Two examples of UM uninsured motorist

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UNINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE PART TWO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visualize the following situations. A cyclists is sitting at a light. He hears screeching brake noise. He looks into his rear view mirror to see a car approaching his back end. A split second later...POW!! The back end of his cycle is now the middle part of his cycle, and his body is still hurting. The driver of the car is eighteen and without insurance. A cyclist is stopped in the right lane of traffic. His lane can go either straight or turn to the right at the driver's choice. In the next lane, where traffic is supposed to go straight, a car decides to take a right hand turn as the cyclists opts to go straight. The end result is an accident that turns the cycle into modern art and now gives the cyclist a few new casts for his friends to sign. The operator of the car is without insurance. Both of the above stories have a common theme. One person has been the victim of the actions of a second person. As if that isn't terrible enough, each of the people above now have to face the expense of putting their lives back to normal. And they have to do it themselves!! Why, you ask?? Because none of them purchased UNINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE when they purchased their own insurance. And that is what each of us has to think about!! There are very little facts on how many people are driving/riding without insurance. So it is up to each of us to make an educated guess. How can we do that? I'm not sure. But we can try some rather strange attempts. Such as, sit in on a court session one day and see how many people are there for not having insurance when they were stopped for some other traffic violation. I did that last month. I was amazed at the amount of people who were caught without insurance. You can also ask your insurance agent how many SR filings he does. This is a form that the DMV requires for people who were caught without insurance. It should give you an idea of how many people are on the street without insurance. You can also sit at any traffic light and look at the people, their vehicles, and try to guess. I still feel that in today's society, with all the financial demands it places on us, that insurance falls pretty low on most people's priority list. What needs to be stressed about UNINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE (UMI), is the advantages this coverage offers. In all the above cases, some pretty strong damages were incurred. Hospital bills, repairs, loss of income, and some general pain and suffering. Now, even though some of these costs might be covered under other type of insurances, each of these people will incur costs because of the other person's doing. So let's examine what UMI will cover. UMI offers you a wide variety of coverages. They are; LOSS OF WAGES PAIN & SUFFERING MEDICAL BILLS PROPERTY DAMAGES DEDUCTIBLE WAIVER The limits (or maximum they will pay) vary depending on the coverages you purchase. As an example, let's look at a basic 15K/30K/3.5K policy. In the event of either of the above accidents, the cyclist can place a claim with his own company. The company will pay up to $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident for any medical bills incurred, loss of wages as a result of the accident, and pain and suffering. The pain and suffering part is what will take care of some of the smaller incidentals like towing, or so on. Should your own cycle be covered for collision but has a deductible of $250 or $500, the deductible is waived. If you do not have collision coverage, then you can claim up to $3500 for repairs on your cycle. One of the objections that seem to come up about buying uninsured motorist is that the people say that they have medical coverage. That's fine. Does your medical coverage exclude cycle accidents? Does it have a deductible? Will it cover prescriptions? Worse yet, will it cover emergency treatment done to you in Anytown, USA or does it only cover you at a "member hospital" in your own town!? If your coverage has any of these loopholes, UMI will fill in the bare spots. Some people feel that the disability coverage they have will take care of loss of wages. Does the disability coverage start at day one? Does it have a 14 day, or 21 day waiting period? Does it pay 100% of your income? or 80%, or less!!?? I can only speak for myself on this one, but by the time my disability insurance starts to pay me, I would be in pretty dire straits! The repairs of the cycle are the least important item in my opinion. There is a lifestyle that I have selected and it costs me 'X' amount each month. As my mother used to say, "The name is Felder, not Rockefeller!" Being hospitalized or incapable of working would set my lifestyle into a tailspin financially. I didn't spend years building a savings account so I could spend it after some uninsured motorist decided to hit me and reek havoc in my life. I willfully pay the premium each and every year. If I don't have to use it...great. If I have to, I know that I can still maintain somewhat of a normal life. The bottom line is this. There are people out there who are less than great drivers. If you don't believe me, take a look through the Yellow Pages under Body Shops! Or better yet, go look at some of the cars at those shops waiting to be fixed! There are a lot!! Think of how many people are barely getting by in life and have to drive to their jobs just to place food on their table. What priority can insurance play in their lives? Better to play it safe than sorry. We are only 300 to 700 pounds of small, hard to see targets fighting against 2000 to 4000 pounds of steel. It is very seldom that we come out on top of that arrangement. Don't let someone else effect your life!

Information in this article is probably correct as of the date it was written. Please check with your insurance agent or call Mike at 800-729-2537 before you make any life changing decisions based on what you read here. Comments are always welcome.