Do I Really Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

There is an old saying - insurance is expensive until you need it. I never thought I would be advocating sending more money to your insurance company, but uninsured motorist coverage is relatively cheap, and if you need it but don't have it, you will be sorry.

Uninsured motorist coverage essentially provides coverage if you are in an accident with someone who does not have insurance. So you are basically buying insurance for other people. I just went to Progressive's website and got two sets of quotes from a number of insurance companies. When I asked for a quote including uninsured motorist coverage, the 6 month bill was between $690 and $715. When I got a set of quotes without uninsured motorist coverage, the cost was between $660 and $690. So you can see the cost of adding uninsured motorist coverage is just a few dollars per month.

So it is relatively cheap. It is also a good thing to have.

I have represented a number of people who were injured due to the negligence of other drivers and - surprise - many of the drivers who were driving drunk, driving too fast, etc. did not have insurance. Really, this is not surprising. The upshot of it is that the people who really ought to have insurance often don't. So equip yourself accordingly.

I consulted with a woman who had suffered massive injuries in a car accident- two broken legs, two broken arms, concussion, coma, etc. The driver who hit her had only the minimum policy required by California law ($15,000 - the subject of another post). Tragically, she had just canceled her large uninsured motorist coverage the week before the accident, trying to save money. She ended up getting the $15,000 from the other driver's insurance company, but because of her substantial medical bills and the months of work she had missed, she lost her house. This was a real tragedy and if she had uninsured motorist coverage, she probably would have kept her house. As it stands now, she has a foreclosure on her credit history and is renting a small apartment. Ugh.