February 9th, 2022
What is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
The type of automobile insurance and the coverages you maintain on your policy can have an important impact on potential benefits you may be entitled to following a collision. There are numerous types of coverages you can purchase for your automobile insurance to make sure you are protected in the event you are involved in an automobile collision. One of those coverages you can purchase is underinsured motorist coverage (“UIM”).
UIM coverage is designed to protect a policyholder if he or she is involved in a motor vehicle crash and the other individual in the collision does not maintain sufficient insurance coverage. Naturally, the individual that caused the collision is responsible to fully compensate the party that is not at fault. With that said, sometimes the at-fault individual may not maintain adequate insurance coverage to fully compensate the individual he or she injured. When that situation occurs, the at-fault party would be considered underinsured, and the injured party can turn to his or her own automobile insurance policy to recover the remaining portion to receive full compensation for his or her injuries.
At first thought, underinsured motorist coverage may seem counterintuitive to you. You may be thinking, “Why am I turning to my own insurance company for payment of a collision that was not my fault?” UIM coverage is a coverage you can purchase to ensure you and your family are protected from a driver that does not have adequate coverage to compensate you and/or your family from injuries you may sustain in a collision and to make sure you are not limited to what the at-fault party and/or their insurance company can offer. As you can tell, purchasing and maintaining UIM coverage can provide key benefits to you and your loved ones.
Purchasing UIM coverage for your motor vehicles can protect you and your family if you are involved in a motor vehicle collision with an underinsured motorist. It would be prudent to inquire with your insurance company about whether you maintain UIM coverage on your motor vehicles and, if not, how much it would cost to add UIM coverage to your insurance policy. The decision to purchase UIM coverage can make an enormous difference on whether you can be compensated to the fullest degree following a motor vehicle crash.