When signing up for automobile insurance, it can be easy to be overwhelmed and confused by your options. The tangle of coverage choices can be difficult to unravel. Understanding your car insurance options and getting the right coverage you need, however, is incredibly important. That is why we are going to focus our discussion here on one of your coverage options, Uninsured/Underinsured (UM/UIM coverage), and how it works
Overview of UM/UIM Coverage
Let us begin our coverage conversation with the automobile insurance requirements that Pennsylvania drivers are subject to. For starters, all Pennsylvania drivers must carry bodily injury liability coverage in the amounts of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident. Should you injure someone in a car accident you cause, this coverage will go towards paying for the person’s medical expenses and other related damages. Additionally, you are required to carry $5,000 in property damage liability coverage which will pay for someone else’s property damage in an accident you are at fault for causing. You are also required to carry first-party benefits of $5,000 which will go towards paying for your medical bills regardless of who is at fault in causing the accident. You can always opt for higher limits as well.
When signing up for automobile insurance, you are required to be offered minimum Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident. In Pennsylvania, UM/UIM coverage is optional, but you must explicitly request to reject this coverage option. Even though UM/UIM coverage is optional, it should still be seriously considered. When considering whether or not to carry UM/UIM coverage, it is helpful to understand how it works.
UM coverage comes into play should you be hit by an uninsured motorist or should you be injured in an accident caused by a hit and run driver that cannot be located. The most recently released data from the Insurance Information Institute states that approximately 13 percent of motorists in Pennsylvania are uninsured. This means your chances of being injured in an accident caused by an uninsured driver are pretty solid. Should this happen, you can make a claim with your UM carrier seeking compensation for losses you sustained in the accident.
UIM coverage comes into play when you are injured in an accident caused by a person who does not carry enough insurance to adequately compensate you for your damages. In this case, you must first exhaust the insurance limits of the at-fault party. Once you have done so, you can make a claim with your UIM coverage carrier for the damages that remain unpaid.
Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorneys
The personal injury attorneys at Cooper Schall & Levy are committed to protecting and fighting for the best interests of you and your loved ones. If you have been injured in an automobile accident, we will explore every possible avenue of recovery to help ensure that you are properly compensated for your losses. Contact us today.
