WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE REOCCURRING PROBLEM WE SEE AFFECTING OUR CLIENTS THAT YOU CAN AVOID RIGHT NOW BEFORE YOU GET IN AN ACCIDENT?

the answer IS – a FAILURE TO PURCHASE SUFFICIENT UM (UNINSURED) OR UIM (UNDERINSURANCE) COVERAGE ON YOUR own AUTOMOBILE POLICY.

This is a pitfall we see time and time again. Right after I give the client the news that even though they have a good case, they will probably not be able to recover much money for compensation due to a minimum policy limits of a defendant and no or insufficient UIM/UM coverage. I see their jaw drop and hear this: “Man, if I had only known that before my accident”… The good news – if you are reading this now, you can avoid it. Remember, hindsight is 20/20 but foresight can be blind.

What is UM and UIM?

UM (uninsured motorist) coverage protects you in the event the defendant’s car in an accident has no insurance. This happens more often than you may think. Many vehicles out there on the road have no insurance. Why? Maybe the owner failed to pay premiums and the insurance was cancelled or the car was never insured in the first place. Regardless of the reason, if it’s an uninsured vehicle you may not receive a dime if they collide with you and cause you injury, and cost you money for medical bills, loss of your job or all the pain and suffering due to the accident.

The only way to protect yourself is to have your own UM coverage. It should be high, at least $100,000.00 of coverage, minimally. So, look at your insurance coverage card. Do you have UM coverage? If not get it!

UIM (underinsured motorist) protects you if the other car that you are involved in the accident with has insurance coverage designed to protect you (liability coverage), but it is lower than your damages from the accident. This is also very typical. For example, the liability coverage on that car that hit you is the North Carolina state minimum ($30,000.00). If your damages, including medical bills, wage loss and pain and suffering are greater than $30,000.00 you are out of luck, unless you carry UIM coverage. Your UIM policy will then kick in to pay your up to the extent of that coverage. So again, look at your insurance coverage card and see if you have a sufficient UIM coverage. If not, you should get it!