What is uninsured motorist coverage?
As personal injury lawyers in Arizona, we know that understanding “uninsured motorist coverage” can be confusing to many people.
When a driver of car is negligent and hurts someone else, they are responsible for the injuries they cause. The claim that the injured person has against the at-fault driver is called a personal injury claim. When a driver hurts someone else – whether that other person is in another car, on a bike, on a motorcycle, or walking – the negligent driver has legal liability. A basic principle behind this system is that the person who causes someone else to owe money to doctors (medical bills) and who loses money because they are unable to work (lost wages) should get reimbursed by the person who caused the injury.
When a driver causes a car accident in Arizona, his has “liability” and owes money for the medical bills, wage loss, and other damages he caused. When the injured person goes to make this claim, the driver’s insurance company takes over. The insurance company for the driver will then pay the legally compensable damages. In plain English, this means that the insurance company is on the hook for the medical bills, lost wages, and so forth.
What happens if the other driver who caused the injury does not have insurance? Well, under car insurance laws in Arizona, law that driver is still liable and still required to pay. But, as the old saying goes, you can’t get blood from a turnip. If the other driver could not even afford car insurance, what are the chances that driver has money that can pay the claim? Possible, but unlikely.
This is where it important to have uninsured motorist coverage.
Uninsured coverage (sometimes referred to as UM) only applies if the person that causes a traffic accident does not have insurance.
What is underinsured motorist coverage, and how is it different from uninsured motorist coverage?
Underinsured motorist coverage is similar to uninsured motorist coverage, but it is vital to have both as they will protect you under different conditions, each equally important.
When a driver of a vehicle is at fault in an injury auto accident in Arizona, and that driver has no insurance, the best hope for protection from mounting medical bills, lost wages, and other damages for the injured party is to have uninsured motorist coverage. However, what happens when the driver who was negligent did have insurance, but did not have nearly enough insurance to cover the damages the driver caused? This is where having underinsured motorist coverage (sometimes referred to as UIM coverage) is so important to the injured person.
For instance, after a serious injury or car accident, it is not unusual to see medical bills of $50,000, or more. (Yes, that is a shocking number for many people, but considering the rising cost of healthcare, we see medical charges of this amount on a fairly regular basis when the injuries are serious.) Now, if the other driver only has the minimum, state-required mandatory insurance policy limits in Arizona – $15,000 – that will not even cover the medical bills, let alone reimbursement for lost income and other damages. How can someone protect their children, their spouse, and themselves in case they are ever injured in a car accident? Under the scenario – serious injuries, high medical expenses, and inadequate insurance by the at-fault driver – Arizona underinsured motorist coverage is vital.
Underinsured will pay for any money that at-fault driver is required by law to pay where that driver did have insurance but did not have enough insurance to pay for the injury that at-fault driver caused.
