For convenience, this post is also in audio form. (not word for word).
(Audio: 3:58 minutes)
Uninsured Motorist Coverage and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Liability insurance coverage is the most important insurance coverage you must have. Liability coverage pays the other driver if you injure someone in an accident.
Arizona law requires all drivers to carry liability insurance.
However, the most valuable insurance is Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM).
UM/UIM for short.
If you don’t know whether or not you have Underinsured Motorist Coverage, stop reading now and call your insurance agent!
Underinsured Motorist Coverage is that important.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
As I write this article in January 2019, 50% of my car accident cases from 2018 are dealing with UIM insurance.
Underinsured Motorist insurance covers you if you are injured by someone who doesn’t have enough insurance.
Thankfully all my clients have UIM insurance.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage works this way. If you have a case worth $100,000.00, and the driver who hit you only has $25,000.00 of insurance, you will need to access your UIM coverage. In this scenario, your UIM coverage will pay you the remaining $75,000.00 for the total value of your case.
UM/UIM insurance allows you to take control of your life.
You’re ensuring that if you’re involved in an accident, your medical bills and pain and suffering are taken care of one way or another.
You can choose to get $25,000.00, $50,000.00, $100,000, or much more in Uninsured and Underinsured coverage.
And, the best thing about UIM insurance is that it is cheap. Hopefully, you will never need it, but for less than $10 a month, you can have UIM/UM insurance.
Suing Option
Often, when the insurance company tells me their insured did not have enough insurance, I’m forced to call my client. My clients are always upset because the at-fault driver did not buy enough insurance.
Sometimes my clients want to sue. However, I explain that suing is not a good option because if the at-fault driver only has minimum coverage, they probably don’t have any assets to satisfy a judgment after a lawsuit.
Logically speaking, if a person has a lot of assets, they will have a lot of insurance to protect them.
Bad Faith Lawsuits in Arizona
After you do the right thing and get UIM insurance your own insurance company will sometimes fight you.
Yes, I know it’s crazy. You pay premiums all these years, and now your own insurance company says we don’t think you’re hurt as bad as you claim.
It doesn’t happen often, but my clients have to sue their own insurance company every three or four years.
These lawsuits are called “Bad Faith Lawsuits.”
Sometimes bad faith suits against your own insurance company are the only way to get fair compensation for your personal injury claim.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured Motorist insurance is insurance that covers you if you are injured by someone who doesn’t have insurance at all.
You buy Uninsured Motorist Coverage at the same time you purchase Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
Because it’s the law, most Arizona drivers carry liability insurance, and I don’t see a lot of cases where this is needed.
Insurance Summary:
Here are the types of insurance coverage you should have:
Liability
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Collision (pays for the damage to your car)
Comprehensive (pays for break-ins, fire, etc. to your car)
Medical Payments (pays for your medical bills. usually up to $5,000.00)
If you have any questions about the complex world of insurance, please call me at (602) 284-3035, or email me at derronw@msn.com.
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