Uninsured Motorist Coverage: What Is It and How Can We Be Prepared

As a responsible driver, you have auto insurance to protect yourself if you are ever involved in a motor vehicle accident. If your current plan does not cover uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, you can be at financial risk should you ever be hit by someone without insurance or without adequate coverage. This may occur more often than you think, as the Insurance Information Institute reports that 13%, or every 1 in 8 drivers are uninsured. In Los Angeles, those statistics only get higher. Every 1 in 3 drivers are driving without accident insurance bringing that percentage up from 13% to 33%.

For example, your driving home one day from work and a young driver slams right into the side of your car. This type of accident occurs many times during the day all over the country. Now if the person who hit you is uninsured and you don't have uninsured motorist coverage (UM), you might find yourself paying for those high medical bills and car repair expenses out of your own pocket. Remember, this driver may not only be uninsured, but they may also be excluded from the policy all together. This mean that regardless if that person was allowed to be driving that car or not, your car insurance will not provide coverage.

So what is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage exactly?

Uninsured motorist coverage is the protection against an uninsured driver which has caused any type of bodily injury as a result of an accident. An example of a uninsured motorist is when the party at fault of an accident did not have any insurance, had insurance that did not meet the minimum liability requirements, or had their insurance provider deny the claim due to not being financially able to pay for it.

Underinsured coverage is when the at fault drivers coverage is too low to cover your expenses as a result of the injuries you have sustained form the accident. Usually uninsured drivers have opted to get the minimum coverage as provided by the state, which usually does not cover a large amount depending on the state you reside.

Should you ever be involved in an accident by either type of uninsured driver, your own uninsured motorist coverage covers you. You want to always opt in for this option when deciding on your insurance plan.