- Car Accidents
It’s finally happened you’ve been hit by an uninsured motorist. Uninsured motorists have been on the rise in the state all through Atlanta, especially as insurance becomes more costly. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before a responsible driver gets hit by an uninsured motorist and then has to eat the cost of themselves. You should get uninsured motorist coverage before that happens. It’s a great way to protect yourself and know that you’ll still have some compensation coming your way for injuries or property damage related to the wreck. A car wreck attorney that serves Atlanta can help you recover compensation.
Different Types of Insurance Coverage in Georgia
There are three primary types of insurance coverage: liability, comprehensive, and collision. Now, liability is the basic, and it only provides coverage to the victim of a crash that you caused. It’s not ideal, but for many people, it’s all they can afford.
Comprehensive coverage can provide relief for things like vandalism, fire, being attacked by an animal, or even hail damage.
Collision coverage can help you get compensation for any situation that wouldn’t fall under a normal accident. Comprehensive is what you would turn to if you were in a wreck because a deer dashed out in front of your car, or when the wreck was your fault.
Even if you have comprehensive and collision coverage, which is what most people refer to when they’re saying “full coverage,” you don’t have UIM. UI/UIM is a combination of underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage, which helps cover injuries and other losses from an uninsured driver. In short, yes, you need UIM coverage, even if you have full coverage.
Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Right for Your Household?
When you’re looking at different types of coverage, it might be clear what you can and can’t afford. Usually, if you have collision coverage, then you should add UIM onto your policy. Although what you can afford affects a lot of people’s insurance decisions, but UIM is part of Georgia state’s basic requirements.
The purpose of requiring people to have UIM is to ensure that people can access compensation for their injuries. It’s a safety net to help people avoid falling into the financial pitfall of getting into bad accidents and then living with medical debt for decades.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Ensures That You’re Protected
UIM is ultimately about protecting yourself and what you can do to ensure that you don’t get stuck with a lot of medical debt or property debt. Imagine if one broken arm set you back $4,000 and the price of your car that you still owe the note on? It’s not something that many people can recover from, so even if you have full coverage insurance, you should definitely consider upgrading your current UIM as well.
Georgia requires that drivers carry $25,000 per person, up to two people, in personal injury coverage for their UIM bodily injury case.
Worst-Case Scenario: Stolen, Vandalized, and Uninsured Motorists
Getting UIM is planning for the worst-case scenario, and it’s best to do well-ahead of time because you can’t go back or retro-act a policy. Just the same way that you would plan for a stolen or vandalized car with the comprehensive coverage, you should expand your UIM coverage just in case. Will $25,000 be enough to cover your injuries? Maybe, but maybe you’ll spend weeks in the hospital and not be able to get coverage for the part of your medical debt that exceeds your $25,000.
Planning for the worst-case scenario isn’t thinking in a doom and gloom mentality; it’s thinking very realistically. There are many people out driving in the streets of Atlanta without licenses, without insurance, or with too little insurance to cover your wreck.
Will You Need a Georgia Car Accident Attorney for UIM Cases?
If you have UIM or uninsured motorist coverage, then it may seem like your claim is pretty cut and dry. There won’t be any negotiations with other insurance companies or arguments about who was at fault. The issue is that your insurance company doesn’t want to payout anyways, to anyone, so it doesn’t matter if it’s to some other driver or you.
The law offices of John B. Jackson help drivers recover the compensation that they need to get going again every day. Among our goals is to ensure fair settlements and payout regardless of the details of the crash. What you can do is to contact a local Georgia car accident attorney to get your compensation in order and explain why you need a full payout.