Do you have enough uninsured motorist coverage?
What if a car whose driver has no insurance hits you? Who will pay your doctor’s bills? How will you pay to get your car repaired? If someone hits you or your car and is legally responsible for the damages, you won’t get any money from them if they don’t have money to give you.
Virginia is one of the states that does not require all drivers to carry insurance. Because of this fact, it is vital to make sure you have uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance policy.
Uninsured motorist insurance protects you in case you are involved in an accident with a driver that has no insurance. It is relatively inexpensive to get good coverage and it could make a big difference to you if you are unlucky enough to be hit by an uninsured driver. It could pay your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.
Insurance Information Institute Vice President Carolyn Gorman says:
“You absolutely need this coverage, because, if you get into an accident with someone who is driving without insurance or doesn’t have enough of it, you want to be made financially whole again. You have to protect yourself fiscally and physically, a -nd uninsured/underinsured motorist protection can help you in that regard.”
You should read the declarations page of your automobile insurance policy to find the various coverages you have along with the amount you pay for the premium. If you can’t find this information call your insurance agent and they will help you find it. The two most important items on that page are the limits of the liability coverage and the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages. It will usually say something like $25,000/$50,000, or $100,000/$300,000 or $300,000/$500,000.
Liability insurance coverage is the highest amount of money that your insurance company would pay if you injured another person in an accident. A high amount of liability coverage can help keep you from getting sued because you don’t have enough insurance to cover the cost of damages you caused in an accident.
We strongly recommend that you carry at least $300,000 in liability coverage. Rising medical costs mean that a moderate accident can easily cause injury in excess of $100,000, which is the amount most people carry. If you carry under $100,000 you should call your insurance agent today and increase that amount right away. The cost to increase your coverage is usually not that much.
Uninsured Motorist coverage helps protect you from those people that carry little or no liability coverage. You should have UM coverage in the same amount as your liability coverage.