Why Uninsured or Under-insured Motorist Coverage is Necessary

Drew Dixon

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

With the cost of treatments for many injuries rising, people involved in accidents do not always have enough insurance to pay their bills after an accident. Almost every state requires a driver carry some liability insurance, but the sad truth is that not everyone does and chances are the ones that do are under-insured. It is estimated that the uninsured motorist population in the U.S. has grown to more than 15%. In fact, in some states such as California it is estimated that as many as one third of drivers do not carry insurance.

What that means is that nearly one out of every eight serious accidents in the U.S. is caused by an uninsured driver. And when an accident is caused by an uninsured driver, the victim may have to rely on their health insurance through work to pay their medical bills. And more often than not the victims lost wages and property damage go unpaid and uncollected.

A solution to this growing problem is the added insurance coverage for "uninsured" and "under-insured" motorists. When you select this on your policy you are covered when the tortfeasor either does not have insurance at all or doesn't carry enough to pay your medical expenses. With this in mind I would recommend that you contact your insurance provider and add both "uninsured" and "under-insured" motorist coverage because you never know when you might be in an accident.

Image source: Wikimedia commons