North Dakota Code 26.1-40-15.3 – Underinsured motorist coverage
1. The insurer shall also provide underinsured motorist coverage at limits equal to the limits of uninsured motorist coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage must pay compensatory damages which an insured is legally entitled to collect for bodily injury, sickness, disease, including death resulting therefrom, of such insured, from the owner or operator of an underinsured motor vehicle arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of such underinsured motor vehicle.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 26.1-40-15.3
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
2. The maximum liability of the underinsured motorist coverage is the lower of:
a. The amount of compensatory damages established but not recovered by any agreement, settlement, or judgment with or for the person or organization legally liable for the bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death resulting therefrom; or
b. The limits of liability of the underinsured motorist coverage.
3. In any claim for underinsured motorist benefits, the insured and the insurer each bear responsibility for one’s own attorney’s fees incurred unless the insurance contract specifically provides otherwise or the insurance company is found to have acted in bad faith. It is neither a conflict of interest nor bad faith for an insurer to contest and press all defenses that the underinsured motorist could press.