What is UM coverage and why is it so important? UM coverage means uninsured or underinsured bodily injury motorist coverage and it is important for automobile accidents resulting in an injury.
For instance, if you were rear ended by another vehicle while stopped at a red light and sustained bodily injuries, you could make a claim against the at fault person’s automobile bodily injury ( BI ) coverage for your damages which may include out of pocket medical expenses, wage loss and pain and suffering damages. This coverage may include out of pocket medical expenses, wage loss and pain and suffering damages. But what would happen if the at fault driver did not carry any bodily injury coverage on their vehicle? Because liability coverage is not generally mandatory in the state of Florida, it is estimated that as many as 25-30% of motor vehicles operated on the streets are uninsured for bodily injury insurance coverage. The at- fault driver’s automobile insurance company would deny the claim since their insured did not purchase any bodily injury coverage. You could try to recover your losses against the at- fault driver personally, but this would be difficult as many drivers do not have the financial resources to pay your claim out of their own pocket. However, in this instance if you had purchased uninsured motorist coverage you then could make a claim for your out of pocket medical expenses, wage loss and pain and suffering damages against your own automobile insurance company up to your UM coverage limits.
In the above scenario if the at- fault driver only carried $10,000 in bodily injury coverage but you had sustained damages greatly exceeding that amount then you could also make a claim under your underinsured motorist coverage for the additional damages beyond the bodily injury coverage limits. As you can see it is very important that you purchase UM coverage on your automobile insurance policy to protect you and your family if you are injured by someone driving a vehicle not covered for bodily injury insurance or only carries a minimal amount of bodily injury coverage.
