In most cases when people purchase auto insurance they purchase whatever their agent tells them is sufficient. Most of the time an insured doesn’t know what they need or why they have certain coverages on their policy. Generally, the dollar amount of the policy is what speaks to them the most. You may think you won’t ever use those elective coverages BUT what if you need them and those coverages aren’t there? That can be a game changer in anyone’s life.
Uninsured Motorist coverage is used if you are involved in an accident caused by other person doesn’t carry liability insurance. If you sustain pain and suffering, and the other driver has no liability insurance, they have no way of covering your injuries they caused. If you are carrying the Uninsured Motorist coverage on your policy, that is how your injuries will be covered.
Underinsured Motorist coverage benefits you if there is not enough liability coverage on the other driver’s policy to cover your pain and suffering. For instance, just like the scenario above, if you are involved in an accident caused by another driver who is covered with only the state’s minimum required liability coverage of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, you would only receive $15,000 for pain and suffering which is not a lot of coverage in todays world. Maybe your spouse and children are injured. $30,000 is the maximum amount of liability coverage that the other driver has for the entire accident. Your Underinsured Motorist coverage would now be used to cover bodily injury costs that surpass $30,000 for the accident.
We like to see all of our clients leave our office with the best coverage. Of course these are elective coverages, so ultimately the decision is yours whether to purchase them or not. Now that you know more about it, you can make the best decision for you and your family.