How Uninsured and Underinsured Driver Coverage Works
It may be hard to imagine that some people will be driving around without car insurance. Most people would not even dream of it since it is a legal requirement to at least buy liabilities coverage. However, around fifteen percent of US drivers have no insurance coverage according to the Insurance Research Council. This numbers are pretty high to ignore whichever way you look at.
Unfortunately, this may mean that you will need to buy Uninsured and Underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage to protect yourself. May it be as unfair as it sounds this may be your easiest option. Who wants to deal with a driver who has no coverage to pay you and unlikely to have enough money himself? These policy additions usually cover the following should you be hit by one of these drivers;
- Medical costs and lost wages due to accident as well as future earning capacity
- Emotional distress , pain and suffering
- Property damage (in some states)
Another way of looking at it is that the coverage pays your losses just like a third party insurer would have should the driver causing the accident had one. In a way, you are buying the coverage he was supposed to but not as expensive.
Once you find out that the at fault party do not have insurance you will need to contact your own insurer. They will take it from there and assess the damages. They would have to pay you and decide what to do next. In some cases they can go after the party caused the losses. But their chances of recovering damages in the short term may be slim. Anyway, this would not really be your problem.
Read more info "How Uninsured and Underinsured Driver Coverage Works" on the next page :