Uninsured motorist protection provides coverage for injuries from an auto accident.
Medical costs resulting from an auto accident can be prohibitive, especially if you're not carrying the right amount of coverage on your insurance policy. One key coverage is uninsured motorist bodily injury, which protects you against the risk of being in an accident that involves an uninsured driver. Uninsured motorist bodily injury can be extremely important if you have little or no medical insurance.
Identification
Uninsured motorist is often sold in tandem with underinsured motorist and is typically shown as UM/UIM. UM pays for injuries you and your passengers incur if the other driver is at fault and does not carry insurance. UIM pays if the other driver carries insurances but his policy limits are inadequate to cover the total amount of medical bills. UM/UIM coverage will apply to all vehicles on your policy.
Need
Every state has laws requiring drivers to carry at least a minimum amount of liability insurance, which pays for damages and injuries incurred by drivers and passengers in the other vehicle if the policyholder is at fault in an accident. However, there is no guarantee that all drivers elect to carry liability coverage, whether due to cost or irresponsibility. UM provides you with the means to cover medical costs you might otherwise have to pay out of your own pocket.
Process
When you're involved in an accident that includes another driver, your insurer will investigate to determine fault. If the other driver is deemed to be at fault but has no insurance, you company will then pay your claim under your UM coverage, often within a short time frame. This saves you the time and expense of having to possibly pursue legal action to recover from the other party, who may not even have the financial means to compensate you.
Stacking
You can increase your UM coverage for all vehicles on your policy through a feature called stacking, which takes into account the number of vehicles you insure. For instance, if your UM limits are $15,000 per person and $30,000 per occurrence and your policy covers three vehicles, stacking raises your limits to $45,000 per person and $90,000 per occurrence. Of course, you will pay an additional premium if you choose the stacking option.
Tags: other driver, your policy, accident that, auto accident, bodily injury, from auto
