of SUM protection may become available after that coverage is exhausted
That is why finding out that the other driver had insurance does not necessarily end the coverage analysis.
Is a driver underinsured just because their insurance is not enough to cover all of my injuries?
No. Your damages being larger than the other driver's policy does not, by itself, create a New York underinsured motorist claim.
SUM looks at the insurance limits involved. New York law provides underinsured protection when the applicable bodily injury limits of the other liable vehicle are lower than the limits used for the SUM protection available through your policy. The amount of SUM you actually purchased also matters.
For example, imagine your injuries support a claim worth substantially more than $100,000.
If the responsible driver has $100,000 in bodily injury coverage but the applicable protection on your own policy is only $50,000, the fact that your damages exceed $100,000 does not automatically create additional SUM coverage.
That is why an attorney needs to compare the policies as well as the injuries before deciding whether there is actually an underinsured motorist claim.
If the other driver has $25,000 in coverage and I have $100,000 in SUM, do I get another $100,000?
Usually not. In that basic example, the potential additional SUM layer would generally be up to $75,000, not another $100,000.
New York's prescribed SUM endorsement uses an offset. The maximum SUM payment is generally calculated by taking the applicable SUM limit and subtracting bodily injury liability payments received from people legally responsible for the accident.
So, in a simple one person example:
- Other driver's liability coverage pays $25,000
- Your applicable SUM limit is $100,000
- Potential additional SUM coverage is generally up to $75,000
That could provide up to $100,000 between those two insurance layers, assuming your damages support that amount and the other requirements of the claim are satisfied.
The $100,000 SUM limit is therefore not a second $100,000 check added on top of the first policy.
Is SUM automatically included when I buy car insurance in New York?
For a new personal auto policy, SUM is generally included at the same limits as your bodily injury liability coverage unless you choose to reduce or reject it.
New York law allows the first named insured to decline SUM or select lower limits by signing or electronically signing a waiver. That choice can continue into later renewals unless it is changed in writing. The rule is different for some older policies and commercial risk policies, so the actual policy still needs to be reviewed.
Your declarations page is a good place to start. Look for wording such as:
- SUM
- Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists
- A separate per person and per accident limit
Do not assume that because you have high liability limits, the same amount of SUM is necessarily available. A prior waiver may have reduced or declined that protection
Can I accept the other driver's policy limit and still make a SUM claim?
Potentially, yes. But accepting the money and signing the release need to be handled carefully.
New York's prescribed SUM endorsement contains a specific procedure for moving from the responsible driver's liability coverage into a SUM claim. When the other side offers its available bodily injury limit, written notice generally needs to be given to the SUM insurer before the responsible party is released.
Under the prescribed endorsement, a release may generally be executed after 30 calendar days from the SUM carrier's receipt of the required written notice unless the carrier advances the settlement amount to protect its own rights against the responsible party.
That is why these are two different decisions:
Accepting a policy limit offer and signing away your legal rights against the responsible party.
Before doing either, the SUM policy and settlement procedure should be reviewed together.
What if I already signed a release before realizing I had SUM coverage?
Do not assume the SUM claim is automatically gone, but the release needs to be reviewed immediately.
Signing a release without following the SUM policy's settlement requirements can create a serious coverage problem because your insurer may have had a right to pursue the responsible party after paying SUM benefits.
A 2026 Second Department decision addressed this exact problem. The insured had settled with the responsible motorists and signed a release without obtaining the SUM carrier's required consent.
The court ultimately held that the insured had not shown that the insurer waived the requirement or that its rights had been preserved. The SUM arbitration was permanently stayed.
If you already signed, the important questions include:
- Exactly what the release says
- Whether your SUM insurer received notice beforehand
- What communications occurred with your insurer
- Whether the insurer consented or otherwise accepted the settlement
- Whether the release preserved any rights against the responsible parties
So this is not a situation where you should guess based on the fact that a document says “release.” A Rego Park underinsured motorist attorney can review what actually happened and determine whether a SUM claim may still remain.
What can my own insurance company require from me during a SUM claim?
Your SUM carrier can require meaningful cooperation while it evaluates the claim.
This sometimes surprises people because it is their own insurance company. But SUM is covered under an insurance contract, and New York's prescribed endorsement gives the carrier certain rights to obtain information before determining what it owes.
Depending on the claim, you may be required to provide:
- Written proof of the claim, under oath if requested
- Details about your injuries and treatment
- An examination under oath
- Authorizations for relevant medical records
- Physical examinations by physicians selected by the insurer when reasonably required
- Copies of legal papers if you sue someone responsible for the crash
That does not mean every request should be answered casually or that the insurer can demand anything it wants. It means requests from your SUM carrier should be taken seriously and evaluated as part of the claim rather than ignored because it is “your own” insurance company.
Do I have to sue my own insurance company if we cannot agree on the SUM claim?
No. A traditional lawsuit is not always required. Some SUM disputes can be resolved through arbitration.
New York's prescribed SUM endorsement allows arbitration when you and the insurer disagree about whether you are legally entitled to recover from the uninsured or underinsured motorist or about the amount the insurer owes.
But not every disagreement falls into that same arbitration process.
For example, the Second Department held in 2026 that a dispute over whether SUM coverage existed because of a policy exclusion was a threshold coverage question for the court, not one of the limited issues assigned to the arbitrator.
So the next step depends on what the disagreement actually is:
- Responsibility for the crash
- Amount of damages
- Amount payable under SUM
- Whether the policy provides coverage at all
- Whether a policy condition or exclusion prevents coverage
That distinction can determine whether the dispute proceeds through arbitration, court, or is resolved before either becomes necessary.
How long do I have to make an underinsured motorist claim in New York?
Do not assume you simply have six years from the accident. There are different timing rules at different stages of a SUM claim.
The prescribed New York SUM endorsement requires written notice of the SUM claim as soon as practicable. That requirement can become important long before any statute of limitations expires.
Separately, New York courts generally apply a six year limitations period to the contractual SUM claim. But that period does not necessarily begin on the day of the crash.
In a 2025 Second Department decision, the court explained that an underinsured motorist claim accrues when the insured has the legal right to payment. Because applicable liability coverage must first be exhausted, the court found that the claim there accrued, at the latest, when the injured person accepted and cashed the responsible driver's policy limit settlement.
There is another protection built into current New York law. If an insured makes the required written request for the responsible driver's bodily injury limits and that insurer fails to disclose them within the statutory period, the time to make the SUM claim is tolled while that failure continues.
Tell Us What Happened With the Other Driver’s Insurance
Tell us what happened, what you have learned about the available insurance, and where the claim stands. The Boyko Law Firm can review the situation and help you understand what coverage may still be available.
