Why Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage is Worth It

Too many times in our practice do we face the situation where our client gets into a car accident, is severely injured, and the tortfeasor, i.e. the person that hit our client, has no insurance or has state minimum coverage. Worse yet, a hit and run driver collides with our client’s vehicle and he or she is unable to identify the driver or the vehicle involved (To learn more about hit and run collisions, click here ).

Luckily for most, they have what is called Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM), which is a type of insurance that allows you to recover for damages from an underinsured or uninsured driver. In an underinsured driver situation, if you sustained damages that are in excess of the other driver’s policy, Illinois’ state minimum is $25,000.00, than you are able to obtain the policy limits of the other driver and then pursue your remaining coverage under your insurance policy. In an uninsured or hit and run driver situation, you are able to go directly through your insurance company and avoid the likely fruitless attempt of collecting a judgment from the person that hit you. Both types allow you, as the insured, to be made financially whole from an accident that was not your fault.

However, in order to benefit from this coverage, you must have it in place before the accident and it cannot exceed your liability coverage. A problem that we routinely face is our clients also maintain state minimum coverage or do not match their UM/UIM coverage with their liability coverage. In the former, they may not be adequately protecting themselves or others in the event of a car accident and, in the latter; they are essentially protecting a stranger more than they are protecting themselves.

Without question, a car accident will take some of the control out of your life and place it into the hands of another. It may lead to medical treatment, missing work, and can come with a wide array of other negative repercussions and unpleasant experiences. One way to ensure that you are taken care of and have the necessary insurance policy to cover your losses is with UM/UIM coverage. As the old adage goes, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. Take control of a car accident before it happens and make sure that you are covered with an adequate amount of UM/UIM coverage.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident or as a result of someone’s negligence, please contact attorney Nicholas Dollenmaier at 847-705-7555 or via email at ndollenmaier@lavellelaw.com to discuss your case and help get the compensation you deserve.