Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UM) covers you, the insured members of your household and your passengers for bodily/personal injuries, damages or death caused by an at-fault uninsured or hit-and-run driver. If you are involved in an accident where the other driver is at fault but has no insurance, your policy will cover your medical expenses, up to the limit on your policy.
There is also uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) available in some states that will pay for property damage to your vehicle if you are hit by an uninsured driver.
You are covered by your auto insurance, but you need to note that your auto insurance coverages cover different parts of any loss. For example, your Bodily Injury Liability covers the other persons injuries. Depending on your state, PIP or Medical Payments will cover your injuries. If you get into an accident with an individual that doesn't have sufficient Bodily Injury Liability then you need to be able to cover your injuries.
[Let CarInsurance.com help you find affordable auto insurance now.] In most states there is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury which is the same as above but it covers you if the at fault driver doesn't have insurance OR there isn't enough coverage to cover your damages. In a few states it is separated out and sold separately as Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury and Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury.
The decision to purchase uninsured motorist coverage is really up to you and your individual needs. You need to consider the different risks that you, your auto and possible passengers of the car are going to face when out on the roadways.
Individuals without health insurance may benefit from UMBI coverage, because if the other coverage limits chosen are inadequate, you'll be responsible for paying the additional amount.
Given the unfortunate large number of uninsured motorists driving in each state, uninsured motorist can be important coverage to have, even in states with no-fault insurance where personal injury protection (PIP) is required.
For example, in Florida, your PIP, or no-fault, benefits carry a $10,000 limit. So there may be instances when your no-fault benefits will not cover a loss.
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Whether you have enough medical or other insurance coverages that would cover all of your bodily injury bills (and any pain suffering, time off work, etc) would depend upon which coverages you have already in place with your auto policy and what type of health insurance you may have through your workplace.
As for uninsured motorist property damage, if you have collision coverage you may not find UMPD necessary. Since you could place a claim for an accident with a
Your current insurance agent, who knows what specific insurance coverages you already have in place, could advise you if uninsured motorist is worth having and if you have "holes" in your coverage that UM could help fill.
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