When purchasing car insurance in the
state of Florida, one should always purchase Uninsured Motorist Coverage, also
known as UM. Uninsured Motorist coverage
comes into play when a person is involved in a car accident and hit by an
uninsured motorist. The at-fault driver who
caused the accident could either be driving with no car insurance at all or
could be driving with state mandated minimum coverage (which unfortunately only
mandates PIP/No-Fault coverage and Property Damage coverage, but does not mandate
Bodily Injury coverage). Either way, the
at-fault party who is liable for damages as a result of the bodily injuries he
or she caused as a result of the motor vehicle collision is not driving with or
carrying Bodily Injury (BI) Coverage. As
a result, an injured party cannot be compensated by the at-fault party’s
insurance since the at-fault party was not driving with any BI coverage. However, if an injured party purchased UM,
essentially that injured person can make a claim against his or her own insurance
company to compensate himself or herself for bodily injuries suffered as a
result of the motor vehicle collision.
UM coverage essentially steps into the shoes and becomes the bodily
injury coverage through which to compensate injured parties who were not liable
and not at-fault for the accident.
Additionally, it is important to note that UM coverage, if elected, can
either be purchased as stacked or non-stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage. If a person elects non-stacked coverage
(which is a lower premium amount), then his or her uninsured motorist coverage
is equal to the amount purchased no matter how many vehicles are listed on the
car insurance policy. If you purchase
stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage, then your UM coverage is multiplied by the
number of vehicles listed on your car insurance policy. For example, if a person purchased stacked
Uninsured Motorist in the amount of $10,000/$20,000 (limits per person and per
accident) and has three (3) vehicles listed on his car insurance policy, then
his UM coverage becomes $30,000/$60,000 (limits per person and per
accident). As such, stacked Uninsured
Motorist coverage can be a powerful multiplier for uninsured motorist
coverage. Any way you look at it,
Uninsured Motorist coverage should be purchased by all drivers who can afford
the extra premium.
No comments:
Post a Comment