Gulf Coast Family

by Attorney G. Alan Tripp, Jr. – Seminole

Protect your family with Uninsured Motorist Coverage

An increasing number of families are facing the decision of whether to pay for car insurance or groceries. The result? A growing number of uninsured drivers on Florida’s roads. How can you protect your family from financial hardship after a member of your family is injured by an irresponsible, uninsured driver? One solution is to carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.

If someone injures you in a car accident but has insufficient or no bodily injury (BI) liability coverage, the UM coverage from your auto insurance policy would be available to compensate you just as if the at-fault driver actually carried BI coverage. Put simply, your insurance company “steps into the shoes” of the at-fault driver and will pay for the damages for which the at-fault driver is responsible up to your family’s UM coverage policy limit.

What do I mean by “policy limit”? The smallest amount of UM coverage you can purchase is $10,000 per person/$20,000 per accident. If you were injured while covered by this policy, the most you could collect from your UM coverage is $10,000. If one other person were riding in your car, your insurance would pay up to $10,000 to each of you. If a total of three people were riding in your car, your insurance would pay no more than $10,000 to any one of you and no more than $20,000 to all of you.

Probably the most important but overlooked option in UM coverage is the “stacking” option which multiplies the amount of your UM coverage by the number of vehicles on your policy. If the policy described above insured three vehicles and the policyholder selected the “stacking” option, the UM coverage would instead be $30,000 per person/$60,000 per accident. The benefit of the stacking option is tremendous, and, ironically, the added cost to “stack” your UM coverage is usually very small in comparison. I recommend that you carry as much stacked UM coverage as you can afford.

Do not assume you carry UM coverage! “Full coverage” does not necessarily mean you have UM coverage. It only takes a few short minutes to review your policy and/or talk to your agent. More than once I have had the unpleasant responsibility of explaining to a victim of a serious personal injury that there is just not enough insurance to even pay for his medical bills much less fully compensate him for his permanent injuries. Do not wait until the accident has happened because then, it will be too late to protect your family.

DISCLAIMER - Nothing in this informational public service article should be construed as giving legal advice and should not be acted upon without first consulting an attorney. Also, this article should not be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship.