Every week here at the Mauceri Group, we discuss some of the coverages that are important to look for when you’re examining an insurance quote you receive from one of the major insurance companies, or through your local insurance agent. This week, we will be taking a look at Underinsured Motorists bodily injury and property damage.
Underinsured Motorists is a very similar coverage to Uninsured Motorist. Both coverages are safeguards in place to make sure that if you are hit in an accident in which you are not at fault, you will still receive compensation regardless of the situation. Underinsured insures this in a different way than Uninsured however.
As an example of how Underinsured motorists covers you, let’s look at the Denton area again. College students, who are in high amount in Denton and who often times don’t have a great deal of money, might look for a way to save money by cutting costs on their car insurance. Often times an easy way to do this is to carry only liability on their policy, and only at the state minimums. So say you’re driving around Plano, Frisco, Dallas or Fort Worth – or any of the major cities in the DFW area – and one of these students is in town visiting their parents. This student, with low limits, hits you. You are in no way at fault, but you are injured and your medical bills come back at $40,000. Now, since they are at fault their insurance company will pay you for you losses – however since their limits are so low, the company will only pay you the $30,000 for your injuries, that Texas state law requires. This is $10,000 of medical bills left over.
With Underinsured Motorists coverage, you are covered. Now your coverage will kick in, to cover to the fact the motorist who hit you was underinsured. This is a clear example as to why Underinsured Motorists is an important coverage, and one that should be discussed with a local insurance agent when you’re looking over your auto insurance quotes.
It is also important to note that many
insurance companies, such as Safeco, Metlife and travelers, combine both Underinsured Motorists and Uninsured Motorists as one coverage.
If you have any questions on Underinsured Motorists coverage, you can find us on
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