The majority of calls I receive at my job are from people involved in car accidents. The biggest problem besides who's at fault is whether the at-fault driver had insurance. If not, then the the not-at-fault driver must have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, often referred to as UM Coverage, before I can discuss our firm representing them. I'm using this post to get on my soapbox and plead with you to make sure you have enough UM coverage on your policy.
For most people, UM coverage is an afterthought. They want enough liability so they can't be personally sued, but don't fully consider the results in the event that they're hit by someone who has no insurance at all.
For example, John Smith has $100,000 per person/$300,000 per incident liability coverage, which these days is adequate at best. But he decides to skimp on his UM, and elects for $25,000 per person/$50,000 per incident UM coverage. Years go by and John one day has a head-on collision caused by the approaching car veering into his lane improperly. John and his wife sustain life-threatening injuries and have to be transported to Vanderbilt's Trauma Center via Life-Flight Helicopter, which costs approximately $25,000-$35,000 per person.
Unfortunately for John, the at-fault driver allowed his insurance policy to lapse. John must now rely on his UM coverage, but only has $50,000 of UM coverage for his wife and himself. The Life-Flight bill alone has devoured this entire $50,000. It takes John and his wife four weeks in the trauma center to recover, now they face six-figure hospital bills, for which there's no remaining insurance to cover.
Sure, John can sue the at-fault driver, but that driver likely won't have any assets because his house is mortgaged and car is financed. You must have something of value that doesn't have any loan/lien/mortgage against it in order "connect" it, or execute it upon a judgment. Sure you can sue the guy, but at the end of the day you have a worthless judgment if you can't execute on it.
I cannot tell you how many John Smiths I talk to on a weekly basis. I cannot begin to describe the heart-ache of lost jobs, homes, and utter financial ruin that I hear all the time. You can literally hear the regret in their voice from having purchased "cheaper" insurance.
Check your UM coverage and make sure it's enough to adequately cover YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! I personally recommend at least $100,000 per person/$300,000 per incident. UM coverage is relatively cheap and in the unfortunate event another driver causes an accident in which you are involved and doesn't have insurance, you are covered.
Finally, by TN law your insurance company cannot increase your insurance premium if you end up filing a UM claim. There is literally no downside to having a lot of UM coverage.
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