What is uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and should I have it?

Uninsured motorist coverage is part of your car insurance policy that covers your bodily injuries, medical bills, and pain and suffering when you are hit by someone who doesn’t have car insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage takes pays you for bodily injuries, medical bills, and pain and suffering when the person who hit you doesn’t have enough car insurance. Currently in Arizona, Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage is optional in Arizona.

Do I need uninsured and underinsured coverage?

You absolutely need to add both coverages to your car insurance if you don’t have them already. A recent study found that 12 percent, or 1 in 8 drivers, are uninsured. Likewise, many drivers on the road don’t have enough insurance to pay for your injuries. As an example, while driving you get rear-ended and have to go to the hospital. The doctors have you undergo a CT scan, MRI, and X-rays to see where you were injured. You learn that you have a concussion and a broken hand. After you are discharged, you spend six months in physical therapy, several months in occupational therapy, and have multiple doctors visits. By the end of your treatment, you have $35,000 in medical bills. Unfortunately, you learn that the driver was uninsured. To add insult to injury you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage. You wonder: can I be compensated for my injuries? The answer is not unless you have the proper insurance coverage.

Same scenario, but now, the person who crashed into you has minimum limits, $25,000. That doesn’t even cover your medical bills, not to mention your pain and suffering or your lost wages. You ask yourself: How can I be compensated for the full amount of my injuries. The answer is you must have underinsured motorist coverage in order to be fully compensated.

What should I do?

Check your car insurance policy to make sure that you have these coverages. The Uninsured and Underinsured coverages that you add need to be at least the minimum liability limits in Arizona, $25,000 per person and $50,000 combined total limit. Preferably you should have higher car insurance limits to cover your or your loved ones in case of a serious car accident.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a serious car accident, contact or call the experienced personal injury lawyers at Snyder & Wenner now at 602-224-0005.