Tom's Blog
If you own and operate a vehicle, North Carolina mandates that you carry auto liability insurance on that vehicle to protect you against injuries and damages that you may be held liable for, while operating your vehicle. However, did you know that as many as 1 in 8 drivers are driving without any auto liability insurance? As a result of the growing number of people driving without insurance, a once optional type of coverage referred to as Uninsured Motorist (UM) is now also mandated under your N.C. auto insurance policy, while Underinsured Motorist (UIM) is required if you have limits of liability that are higher than the stated minimum limits. But do you know why you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage?
What is UM/UIM Coverage?
Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist is designed to provide coverage under two separate situations. Uninsured motorist (UM) provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage when you are involved in an auto accident with someone who is driving without any auto liability insurance. For example, assume you are driving to work when someone runs a red light and slams directly into your drivers side door, resulting in extensive damages to your vehicle and costly medical bills from injuries you sustained.
You find out that the driver of the other vehicle that caused these injuries and damages was driving without any auto liability insurance. You have to, at this point, rely on your UM coverage to pay for the damages, along with any other available resources. UM coverage also kicks in if you are involved with a hit and run accident.
UIM (Underinsured Motorist) refers to coverage under your N.C. auto insurance policy to protect you should you get involved in an auto accident with someone who carries liability insurance, but typically at the minimum amount mandated and falls short of paying for all the damages he/she caused in the auto accident.
For example, assume you are travelling on the highway when another driver goes left of center, hitting your vehicle head on. As a result, the passenger in your vehicle is killed instantly and you suffer extensive long-term injuries with exorbitant medical bills. Assume that the “at fault” driver only carries minimum mandated auto liability limits, which won’t even begin to pay for the damages/injuries/death that have resulted. UIM coverage was designed to help alleviate this problem and kick in once the primary auto liability insurance limits have been exhausted.
Weigh Up the Benefits
It is always best to contact your local N.C. independent insurance agent to review your current N.C. auto limits of liability and determine if your limits of liability are adequate to protect you. Your UM/UIM coverage limits are dependent, somewhat, on your auto limits of liability so contact your agent today to discuss your situation. The cost to increase your limits is minimal compared to the potential risk of being involved in an auto accident that may leave you in financial ruins if you aren’t insured properly. Contact us at Paramount Insurance to discuss your current limits of your N.C. auto insurance policy TODAY!
