Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage protects you if you’re in a car accident with an at-fault driver who doesn’t carry any liability insurance an at-fault driver whose liability limits are too low to cover your damages, expenses, and injuries.
The risk that is protected by uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage is the risk that an at-fault driver who crashes into you will have no or inadequate insurance coverage.
Some estimates place the number of drivers who fail to carry any auto insurance as high as 20%.
Other drivers may carry only the state minimum of $20,000.
That means if you are in a collision you have a 20% chance that the other driver will carry no insurance. Beyond that there’s a substantial chance the other driver will have only $20,000 in liability insurance – the state mandated minimum.
2 or 3 days in the hospital could exceed $20,000.
You need to protect yourself by having adequate uninsured motorists coverage. How much is adequate? If you have $1,000,000 in liability coverage available to compensate a person that is injured if you are at-fault, it stands to reason that you should have the same amount – $1 million – to cover you if you are hit by someone with no or minimum insurance.
Some of the situations where you will be covered by uninsured / underinsured motorists insurance include:
– When you are driving and are injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver;
– When you are a passenger in a vehicle;
– When you are a pedestrian;
– When you are riding a bike; and
– When you are jogging.