A Simple Coverage Extension That Can Save You and Your Family From Ruin
Last week, I was caught in traffic and like many drivers I was annoyed by the delay. As my car inched forward, I discovered that the delay was caused by a multi-car collision. Ashamed of my previous annoyance and concerned for the victims, I reflected on another tragic accident in Urbana Ohio caused by Jason Skaggs in 2007.
Jason Skaggs killed three people in the Urbana accident in 2007, but this accident was especially troubling because Jason Skaggs had killed two other people in a similar auto accident in 1994. Unlike other vehicular homicides, the 2007 story received national attention because the three people who died in the Urbana crash were Chinese graduate students at Urbana University. Each was an only child, the product of the strict one-child-per-family policy adopted by China in the late 1970s to control their population. Each was from modest backgrounds and their respective families had taken out significant personal loans to send their children to America which they had hoped to repay with help of their children after they graduated. Each family now faced the unimaginable emotional pain of the death of their child and similarly unimaginable financial crisis. Jason was sentenced to the maximum prison term of 34 years, but each of these families that had never met one another before the accident, and an entire community that may not have known the students before the accident are now struggling the to understand how this happened and what it means.
Lost in the discussion of the tragic deaths of these three students is the role of sufficient auto insurance. From what I have read of the significant financial toll suffered by the families of the three dead students, I can only assume that Jason Skaggs either had limited insurance or no insurance at all. Either case would be little surprise considering what has surfaced regarding his past driving record. While the courts are the appropriate place to punish people like Jason Skaggs, insurance is the essential resource that would lessen the financial pain of the three families and the other victims of the accident in Urbana. Interestingly, not the insurance that Jason Skaggs should have had, but the insurance that the other car’s owner, Jin “Jack” Bian, could have purchased. That insurance is called Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage.
While I pray for the families of the three Chinese students and hope that they will be healed through the collective good will of their own families, friends and others touched by this story, the rest of us across America need to break out our own auto insurance policies and review whether the coverage we purchase for ourselves is sufficient to protect us, our families and our passengers from drivers like Jason Skaggs.
UNINSURED MOTORIST (UM) COVERAGE
Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage covers you, the insured members of your household and your passengers for bodily/personal injuries, damages, or death caused by an at-fault uninsured or hit-and-run driver. This coverage may apply even if you are a pedestrian hit by an uninsured motor vehicle. If you are involved in an accident where the other driver is at fault but has no insurance, your medical expenses will be covered up to the limit on your policy.
UNDERINSURED MOTORIST (UIM) COVERAGE
Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage covers you, the insured members of your household and your passengers for injuries, damages or death caused by the negligence of a person with insufficient insurance. If you have an accident with a person whose coverage cannot meet your damages, your policy will meet the difference – up to the limit of liability listed on your policy.
Both UM and UIM coverage can be combined or sold separately depending on your state laws and your insurance carrier.
HOW MUCH PROTECTION DOES THIS COVERAGE PROVIDE?
Purchased separately or together, it is essential that you purchase both. If the driver who caused the accident is uninsured or underinsured, this coverage pays up to the limit you purchase. The coverage limits refer to the maximum amount that will be paid per person, per incident, respectively. How much you should purchase really depends on the following factors:
- your own health insurance coverage
- the financial impact to you and your family of an indefinite cessation of your income
- whether you have other people in your car that are not members of your family
- your budget
While some of your injuries may be covered by your health insurance, your economic loss would not be covered. Additionally, it is irresponsible for you to assume the scope or quality of insurance of your passengers. And remember, though tragic, death is much less expensive than permanent disability and future medical expenses. Lastly, you will find that these simple coverage extensions are very affordable and a fraction of your primary auto premium. Select umbrella carriers will also offer $1m or more UM/UIM in the Umbrella policy if you purchase one.
For more information about this important coverage and to find the most affordable UM/UIM coverage to suit your specific needs contact Bill Yates or Cary White at Presidio Point Insurance Services or look at our website at www.legalmalpracticeinsuranceservices.com. You may also contact us toll free at 1-800-355-1204.
Contact
Cary White, President
Presidio Point Insurance Services Inc
1-800-355-1204 x 901
cwhite@presidiopoint.com
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