The Importance Of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

We have previously written about the importance of uninsured motorist coverage, particularly in today’s economic times. In this article we wish to reemphasize how important it is that Georgia residents protect themselves with uninsured motorist coverage if at all possible within their family budget. The reason for this is because more and more motorists are driving with the minimum limits required by law, which is only $25,000.00 per person and many are driving with no insurance whatsoever, taking their chances with the law. The economy, of course, is the reason behind this, but the problem arises when an innocent third party is severely injured by the negligence of an uninsured or underinsured motorist.
If a motorist with minimum limits of coverage strikes another vehicle and hypothetically a passenger in that vehicle suffers a broken neck or back, clearly $25,000.00 will not even cover the medical expenses much less provide reimbursement for pain and suffering, lost wages and the permanent disability that may be caused by the negligence. Theoretically, of course, there is still a claim against the negligent driver, but if they only have $25,000.00 in coverage, they probably have no assets sufficient to satisfy any judgment. Under this set of circumstances, the only way the innocent person can protect themselves from those who are driving with either minimum or no insurance is to have uninsured motorist coverage.
The way uninsured motorist coverage works is that if you are in an accident as an innocent person and injured as a result of the negligence of either an uninsured or underinsured driver, then to the extent, if you have uninsured coverage as part of your own policy of insurance, you can have your own insurance company be responsible for the injuries and damages you sustained since you have paid for such coverage. In the hypothetical case posed, if the innocent victim had $300,000.00 in uninsured motorist coverage, rather than being left with only $25,000.00 from the at fault driver, they would at least have access to $300,000.00 as compensation for their damages through their own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
What is ironic about all of this is that uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is quite inexpensive when compared to liability coverage which we all must have by law. Everyone who can afford to do so within the state of Georgia should confer with their insurance agent about getting uninsured motorist coverage. Insurance is really just that – insurance against the catastrophic claim, which we all hope never happens. If we are in an accident and severely injured and the person who injures us has little or no assets and the minimum limits or no coverage, our only recourse will be against our own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Accordingly, we would urge anyone who reads this to contact their insurance agent today and get some quotes for uninsured motorist coverage. If you can afford $100-500,000.00 in coverage (or even more) you might want to consider it because if you are ever in the unfortunate situation described you could be in an even worse situation at that time with absolutely no recourse to recover for your damages despite your total innocence in the premises.