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Most insurance doesn’t cover intentional acts. But we have an exception in Washington. Intentional acts by uninsured and underinsured motorists must be covered by the victim’s UM/UIM policy.

Under Washington law even injuries that arise from "road rage" incidents have to be covered. That’s going to be key for the family of a man who was killed on July 24th. According to KING-5:

A crash that left a well-known software engineer dead Sunday may have been the result of road rage. State troopers say the victim was an innocent driver who had nothing to do with it.

The Washington State Patrol believes it began around 2 p.m. on southbound Interstate 405. The driver of a black Hyundai SUV exited the freeway in an attempt to follow a car that he claims cut him off. He exited at NE 85th Street, rounded a corner at a high speed, lost control and hit a raised median.

The car rolled and slammed into a BMW that was driving west on 85th Street. The driver of the BMW, 43-year-old Steve Lacey, died instantly.

Washington law changed in 2006 to cover these situations. The change was brought about by Ethel’s Bill and stemmed from a particularly egregious case where a UIM insurer refused to pay the victim because the at-fault driver was intentionally trying to ram his girlfriend.

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