Although having some level of car insurance is mandatory in all 50 states, some people choose to drive illegally without insurance. It’s a universal problem: if you are hit by someone who is uninsured and they are at fault, you might be left holding the bag. Statistics say that as many as 15% of all drivers are uninsured and are out on the road taking a huge risk. And there’s no way for you or for law enforcement to spot them until something happens and it is too late.
When you are in an auto accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance and they are at fault, you can be out of luck if you don’t fully insure yourself. Most drivers don’t know that when they are in an accident with an uninsured motorist, they will have to cover their medical bills, their car repairs or any other damages.
Collision insurance will typically cover uninsured motorist accidents
According to a car accident lawyer, if you are hit by an uninsured motorist, collision insurance will cover the damages. But most people don’t carry collision insurance. Collision insurance is not a mandatory insurance coverage. It is an addition that you can put on your policy to cover your car and property, should you get into an accident for which you are at fault. Some people opt not to take out the additional coverage because they don’t think their car is worth fixing. What they don’t understand is that collision coverage is the key to covering costs related to uninsured motorists.
In recent years, there has also been much bad advice given about dropping collision insurance because it will rarely cover the cost of your repairs. Because of increasing used-car prices due to supply and demand, and the rising cost of motor parts and repairs, even if you have collision insurance it may not cover replacing your car or having the necessary repairs. But before you decide not to carry it, consider that you could be in an accident with an uninsured driver. Instead of dropping the coverage or not adding it, the best thing to do is to raise your deductible to the maximum to get the most out of it, should you ever need it. The additional coverage cost is minimal, but having collision coverage is largely in your favor.
What is an uninsured motorist collision deductible waiver?
Some states like California offer an “uninsured motorist collision deductible waiver.” Most insured individuals don’t use it — mostly because they don’t understand it. If you decide not to take out collision insurance, the deductible waiver means that you don’t have to worry about paying your collision deductible if you are hit by an uninsured motorist. The cost of carrying collision insurance is literally about $20 a month, so you aren’t talking about breaking the bank in order to protect yourself.
If you opt out of collision insurance
If you decide that you don’t want to pay for the additional expense of collision insurance, then it’s a good idea to get uninsured motorist coverage. It’s a reasonably-priced add-on that will cover all your expenses if you are ever in an accident with an uninsured motorist who is at fault. It will also cover you if the other motorist is “underinsured.”
When you take out a policy, you have maximum amounts that will be paid out in the event you are in an accident and are at fault. However, those maximums aren’t always enough to cover the damages, which can leave you holding the financial bag. If you get uninsured or underinsured coverage, it will pick up where the other driver’s policy leaves off to help make sure you are fully covered.
There is always the option to sue someone for not having insurance with an Irvine accident attorney. You can file a personal injury suit with the help of a personal injury or car accident lawyer against the person who is at fault, but the problem is that the reason they don’t have insurance is usually related to their overall financial situation. Even if you are awarded money in court, you can’t collect on a personal injury suit if someone doesn’t have the money to pay. It is much smarter to make sure you protect yourself, rather than having to think about how to get someone to repay you after the fact, especially when they are probably not even capable of doing so.