Ken Garten: Uninsured, underinsured motorist coverage

Under Missouri law, every owner and operator of a motor vehicle is required to have liability insurance.

And, every policy of motor vehicle liability insurance is required to include uninsured motorist coverage.

Liability insurance covers negligence claims for damage asserted against you for bodily injury damages such as medical expenses, lost income, disfigurement, disability, and pain and suffering suffered by another person or persons in an accident.

Uninsured motorist coverage covers claims for bodily injury inflicted upon you and your family members by an uninsured motorist. Thus, your own insurance company steps into the shoes of the liability insurer of an uninsured motorist who causes you bodily injury.

The minimum limits of coverage on both liability and uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury is $25,000 for any person injured, and an aggregate of $50,000 regardless of the number of people injured in any accident.

For almost every responsible motorist, however, these limits are insufficient, what with the high cost of medical expenses, and the extensive claims for bodily injury that can result from a motor vehicle accident.

But perhaps the most commonly overlooked protection by responsible motorists regarding their motor vehicle insurance coverage is underinsured motorist coverage, which is not required under Missouri law, but which covers a gap in the protection afforded by liability and uninsured motorist coverages, which are required.

You see, liability insurance covers claims for bodily injury against you; and uninsured motorist insurance covers claims you may have against an uninsured motorist. But neither of these coverages apply where the other driver is at fault and has liability insurance in the minimum sum of $25,000 per individual and $50,000 per accident.

This scenario may leave an individual with the foresight to carry high limits of coverage, but no underinsured motorist coverage, out in the cold, because the minimally insured negligent driver of the other vehicle is not an uninsured motorist. And if there are multiple parties with significant injuries, they all may be stuck dividing up $50,000 in total coverage of a minimally insured driver, where each of their claims may exceed that sum many times over.

This is where underinsured motorist coverage comes in, as distinguished from uninsured motorist coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage guarantees a minimum level of coverage for the liability of other drivers who may be insured, but may have insufficient coverage limits to cover your claim for bodily injury claim, and that of your family members.

I have many times seen responsible parties with high limits of liability and uninsured motorist coverage left high and dry, because they did not know to have this often overlooked coverage, where a minimally insured driver caused serious injury to two carloads of individuals, all of whom were left to split up $50,000 in liability coverage, and where the aggregate damage claims may be more than 10 times that sum.

This is why I pay a little extra each year to have a million dollars in liability, uninsured motorist, and underinsured motorist coverage.  The effect of this is to ensure that, no matter what, every other motorist on the road whose negligence may injure me or my family is covered to the tune of at least a million dollars, even if they have liability insurance, but in a far lesser sum.

So my advice for the day: talk to your insurance agent. Check your limits of basic coverage. And don’t forget to inquire about adding underinsured motorist coverage to your auto policy, if you don’t have it. It’s far better to act on this before a serious accident than afterward, when, unfortunately, it is too late.