Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage helps pay for damage to your vehicle and injuries to you or your passengers if the other driver is at-fault and has no insurance or not enough insurance or a hit-and-run situation. Even if you have health insurance, you and any of your passengers will typically have out of pocket deductibles and coinsurance. Your Uninsured Motorist coverage may have a small deductible depending on the situation, but no co-insurance.
The Insurance Research Council 2019 study showed that the state of Washington ranks fifth highest in the country in the percentage of uninsured motorists with an estimate of 21.7 percent. That means more than one in five people don’t have auto insurance! The number of uninsured motorists is tied to the economic climate, so the number may be higher now due to the financial impact of the pandemic.
Washington State’s minimum limit of liability is $25,000 bodily injury per person/$50,000 per accident and $10,000 property damage. Many drivers included in the insured driver statistics have those limits which don’t begin to cover the cost for serious injuries.
You can try to collect damages through the courts, but there’s a good chance that the other party won’t have the resources to cover your costs—not to mention that going to court is a stressful and time-intensive process.
The amount of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage you can get is tied to your liability limit. Many of our companies also offer one million or more coverage for Uninsured Motorist with an endorsement if your auto policy has a high enough Liability limit. Give us a call to see if you qualify.
