How Uninsured And Underinsured Motorist Coverage Works
Hopefully, you will never experience a car accident in your life, as the results can lead to damages to your car and injuries to your body. Chances are, though, you will be in one someday. If you are, you will benefit immensely by having uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages on your car. These coverages offer the protection you need if the at-fault driver does not have any insurance or not enough insurance.
What Are Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverages?
These two coverage types are unique in nature, as they are the only types that protect you from accidents you did not cause when the driver was not fully covered by auto insurance. If someone is driving without insurance or without enough insurance, that driver would be personally responsible to pay for the damages you encounter if he or she caused an accident.
There is a problem with this, though. A driver who does not carry auto insurance probably does not have a lot of money on hand. Therefore, if he or she had to pay your car damages and thousands of dollars of medical bills, he or she probably would not be able to do this.
Having both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages offer a way for you to receive compensation if this situation ever happened to you.
How Do These Work?
Suppose an uninsured driver runs into your car. After the accident, you could file a claim with your own insurance policy to receive compensation for the damages. Your own policy would pay for the damages up to a certain amount. You would have a way to receive part or all of the compensation you should receive from the accident. If the driver had insurance but did not have enough of it, your insurance company would pay any amount over what the other person's insurance policy paid.
Why Is It So Important to Have Them?
Having these coverage types is important because a lot of people drive without coverage. You can add these to your policy without paying a lot of money, yet they would give you the protection you need for a situation that involves an uninsured or underinsured driver.
If you currently have a basic auto insurance policy and do not have these coverage types with it, contact an auto insurance company to add them. You might never need them, but you will be glad you had them if you ever end up in a situation where you need them.
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