Auto Insurance Protection
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 400
Most people assume when they ask their agent for "full coverage" that they are receiving the best protection they can get for their money. Unfortunately, "full coverage" means different things to different insurance companies.
The bodily injury coverage on your policy is what your insurance company pays to someone else if you cause an accident. But what if you aren't at fault? What if a drunk runs a stop light and hits you? What if he isn't driving with insurance? Or what if you have serious injuries and the at-fault driver is only carrying the legal minimum of $20,000 in coverage and you have a $100,000 injury? Then what do you do?
You make sure you are carrying uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Some companies don't offer it and some agents don't include it when they are asked to provide "full coverage". This is coverage that you buy to protect you from one of the above situations. If someone else causes an accident and hurts you, you can look to your own uninsured motorist coverage to compensate you for the injuries. It's very cheap and it's the only way to ensure you are fully protected.
In the situation where you are catastrophically injured by a driver who is only carrying the legal minimum of $20,000 in bodily injury coverage, you can obtain the $20,000 from that at fault driver and then additional monies from your own underinsured motorist coverage.
So check out your insurance policy. Call your agent to confirm you have this important coverage. If you don't, buy it immediately. It's the only way to protect you and your family when you are driving.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.