Since 2024, many Arkansas auto insurers have moved UIM claims to faster electronic notice systems, but the rule did not change: under Ark. Code § 23-89-209, the smarter path is usually both in order - pursue the at-fault driver's liability limits first, and notify your own insurer of a UIM claim before signing any release.

In plain English, UIM applies when the other driver has insurance, but not enough. Your child cannot collect UIM until the at-fault driver's bodily-injury coverage is effectively exhausted. In Arkansas, the minimum liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash. If your child's medical bills, future care, or pain-and-suffering value exceed that, you should open the UIM claim now, but do not settle the liability claim without notice to your insurer.

Arkansas law gives your insurer 30 days after written notice of a tentative settlement to decide whether to protect its subrogation rights by advancing that settlement amount itself. If you sign the release first, you can damage the UIM claim.

Example: a Fort Smith child is hurt in a hit on I-49 and the Arkansas State Police report shows the other driver carried only $25,000. The child's ER care, follow-up imaging, and missed school support services already total $38,000, with more treatment expected. The parent should:

• open a claim against the at-fault driver's insurer,
• open a UIM claim under the family's own Arkansas policy,
• send written notice to the UIM carrier before accepting the $25,000 limits offer,
• wait through the insurer's 30-day statutory response period before signing any release.

If the other driver was a hit-and-run and cannot be identified, the claim usually shifts to UM instead of UIM under Ark. Code § 23-89-403, and the police report becomes critical.