What is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Uninsured motorist coverage is an insurance policy that pays for your car accident damages if you were hit by a driver without car insurance or the victim of a hit and run.
Uninsured car insurance coverage is also sometimes combined with underinsured motorist coverage.
Underinsured motorist coverage pays for your auto accident damages if you were in a crash with a driver who has insurance, but cannot pay for all your damages.
Both insurance policies are similiar in how they work and cover.
Who is Covered?
The following people are covered under uninsured coverage:
- The policy holder
- Other drivers under the policy
- Passengers
You are also covered under your uninsured coverage if you were in a auto accident as a pedestrian. As long as the driver who caused the crash had no insurance, you would still get be able to file a claim under this policy.
What is Covered?
Your uninsured coverage will pay for your:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages due to injuries
- Pain and suffering
Read Personal Injury Settlements to Calculate Your Pain and Suffering
How much is covered?
The uninsured motorist coverage will pay up to your policy limits. For example, my uninsured coverage has the following limits
Bodily Injury Limits:
- $25,000 per person
- $50,000 per accident
What isn’t Covered?
Unfortunately, your property damages are not covered in uninsured coverage. If you want money for your auto damages you will have to file under your own collision coverage.
Read Car Accident Claims: How to Collect Money for Car Repair
Auto Accident Claims :Should You Use Car Collision Insurance?
How much does it cost?
Buying underinsured coverage is very affordable. I have both uninsured and underinsured coverage which adds an additional $4.80 to my yearly premiums. Considering how much protection it offers, it is well worth the cost.
Getting Money From Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage
To collect money from your uninsured coverage, you will have to start an auto accident claim with your own insurance company.
Read How to Start Car Accident Claims
If you want to get the most money from your uninsured coverage, there are 2 things you should keep in mind:
1. You still have to show fault
Just because you were in an accident with an uninsured driver, doesn’t mean you will automatically get paid. You still have to show that the other driver caused your crash.
Some states pay you based on the percentage of fault of the other driver in the accident. This is known as comparative negligence.
Example:
You are in a car crash where you stopped short and were struck from behind by another driver without auto insurance. You calculate your medicals to be $2,000. Since the driver didn’t have any insurance, you decide to start an accident claim under your uninsured coverage.
After looking at the car accident report and speaking with witnesses, your insurance company says that you were driving in a school zone area and should have been driving slower to prevent the accident. Your insurance company assigns you 20% fault for the crash.
This means that your insurance company will only pay for 80% of your total medical bill ($1,600).
The less fault you get, the more money you get from the insurance company.
That is why it is important you collect evidence from the car accident scene and avoid getting any fault.
Read Car Accident Claims: Collecting Evidence for Settlements
Read Car Accident Insurance Claim : Avoid Questions That Give Your More Fault
2. Be Careful Starting Claims.
Just because you are starting a car accident claim with your own insurance company, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful. They are still an insurance company and are notorious for not wanting to pay people for injuries and damages.
To protect yourself and get the most money from your uninsured motorist coverage Read Car Accident Settlements :Costly Mistakes You Should Avoid
Want to know How Much Your Injury Claim is Worth? Get a free settlement estimate right now.
