By: Ari B. Kirshner, Associate, Personal Injury Practice Group
Auto insurance is not a topic that has ever fascinated me. To tell you the truth, up until a couple years ago, it was also fairly low on the totem pole with respect to the amount I spent on it. Why should I settle for saving 15% if I can cut corners on my coverage limits and save 50%? After all, chances are that the other guy will have sufficient coverage. Right?
Wrong! As it turns out, under-insured and un-insured motorist coverage are two of the most important kinds of coverage for a person to have. The difference between the two is simple: Under-insured coverage is for cases where you get injured by another person, but they don’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries. Un-insured motorist coverage is for cases where the responsible (or, perhaps, irresponsible) party has no insurance at all. Both types of coverage allow you to sue your own insurance company for the monetary difference so you can cover your losses. The catch is that you need to have purchased enough under and un insured motorist coverage to begin with.
In the event you’re still not convinced, allow me to show by example. Say you get into an accident and have $65,000.00 in medical bills and the other driver has a $50,000.00 insurance policy. Unless you have under-insured coverage over any beyond the $50,000.00 you’d be capped out at $50k. Take another example where the person that hits you is un-insured, and you only have minimum limits un-insured coverage. You know how much that is in Illinois? $20,000.00 - which will get you a trip to the ER, a few visits with your family doctor and a couple weeks of therapy, if you get the discounted price.
As we approach bad-weather driving season I urge you to make certain that you have sufficient automobile insurance coverage for your needs. Now that I’m married and have a child on the way, I will admit that the seemingly un-sexy expenditure of car insurance has taken on a whole new level of importance. Think of it as another way of saying “I love you.”
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