FOCUS AREA: UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE EXAMPLES

• EXAMPLE 1

Other driver: No BI
Your policy:    No UM

If you get into an accident with another vehicle that does not have insurance coverage and the accident was their fault – you will not be able to recover anything unless you go after the person directly.  Most of the time when someone does not carry proper insurance coverage, they lack sufficient assets to make it worth the time and effort in suing the person directly.  You do have other remedies of course, such as contacting the State of Florida and having their license suspended and getting a judgment against the person so that you can garnish their wages.  However, you should speak to our office before attempting these things on your own.

• EXAMPLE 2

Other driver:  No BI
Your policy:    UM coverage

If you get into an accident with another vehicle that does not have insurance coverage (No BI) and the accident was their fault – and you have uninsured motorist coverage (UM), then you can recover money for your injuries just as if the other driver had insurance coverage.  Your insurance company will “step into the shoes” of the other driver and protect you.  Since you chose the uninsured motorist coverage and the policy limit, you know exactly how much coverage you have available for your injuries.  Most insurance policies make you choose the same amount of coverage for your uninsured motorist coverage that you chose for your bodily injury (BI) coverage.  Since bodily injury (BI) coverage protects the other driver if you are “at fault” it is only fair that you do not choose greater coverage for yourself if the other driver has no coverage. 

• EXAMPLE 3

Other driver:  Low BI limits
Your policy:    UM coverage

If you get into an accident with another vehicle that does have bodily injury (BI) coverage but has low limits (say $10,000.00) and you have injuries that demand a larger settlement – and you have UM coverage – you are entitled to this UM coverage in addition to the BI coverage.  The reason is because Uninsured Motorist coverage also stands for Underinsured Motorist coverage.  That is, if the “at fault” party does not have adequate BI coverage because your injuries are worth in excess of their policy limit – then the other party is deemed to be “underinsured.”  Your insurance company will “step into the shoes” of the other party and pay for your injuries on top of what was already paid by the “at fault” party’s insurance company.

There are a few other scenarios where even if you did not have uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance policy that you would still be covered if you had a “resident relative” with uninsured motorist coverage. 

Remember, insurance companies do not like to pay!  Even your own company will try to get out of paying.  That is why you should hire a skilled attorney who knows exactly how to present your case to both the other party’s insurance company and your own insurance company to maximize your case value.