Monday, September 14, 2009

Uninsured Drivers are Asking for Trouble

By Phineas Greavy

One of the worst situations a driver could find themselves in is being in an automobile accident with an uninsured or under-insured driver. If you get in an accident with a person who doesn't have proper coverage you could end up being financially responsible for injuries or damages incurred. Expenses caused by accidents can get very high and you need to be sure that you aren't stuck with any exorbitant bills.

An uninsured driver is someone who, for whatever reason, doesn't not have any auto insurance coverage on them. Most states require some sort of minimum insurance coverage, however, the driver may have been canceled for nonpayment. If an uninsured driver was to strike you with a vehicle, they have no insurance to pay the expenses for damages or injuries inflicted upon you. It would be up to you to file a lawsuit to hold them personally responsible and you may never see the money if they truly don't have any to give. If you are the individual that is uninsured and cause an accident, you won't have the insurance company to defend you if any lawsuits arise. If you have elected to include uninsured motorist coverage on your own insurance, your company would then cover the costs.

There are also cases of under-insured drivers. This means that an individual doesn't have the proper coverage necessary to completely cover the costs incurred in an accident. If you are in an accident with a person who only has a $100,000 limit for medical expenses and your injuries require over that amount, you would have to pursue the excess through a lawsuit and hope that they have enough personal assets to cover the costs. If you had the additional coverage for under-insured drivers, your insurance will pay the difference that the other insurance would not. You may be the one that is under-insured in which case it would be you that may be sued for additional expenses.

There are many important reasons to have auto insurance. Its not hard to obtain auto insurance quotes. In fact many companies now will provide you with many different auto insurance quotes so that you can compare prices. When you do compare companies, be sure that you are also comparing coverage so that you know that you have the right amount of coverage to protect yourself from those who don't.