There are two types of auto insurance coverage you might not realize even exist, yet these two coverage types are very important if you want to have all the protection you need when driving your vehicle. These two types often come together in a policy and are called uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. While they are not required types of coverages in most states, they are important to have.
The purpose of uninsured and underinsured coverages
Uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage are two types of auto insurance coverage that will protect you if you are involved in an accident with a person who either does not have car insurance or that does not have enough car insurance. While you might be responsible and always carry sufficient car insurance coverage, there are people that do not. There are many people who drive on the roads without any car insurance or with minimum coverage amounts. When people like this cause accidents, the victims can often recover compensation for the damages they encounter by utilizing their own insurance policies, and it is their uninsured and underinsured coverages that kick in when this happens.
How they work
If you were to cause an accident that damaged someone else's car and caused injuries to that person, that person could file a claim with your insurance company, and your insurance would cover the damages. If you did not have insurance, that person would have to rely on his or her own policy for coverage. In this case, the person could receive compensation from his or her own policy if there was uninsured and underinsured coverage with the policy. While these types of coverages do not typically offer large dollar amounts of coverage, they do help in situations where they are needed.
Why you should have them
You should always make sure that your car insurance policy includes these two types of coverages, simply because you never know when you will be in an accident, and you cannot choose to be in accidents only with insured drivers and never with an uninsured driver. If you ever experience an accident with an uninsured driver, you could at least know that your own policy will cover the damages.
If you are not sure if you currently have these types of coverages with your policy, contact your agent or another auto insurance agency to request a quote for auto insurance coverage. For more information, contact local professionals like those found at Ahlquist Insurance.
Share26 March 2019
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