Exhaustion of Insurance Coverage

In Mississippi, if an insured does proceed to obtain the liability or other UM proceeds, he or she is generally not required to fully exhaust those limits.  The Mississippi Supreme Court in Mississippi Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Garrett, 487 So. 2d 1320 (Miss. 1986) held that in interpreting a requirement that an insured first obtain other “available” insurance, the term essentially implies a substantial exhaustion (i.e. having in mind the nature and extent of injuries, liability, settlement offered, and discounted by the costs and risks of seeking a greater sum).  What this means is that the failure to get full policy limits does not mean that you cannot get proceeds from the underinsured motorist policy.