Performance Car Reviews, News and Parts for the Car Enthusiast

Although nearly every state requires that drivers carry at least liability insurance for their cars, the fact is that many do not. In some cases, uninsured or underinsured drivers can cause damage to your car, and then either don’t have enough in their policy to cover the damage or don’t have a policy at all, leaving you with no way to recoup the cost of the damages. This is a strong case for buying insurance that includes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

This kind of extra coverage can be added to your basic policy for an extra premium. Although you may not believe that this kind of coverage is worth the price, consider how you would pay for damages to your vehicle (or injuries to yourself and your passengers) if you were to be in a collision with an uninsured driver. This could be extremely expensive, certainly more than the extra cost of the insurance.

Even in states where underinsured and uninsured policies aren’t a requirement, you should carry this policy. This kind of insurance doesn’t just cover you, it covers the passengers in your car, or anyone you list on your policy as an approved driver. This type of policy doesn’t just cover damage to your car, either. It can cover hospitalization, damaged or destroyed property replacement, and disability. The cost of an uninsured or underinsured motorist policy costs a lot less money than paying for the damages an irresponsible driver can cause.

This is especially important for drivers who only have liability insurance: although your insurance will cover any costs for property damage or personal injury that you may cause to yourself or another person if you are the at-fault driver, liability alone will not cover any damages caused by someone else.

The limits for this kind of coverage are generally similar to the other limits in your basic liability coverage. Some companies may have minimums required for uninsured motorist coverage, and some will allow you to increase your coverage to equal the limit on your liability coverage.

Usually the price of damages is handled by the driver at fault. However, in the case of an uninsured driver, there is no other option than to take on this burden yourself. A single incident or accident could cripple your finances in a moment, and it’s in your best interest to protect yourself from this possibility.

Before you finalize your insurance policy, it would be wise to ask about the additional provision as a financial precaution. Accidental injuries should not be your financial responsibility, especially when you are not at fault. Statistics have shown that accidents are responsible for a large number of injuries and the losses of life. The resulting expenses can be a tremendous burden you should not have to bear. It is advisable to ask your agent about including the uninsured-underinsured provision to your policy before finalizing the insurance.