When an uninsured or underinsured driver injures you in San Antonio, your recovery depends on a claim against your own insurance company. That company now has a financial incentive to pay you as little as possible.
Cowen Rodriguez Peacock represents injured San Antonio drivers in UM and UIM disputes, including bad faith claims against insurers who stall, undervalue, or improperly deny valid coverage. Call for a free case review. Available 24 hours a day.
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Why Your Own Insurer Becomes the Problem
Texas law requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage when they issue an auto policy. Under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1952, if you did not reject that coverage in writing, it is included in your policy by operation of law, even if it does not appear on your declarations page.
That sounds like protection. In practice, the moment you file a UM or UIM claim, your insurer shifts from service provider to counterparty. The same company you have paid premiums to for years now employs adjusters, independent medical examiners, and legal counsel whose job is to minimize what they pay you.
Understanding that dynamic from the start changes how you handle every step of the claim.
Tell us what your insurer has offered. We will tell you whether it reflects what you are actually owed.
Which Numbers Define the Problem in Bexar County?
The problem is the gap between what a serious injury costs and what the at-fault driver's insurance actually covers. Texas only requires drivers to carry $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash in liability coverage under Texas Transportation Code Section 601.051. A driver who causes $150,000 in medical bills while carrying that minimum is technically insured, but the policy covers a fraction of the real cost.
That gap is where underinsured motorist claims begin.
On top of that, a significant share of Texas drivers carry no insurance at all.
Bexar County's crash volume, one of the highest in Texas, means the statistical probability of encountering an uninsured or inadequately insured driver on I-10, Loop 410, or Highway 151 is not hypothetical.
The result is a large category of serious injury cases where the at-fault driver cannot pay, minimum policy limits fall far short, and the injured person's only meaningful path to recovery runs through their own UM or UIM coverage.
UM and UIM Are Different Coverages With Different Rules
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage are two different protections that kick in under different conditions, even though people use "uninsured motorist" as shorthand for both. Under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1952, each is triggered separately.
Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver carries no liability insurance at all, or when the driver cannot be identified, as in a hit-and-run. Your insurer steps into the at-fault driver's position and responds as if it were their liability carrier.
Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has insurance, but their policy limits fall short of your actual damages. Specifically, you must exhaust the at-fault driver's policy first. Under Section 1952.106, your insurer then offsets what it owes by the amount already recovered from the at-fault driver.
In practice: you suffer $120,000 in damages, and the at-fault driver carries a $30,000 policy. After you collect that $30,000, your insurer owes the difference between your total damages and what you already received, up to your UIM policy limits.
Texas courts have addressed how insurers apply this offset, and you should expect yours to contest both your total damages figure and the legitimacy of specific expenses.
Step 1 in any UIM case is pinning down the full damages number before the insurer frames it for you.
What Do Insurers Do to Reduce What They Pay?
Insurers handling Bexar County UM/UIM claims use predictable tactics. Recognizing them early protects your recovery.
The first is disputing the at-fault driver's liability. Even when the fault is obvious, some insurers contest it specifically to reduce their coverage obligation. They are not defending the at-fault driver out of principle. They are protecting their own financial exposure.
The second is challenging your damages. Independent medical examinations commissioned by the insurer routinely produce lower injury assessments than those provided by your treating physicians. Adjusters dispute the medical necessity of treatments, particularly long-term rehabilitation and surgery.
The third is delaying. Under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542), insurers must acknowledge a claim within 15 days, accept or reject it within 15 business days of receiving all required documentation, and pay approved claims within five business days. Insurers sometimes request additional documentation specifically to reset those deadlines.
The fourth is making an early offer before your damages are fully known. Accepting a settlement before you reach maximum medical improvement locks your recovery to the insurer's early valuation. That figure is almost always lower than your total losses once future medical costs and long-term income impact are properly calculated.
The Dessart Ruling and Why Procedural Sequence Matters
The Texas Supreme Court has addressed how bad faith claims against UM/UIM insurers must be pursued. In In re State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and Lindsey Nicole Dessart, the court held that a bad faith claim must be separated from the underlying coverage claim and put on hold until coverage is established first.
In concrete terms, discovery on bad faith issues cannot proceed until the insured first wins on the coverage question.
This matters because most people dealing with an unreasonable insurer want to pursue the bad faith claim simultaneously with the coverage dispute. Dessart forecloses that approach. An attorney who structures the litigation without accounting for Dessart risks the bad faith claims being abated or waived through procedural error, not because the insurer acted reasonably.
The practical implication is this: if your insurer has denied or significantly delayed a valid UM/UIM claim, bad faith exposure exists. But preserving those claims requires following the sequence the Texas Supreme Court mandated. That is information most general auto accident pages do not provide, and it is the kind of procedural detail that changes whether a bad faith claim survives to verdict.
If an adjuster is already disputing your claim, talk to us before your next call with them. Call Cowen Rodriguez Peacock at (210) 941-1306 for a free case review, available 24/7.
