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Uninsured / Underinsured motorist coverage is important.

Did you know over 19 million cars are uninsured? This figure represents roughly 14% of all cars in the United States. Studies say some states have as many as 30% of cars uninsured.

A person, or car, could be uninsured for a number of reasons. One of the most common is the non-payment of insurance premium that would cause an individual policy to be cancelled.

What will you do if you have an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist? State laws vary a great deal. The most important thing you can do is to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (often referred to as UM) in a limit that is sufficient to meet your needs. The cost of not carrying this type of coverage can be huge. Without uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, your options are limited.

If an uninsured car hits you, there will be limited resources to pay for any injuries you sustain. As an example; A car rear ends your vehicle while you are traveling to work. Let's assume that the owner of this car failed to pay their insurance bill and does not have any coverage at the time of the accident. If you are injured to the point that you would recover bodily injury damages from the other driver, there would be no policy to collect from except for your own. This coverage would fall under your uninsured motorist coverage. If you carry the minimum limits (which vary from state to state), then you are probably not adequately protecting yourself.

If you carry your own bodily injury liability in the amount of $300,000, please consider increasing your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to that at least that amount. This is protection for yourself in case someone doesn't have any coverage, or doesn't have enough coverage. The additional premium will be nominal especially if you do suffer a loss.