Legal Question in Insurance Law in Texas

Can I sue another�s insurance for more than he is insured for?

I live in Texas. My wife was in an accident with an unlicensed, uninsured, presumably illegal alien, but the owner of the vehicle he was driving has minimal liability insurance. The police report clearly states that the accident was his fault.

His insurance will not begin to cover all the medical bills, nor will it come close to replacing her vehicle which is a total loss.

I have underinsured coverage which will cover the rest of the medical bills, but I�m still stuck replacing a 5 year-old vehicle we owned outright and planned on her driving another 5+ years and now having a car payment we didn�t have before.

As I said the driver appears to be illegal, and both he and the vehicle owner seem to be low income, so while I assume I could sue them and win I doubt if I could collect anything.

So my question is: Is there any way I can collect more from his insurance company than he is insured for? Or are they only liable up to the amount he is insured for? Do they assume any liability for him loaning his vehicle to an unlicensed driver who then ran a stop sign causing the accident?


Asked on 12/15/06, 4:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Grissom Law Office of James P. Grissom

Re: Can I sue another�s insurance for more than he is insured for?

It's not likely. It is theoretically possible to collect more than the policy limits on the insurance should they fail to settle within the limits and a judgment result in a greater amount. That doesn't happen very often.

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Answered on 12/15/06, 4:59 pm


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