When purchasing car insurance, there are multiple plans available beyond the standard coverage. Purchasing additional coverage options allows you to tailor your insurance policy to your driving needs.
One optional coverage plan is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This type of policy protects injured drivers in the event that they are involved in a car accident with another driver who has no car insurance, or whose coverage is insufficient. The type of coverage can be very helpful in these types of situations and provides a safety net for this kind of “what if” that all drivers could potentially face.
What Does Uninsured Motorist Insurance Cover?
Purchasing car insurance is required by law in most states. However, not everyone always chooses to follow the law. An estimated 13% of drivers in the United States were uninsured in 2015, as reported by the Insurance Information Institute — that’s approximately 1 of every 8 drivers on the road.
Uninsured motorist insurance is available to compensate drivers who find themselves on the wrong side of a collision with one of these drivers. If you have this type of insurance coverage and file a claim, you can be compensated for the damages the other driver’s insurance company would cover if they had insurance. This may include medical bills, property damage costs, and other expenses.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is also helpful in cases of hit and run accidents. Without this type of coverage, victims of hit and run accidents are left without ways to pay for their damages.
Do I Need Uninsured Motorist Insurance?
Although it’s optional, purchasing uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is a good choice for any driver. If you are injured in an accident, you will not know if the other driver is uninsured until it’s too late. Or, if you are hit by a driver who flees the scene, you will be left without an outlet for recovering compensation.
This type of insurance coverage is especially helpful in at-fault states such as Georgia. In a typical case, drivers in these states need to file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company in order to recover compensation for their damages. Clearly this is not an option if the other driver is uninsured, so uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage accounts for these situations.
