The most important part of your car insurance, UM/UIM. There are different options you can get with your car insurance such as comprehensive coverage, medical payments, etc., but the most important thing you can get is Unisured/Underinsured coverage. So why is Uninsured/Underinsured coverage so important to have on your plan? To begin, 1 out of 6 drivers in Colorado does not have car insurance. After that, state minimums are $25,000.00, therefore if you are in the hospital at all, you have likely far surpassed that amount. Underinsured/Uninsured covers you and everyone in your house (resident/relatives) if you are walking, if you are biking, if you are driving, it doesn’t matter, you are covered.
One recent case I had was a client who was hit while on a bicycle and had $260,000.00 in medical bills, however the person who hit my client only had $100,000.00 in car insurance. I was able to stack insurance policies to ensure that my client was fully compensated. You are able to stack policies by:
1. Owner of the Car’s Insurance
2. Driver of Car’s Insurance (if different)
3. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM)
a. Your Car (s)
b. Driver or Car’s Insurance (If Different)
c. Company Cars
Since this client had Uninsured/Underinsured coverage, the policies can be stacked so that the client is more than compensated for his injuries.
So, if you put a claim on your Uninsured/Underinsured will it raise your rates? The answer is no, there is an insurance regulation that specifically says that unless the accident is your fault and you put a claim on your Uninsured/Underinsured, your rates cannot raise nor can your policy be canceled.
Mr. Harding not only practices law, but has real life experience in being the C.E.O. of a small steel company that creates mechanical parking devices (see www.hardingsteel.com). After graduating from law school in 1990, Phil worked for larger firms, and tried cases in the civil, criminal and domestic relations arena. Currently Phil practices in the areas of Civil Litigation; Appellate Work (Colorado Court of Appeals, Colorado Supreme Court, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court) Wrongful Death; Dram Shop Actions (Liquor Store and Bar Liability) Bad Faith Breach of Contract; Construction Defects and Defense; Corporate Disputes; Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury Litigation.
