What is “UM” Car Insurance? Why You Should Care
In this article I would explain the concept of “UM” car insurance and give reasons why you should be concerned and lay more emphasis on it.
What Is UM Car Insurance?
UM is an abbreviation for uninsured motorists. Uninsured Motorists Coverage (UM) is the type of coverage that protects you should your vehicle is hit by a driver without auto insurance or if you are involved in a hit and run incident.
In UM car insurance, should you are faced with an accident your insurance would pay your medical bills and lost wages. Your family members, and/or passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident would also be taking care of up to your limits.
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Car wrecks are scary as hell even if you are
not badly hurt, especially when the other
driver caused the wreck for no good
reason. Suffering a horrible injury that
dramatically affects every aspect of your
life takes it to another level by affecting
your school, marriage, parenting, work, and
overall quality of life.
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In that situation, the last thing you want to make matters even worse is having nothing available to pay for the costs of medical treatment that is uncovered by health insurance.
Whether you have outstanding health insurance or none at all, it is not fair for you to have to come out of pocket for co-pays,
deductibles, etc. for something that was
not your fault.
This post on “UM coverage”
is the first in a series that I am writing to
arm all vehicle users with information to better their lives by knowing the law before they need it, rather than after it is too late. I
hope you learn something in the series;
and, that you will contact me for additional
information on any particular topic if you need it.
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According to georgialawyerteam.com they have represented people who were hurt in
car wrecks caused by other drivers for over
17 years. During that time, one consistent
thing that has come up is that their Clients
almost always wish that they had purchased:
- More UM coverage and
- The right kind of UM coverage.
“The problem is that most folks have no idea of what that even means until it is too late. If even one person reads this and obtains appropriate UM coverage that “saves their bacon” later, writing this post will be well worth it. Georgia’s Minimum Coverage
Rule Is, Well, Extremely “minimum”, they added.
When the other driver is at fault, their
liability insurer is on the hook for the limits
of their policy. The problem is in Georgia,
you can legally drive with only $25,000 in
liability coverage.
Georgia consumers must have automobile
liability insurance for at least the minimum
limits required by law to drive on the
Georgia public roads and highways. The
minimum limits of liability required under
Georgia law are Bodily injury Liability of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per
occurrence, and Property Damage liability
of $25,000 per occurrence.
What Is Liability Insurance?
Liability insurance is insurance that pays damages to others, on behalf of an insured, for injury to or damaged property of others, up to the policy limit, which an insured may have caused by his negligence or may protect him against claims made against him by someone who alleges he was at-fault.
“Is there a problem with this? Ask one of my
Clients who was badly injured in a wreck someone else caused. When you do, they will say that $25,000 is not nearly enough to pay for treatment for many injuries; or, so much as a couple of nights in the hospital. Pain and suffering? Lost wages from time off
work? Not a chance!”, a suggestive interaction between a client and georgialawyerteam.com.
While opinions may vary as to whether
Georgia should have raised its mandatory
liability limits long ago, at least at the
present time, it is what it is, as they say. If
you disagree with the rule of law, contact
your local Representative or Senator. The
other thing you can do is make sure you
are not left saddled with a lifetime of debt
for something that was not your fault.
One way to accomplish this is by seriously
considering purchasing the right kind of UM
auto coverage. “UM” Means “uninsured” or
“underinsured”
One thing that most Clients who have purchased UM coverage insurance definitely have shown is the lack of understanding about what kind of UM coverage they have. georgialawyerteam.com stated that, “For some reason, my Clients never seem to come to me with an understanding that they were sold one of two very different kinds of UM coverage by their insurance agent; and, that the differences were never explained to them. This blows my mind because I see the impact on my Clients’ lives by this seemingly mundane “check the box” decision so often.”
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Types Of UM Coverage Insurance
Regular UM
The first kind of UM coverage insurance is what I have heard at least one insurance agent refer to as “regular UM.” The term 1 use for this coverage is “offset UM.” It is less expensive and often what is chosen for UM coverage by most Clients, unfortunately, who lack the knowledge that there is something offering significantly greater protection for just a bit more money. The “offset” means that if you purchase $25,000 of UM coverage, it is offset by the at-fault driver’s liability policy.
Since the at-fault driver will have at least $25,000 of insurance, that means that
purchasing such a UM policy is completely
worthless. The only exceptions to that are
two things that are extremely unlikely:
- The at-fault driver is a “hit and run” who is never captured
- The at-fault driver is
driving a vehicle that lacks any liability
insurance, whatsoever.
Excess Or Add On UM Coverage Insurance
The second UM coverage insurance variety is what is
commonly referred to as “excess” or “add
on” coverage, as in excess or supplemental
to any liability policies. Using the same
scenario as above, purchasing “excess”
coverage would mean that there is no
offset; and, once the $25,000 liability policy
of the at-fault driver is used up, thére is
another $25,000 payable for medical bills,
pain, and suffering, or lost wages. In other
words, if just your medical bills alone are
$50,000, checking the “excess” box when
choosing insurance could mean the
difference between incurring $25,000 in debt versus $0 debt at the conclusion of your case.
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Conclusion
Ask your insurance agent UM coverage. For instance, ask them how much choosing “excess UM” costs versus “offset UM.” From there, after you know the facts, make the best financial decision for you and your family. That way, if you ever find yourself seriously injured at the fault of someone else, your total available insurance coverage does not necessarily have to be dictated by the choice of the at-fault driver. This is especially important when that same driver opted to get the cheapest coverage they could find just because the State allowed them to do it.
