Uninsured Motorist Insurance, UMI, is something that most Americans think that they will never need. During the economic turndown, you should consider purchasing UMI if you don’t already have it. Whether to purchase insurance or groceries, it’s a tough choice that Americans are making every day. The Insurance Research Council says that 13.8% of Americans have no auto insurance. That number is expected to increase by 2010.
An uninsured motorist can be a person who in fact did have minimum insurance, but did not have payment limits high enough to cover the damage caused by the accident. An Uninsured Motorist is any driver who didn’t have any insurance at the time of the accident, a driver whose insurance company denies their claim or was not financially responsible to pay for, or whose insurance did not meet state minimum liability requirements.
It is relatively inexpensive to purchase uninsured motorist insurance, and it will definitely pay for itself if you do happen to get into an accident with an uninsured driver. Uninsured motorist insurance covers you, insured members of your household and your passengers for your medical bills, personal injuries, damages or even death that is caused by an at fault uninsured motorist.
Yes, if you get into an accident you can sure an uninsured driver you can file a small claims lawsuit. But the chances of you actually getting the money from the uninsured motorist, is a whole different subject. If you do happen to win your lawsuit, you will have lawyer fees, missed work, and you can’t force them to pay without filing even more paperwork. So just make it easy on yourself and get uninsured motorist insurance.