What is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage?

Would it shock you to know that Florida has the fifth highest rate of uninsured drivers in the whole country? It is unbelievable that a quarter of Florida drivers do not have auto insurance, and that if they cause an accident due to their own negligence, there is no coverage available for injured parties to pursue. Since this is the sad reality, let’s take a quick look at some things you can do to protect yourself.

Your first line of defense is to ensure that you have an active auto insurance policy and that it includes the state required $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits. This guarantees that 80% of your medical bills will be covered. However, if the person who causes the accident has no insurance or no Bodily Injury Coverage, how do you make up the remaining 20% of your bills? How do you collect payment for pain and suffering? What happens if your injuries cause you to lose wages or you incur future medical expenses?  The good news is that there is legal help for all of these situations.

You can protect yourself by purchasing Uninsured Motorist Coverage or (UM) through your own insurance company.  UM, which is an elective coverage, allows the victim of an auto-accident to receive compensation if an uninsured driver causes injuries. UM works as a contractual agreement between an insurance company and their insured.  As with most policies, the UM carrier compensates for injuries, pain, suffering, and mental anguish caused by an uninsured driver.  However, you should be aware that UM compensation is not automatic! To receive payment, you must first prove that another party caused the accident due to negligence.  Secondly, you must sustain a permanent injury according to the Florida No-fault Laws.  Unfortunately, UM carriers sometimes fight to minimize the amount of compensation you may receive.

UM Coverage is similar to Bodily-Injury Coverage, although with UM there is a limit per person and accident. Here is an example, a $10,000/$20,000 UM policy means that the carrier will pay out up to $10,000 per person or $20,000 per automobile accident for all injured parties involved.  The following policies are available as UM coverage:

• $10,000/$20,000
• $25,000/$50,000
• $100,000/$300,000
• $300,000/$500,000

Are you still feeling unsure about UM coverage?  Keep in mind, even if you don’t have UM on your current policy, you may qualify under another policy. However, if what you need is legal guidance about adding Uninsured Motorist on your insurance policy, contact our staff at BOCA Law for a comprehensive review of your policy and recommendations on how you can better protect yourself.

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