Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Coverage

You just got in a horrible accident that's put you in the hospital. The medical bills are piling up. You want the person that hit your car to pay and pay big. After all, they ran a red light, were gabbing on a cell phone, not paying attention, or were intoxicated.

Few would disagree that such a person should have to pay for everything they've put you through, costs for medical care to date, costs of future medical care, loss of income, etc., but the reality is generally, the only monies available is what auto insurance coverage, specifically body injury auto insurance coverage, that another person possesses.

California law only requires drivers to minimally possess $15,000 per person/$ 30,000 per incident coverage. In other words, if someone crashes into you, putting you in a hospital for days at the cost of tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars, if the negligent driver only has the minimal  $15,000/$30,000 bodily injury insurance coverage, then you only have $15,000.000 available to you. 

The fault depends solely on one person if the accident involves multiple vehicles and people. One person only has $15,000/$30,000 bodily injury insurance coverage; the most anyone can obtain is $15,000.00. The most the people in all the cars can collect collectively may be only $30,000.

If you have questions about your auto insurance coverage, contact our seasoned Sacramento uninsured motorist coverage lawyers at (916) 921-6400 for a free consultation.

You must carry your own underinsured/uninsured motorist automobile coverage. Carry at least $100,000/$300,000 in uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. That way, you know that regardless of how much insurance coverage the at-fault driver possesses, you will have $100,000 available to you personally through your own insurance. 

If passengers in your car got hurt, each would also have $100,000.00 available up to a maximum of $300,000 for everyone combined.

As the saying goes, you cannot get blood from a stone. No matter how horrible the negligent driver is, unless you're hit by Bill Gates or Donald Trump, most people only have a finite amount of insurance coverage with few personal assets. Most drivers in California carry only minimal coverage or do not have insurance at all. Studies have shown that one-third of drivers are uninsured.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you carry at least $100,000 per incident/$ 300,000 per accident in uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (or as much coverage over that as you or your family can afford). On a rainy day (and hopefully, that rainy day never comes for you), the extra few dollars paid in insurance premiums will be worth it.