Most people involved in auto accidents believe they have full insurance coverage, but all too often we find that they do not.
All that Florida law actually requires a driver to have is personal injury protection (PIP) which pays for your medical bills if you are injured in an accident, and property damage coverage, which pays for damage to the other person’s vehicle or property if you are at fault. Truly full coverage includes what is called uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (UM), along with several other items. But UM is additional coverage that you must purchase for an additional fee.
UM is important because it provides you with coverage in two instances:
(1) when the at-fault driver has low limits of liability insurance or (2) when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance at all.
In Florida, it is possible for a person to be on the roads legally and not have liability insurance to pay for your injuries if they are at fault for an accident. Unfortunately, this happens every day. If you are injured by someone without liability coverage, and you do not have UM insurance, you may not be able to obtain compensation for your injuries. If you do have UM insurance however, you may seek money from your own insurance company under the UM provision under your own policy.
Check your policy to see if you have UM coverage, and if not, call your insurance agent to add it to your policy to ensure that you are fully protected in the event of an auto accident.
And please remember to buckle up: it’s not just the law, it makes good sense.