How Is UM/UIM Litigation Structured in Texas?
The path your case takes depends on which option your car accident attorney selects at the outset. In contrast to standard auto accident litigation, UM/UIM cases offer three distinct structures.
Option 1: Sue your insurer directly. You establish the at-fault driver's liability and your total damages in a single proceeding against your own insurer. The resulting judgment binds the insurer for coverage purposes. This is the most common path in pure uninsured motorist cases where the at-fault driver has no meaningful assets.
Option 2: Sue the underinsured driver with insurer consent. Your insurer agrees in writing that any negligence judgment against the underinsured driver will bind them for UIM purposes. This approach can be strategically useful when the at-fault driver's conduct, assets, or insurance history creates useful leverage.
Option 3: Sue the underinsured driver without insurer consent. You retain the right to pursue the at-fault driver, but you must relitigate liability and damages separately against your insurer afterward. This path produces duplicative proceedings and should generally be avoided unless specific circumstances justify it.
Our attorneys evaluate which structure fits your case before any filings, not after. That choice affects both the timeline and the total recovery available.
What Your Claim Can Recover
A UM/UIM claim compensates you for the same damages you could recover in a direct lawsuit against a fully insured at-fault driver, up to your policy limits.
Medical costs, past and future, cover treatment from the initial emergency through long-term care for ongoing injuries.
Lost wages and reduced earning capacity cover income lost during recovery and long-term losses if the injury limits your ability to work. Pain, suffering, and mental anguish are compensable under Texas law, including emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.
Property damage under UMPD coverage addresses vehicle repair or replacement, though Texas UMPD policies typically carry a deductible.
Beyond policy limits, bad faith liability exposes the insurer to penalty interest under the Prompt Payment of Claims Act, attorney's fees, and additional damages tied to the insurer's own conduct. When an insurer makes a minimal offer against clear evidence of substantial injuries, that exposure becomes relevant to settlement negotiations even before trial.
Do not evaluate any settlement offer before an attorney calculates the full damages picture, including future costs that the insurer is not volunteering to quantify.
Call us at (210) 941-1306 for a free consultation or contact us below. No cost to you unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions
My insurer says they need more documentation before processing my claim. Is that normal?
Sometimes legitimate, sometimes a stall. Under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act, each new request can reset the insurer's response deadline. A genuine request comes once and covers what is actually needed. Repeated requests for information you already sent, or for documents unrelated to your damages, suggest the insurer is managing the clock. An attorney can spot the difference fast.
I settled with the at-fault driver before filing a UIM claim. Can my insurer deny coverage now?
Possibly. If you released the at-fault driver without telling your insurer or getting consent, Texas courts have held this can impair your UIM claim, because it cuts off the insurer's subrogation right to recover from that driver. Before settling any part of a claim that may involve UIM coverage, contact your insurer and get written confirmation of any settlement they approve.
What actually happens in a bad-faith claim against a UM/UIM insurer after Dessart?
After the Texas Supreme Court's ruling in Dessart, a bad-faith claim against your own insurer proceeds only after coverage is established through the underlying UM/UIM case. Discovery into claims handling and adjuster conduct generally is not available until then. Once coverage is confirmed, the bad faith claim can move forward, with remedies like penalty interest and attorney's fees.
Does it matter how much UM/UIM coverage I purchased?
It matters significantly. Your insurer’s payment obligation is capped at your policy limits, regardless of total damages. A $25,000 UIM policy provides far less protection than a $100,000 policy in serious injury cases involving medical costs and lost income. After an accident, those limits effectively set the ceiling for recovery, shaping how the entire claim is evaluated and negotiated.
Can the firm handle my case if the insurer is a major national carrier like State Farm or Allstate?
Yes. Sonia Rodriguez has more than two decades of personal injury trial and appellate experience, including UM/UIM and bad faith litigation against major Texas insurers. Large carriers assign experienced defense counsel to contested Bexar County claims, so cases that may go to verdict demand equal litigation capacity on your side. We handle these on contingency, with no upfront cost.
When Your Own Insurer Is the Obstacle, the Strategy Has to Match
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims in San Antonio do not fail because the coverage does not exist. They fail because policyholders accept early offers, miss procedural requirements, or settle one part of the claim in a way that forecloses another.
Cowen Rodriguez Peacock represents injured drivers in Bexar County UM/UIM disputes, including bad faith claims where insurers have failed to handle valid coverage properly. Cases are handled on contingency, with no upfront cost and no fee unless a recovery is made on your behalf.
Your insurer's adjusters started working when you filed. The sooner an attorney reviews your claim, the more options remain available.
Call Cowen Rodriguez Peacock or submit your case online. Consultations are free and available around the clock.
Disclaimer: Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case is evaluated on its own facts and circumstances.
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Cowen Law - Texas Office
Address: 6243 I-10 #801, San Antonio, TX 78201
Contact No: (210) 941-1306