Know About Uninsured Motorist Coverage Before It’s Too Late

We had to do it again. Give a client a piece of bad news. All because she didn’t know one easy tip related to her own car insurance.

Our client was hit by a drunk driver. Her out-of-pocket medical costs already exceed $4,000 due to a high health insurance deductible. She is out of work and the bills are piling up.

The drunk driver was uninsured, meaning he had no valid car insurance at the time of the wreck. He was cited for such by Huntsville Police and was carted away to jail for DUI. Our client thought she had “good insurance.” While did she have liability coverage, she didn’t have the type of coverage she really needed – uninsured/uninsured motorist coverage, referred to as “UM/UIM.”

UM/UIM coverage is exactly what she needs but, unfortunately, doesn’t have. UM/UIM coverage is a type of insurance coverage you purchase from your agent that covers your legal damages when you are injured by an uninsured (or underinsured) motorist. We’ve seen quotes from some insurance carriers as low as $7 per month. It will cover medical costs, lost wages, and even pain, suffering, and mental anguish.

The issue of uninsured drivers is worse than you might expect. In Alabama, 19.4% of drivers are completely uninsured (according to data compiled by MoneyGeek). That seems high, but it’s not as bad as Mississippi (29.4%), Tennessee (23.7%), and Florida (20.4%). So just imagine the next time you pull up to a busy intersection in the Deep South. At least 1 out of 5 of the cars you see aren’t insured.

Let’s repeat that – at least 1 out of 5 cars are uninsured.

Long story short, here’s our message: take 30 seconds to look at your insurance coverage. If you don’t have it, buy UM/UIM coverage. It’s cheap and extremely important. Don’t be the person that learns this lesson too late.