Why Uninsured and Under-Insured Motorist Coverage?

In Arizona, like most states, every driver's required to have car insurance to drive or operate a vehicle.

Want a surprise? Some people on the road have a license, but their insurance is no longer in force. Also, some folks who are behind the wheel don't have a license.

OK, so you're not surprised.

But if you get into an accident and it's the other driver's fault and you or your passengers sustain serious injury, what happens?

Of course you could sue the driver who caused the problem, but if (s)he's uninsured, the strong likelihood is that they don't have anything you can get after you get your judgment.

That's why Uninsured Motorist coverage was created.

While you may already be aware of this type of insurance, you may not be aware of its first-cousin, Under-Insured Motorist Coverage, which we'll talk about in a second.

But Uninsured Motorist (UM) means that if you have the kind of incident we were mentioning, i.e., an accident with an uninsured or unlicensed and uninsured driver, you're covered. You can get UM as part of your auto policy, and insurance companies in Arizona (and most other states) are required to notify you of its availability. But lots of times, a waiver of this coverage is something you might sign without having a conversation with your agent.

If that's happened to you, you might need a new agent (subtle hint?).

You might have medical insurance and your passengers may also be covered by health and major medical, but maybe not. If you're the only one that's injured, even if you do have that kind of coverage, the deductible and co-pays are still your responsibility. Uninsured Motorist eliminates that concern.

Under-Insured Motorist (UIM) Coverage is a slightly different animal.

If you have an accident with another vehicle and the other driver's at fault and has the state minimum liability coverage of $15 thousand per person and $30 thousand per occurrence, what happens if you and your passenger each have $20 thousand worth of medical bills?

Without UIM, the $5 thousand gap is the liability of the injured party. Obviously if the injuries are worse, so is the gap.

UIM covers the difference.

Naturally, I hope that you never need to be concerned about any auto insurance claims. One of the best things that could happen to any of us is to "waste" all the money we pay for car insurance by never having a claim.

But as the saying goes, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

UM and UIM are important coverages to be included in your policy. For more information or to talk about your current coverage, give me a call or drop me a note. The number at the office is 602-466-2636 and my cell number is 480-628-9786. If you'd rather than I call you, drop a note to jbushman@farmersagent.com, give me your number and an idea on the best time to reach you.

Thanks.