What Is Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage?

· by Matt Fox · posted March 24, 2008
· filed under Auto, Personal Insurance category.

Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM) have to be two of the more misunderstood coverage options available on your auto insurance policy.  While they do protect you if you are hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver, the type of damage it actually pays for is where the misunderstanding takes place.Recently I wrote about what Auto Liability Insurance on your auto policy covers.  There are two basic categories:  Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability.  Bodily Injury pays when you hurt or kill other people.  Property Damage Liability pays when you hurt or break other people’s property (cars, mailboxes, light poles, homes, etc.).  Please see that article for more details on Auto Liability Insurance.

UM/UIM pays for Bodily Injury damage when the other person does not have any or does not have enough Bodily Injury Liability insurance to pay for your damages.  If you are the victim of a hit and run or the person simply has no insurance and you’re injured or killed, your Uninsured Motorist could pay you damages.  If the person does not carry enough Bodily Injury Liability Insurance to pay for your damages, your Underinsured Motorist could pay.  Of course, the most it will pay is determined by your policy limits.

A comment we often hear is, “Well, I just paid off my car, I want to remove collision coverage. If I get in an accident that’s my fault I’ll pay for the damage to my car.  If someone hits me, I have Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist to pay for the car if they don’t have insurance.”

Remember:  UM/UIM pays for Bodily Injury only.  These will not pay for Property Damage to your car.  If you want coverage to pay for damage to your car, even if it’s not your fault, you need to keep collision and comprehensive (other than collision) coverage on your car.

Comments

One Response to “What Is Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage?”

  1. Travis Gensler on March 25th, 2008 12:40 pm

    You can’t buy enough of this stuff.

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