Sally Morin discusses how having an umbrella policy can help protect you against uninsured and underinsured drivers.
I hope you’ve seen my last couple of videos, where I explained how one in three drivers in California is either uninsured or underinsured. I then recommended that everyone increase their uninsured motorist coverage to $250,000 to protect against uninsured and underinsured drivers.
In this video, I will discuss a step you can take in FURTHER protecting yourself against the large population of uninsured and underinsured drivers. For my clients who can afford an extra couple of hundred dollars a year, I advise them to purchase an umbrella insurance policy in addition to the $250,000 in uninsured auto insurance coverage. Umbrella policies usually start at $1,000,000 in coverage.
If you were to injure someone in traffic accident, they could look to your umbrella policy for payment above your auto policy limits, rather than go after you personally. The same goes if YOU are injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver. Your umbrella coverage can kick in if your damages are more than your uninsured motorist coverage.
Say for instance that your case has been determined to be worth $400,000, but the other driver only carried $15,000 of insurance and you luckily carried $250,000 in uninsured motorist coverage and a $1,000,000 umbrella policy. You would collect the $15,000 from the other driver, $235,000 from your uninsured motorist coverage and the remaining $150,000 from your umbrella coverage for a total of $400,000.00. If you didn’t carry additional coverages, you would be stuck with $15,000. Ouch.
I know it’s not fair that people drive around underinsured, but you can’t change what other people do, you can only change what you do! So, take action today to review your coverages with your insurance agent to make sure you have the right coverages for you.
If you have any questions about a particular personal injury, please submit your case for review.
This video and accompanying text is not intended to be a source of legal advice for any purpose. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The information in this video and text does not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction regarding the outcome of your case.
