Why You Should Always Get Uninsured Motorist Coverage for Car Accidents

How Important Is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Colorado?

It is crucial that drivers in Colorado purchase Uninsured Motorist coverage. Why?

There are so many uninsured car drivers, motorcycle driver and Truck drivers in the United States. In Colorado, we are ranked in the top 10 in the USA for having so many uninsured drivers on the road. In Colorado, there are approximately 17.5% uninsured drivers out there waiting to wreak havoc on car crash victims. https://www.cpr.org/2024/12/26/colorado-high-number-uninsured-drivers/

Overall, uninsured drivers usually are worse drivers than the normal population and thus cause more auto accidents. For a number of reasons, people may have other priorities than purchasing car insurance, like prioritizing food, rent, living expenses, etc. Plus, some uninsured drivers cannot afford car insurance due to previous accidents, traffic tickets or other criminal offenses.

Thus, uninsured drivers are usually poor and just bad drivers. Some uninsured drivers have such bad driving records or drunk driving offenses so that it is very difficult for them to qualify for car insurance and if they do qualify, they must purchase higher cost car insurance from insurance companies that specialize in high-risk drivers.

Colorado does have relatively steep penalties compared to other states for driving without insurance. They include four points off a driver’s license, a minimum $500 fine and a license suspension until a driver proves they are insured. Unfortunately, no driver without insurance is ever going to go to Jail for that offense so most uninsured drivers are not motivated one way or another by the penalties that Colorado has currently on the books.

Talk to Your Insurance Agent Now About Adding Uninsured Motorist Coverage

If you do not currently have uninsured motorist coverage on your motor vehicle policy, please get it now. Not having this coverage can put you at extreme financial risk in case of a severe car accident or severe injuries from an auto accident. Nowadays, it is a must have coverage. Even if you only purchase $50,000 in uninsured motorist coverage that is certainly better than taking a risk that the other driver has no insurance.

What if the At-Fault Car Driver Only Has $25,000 in Bodily Injury Coverage?

In Colorado, every driver must carry the state minimum bodily injury limits coverage of $25,000. That is our state law.
https://leg.colorado.gov/content/mandatory-automobile-insurance-colorado

This state law theoretically gives the at-fault driver insurance coverage up to $25,000 if he or she causes injuries to another person or car driver (one can still choose to drive without insurance and that is the dilemma for many injured car crash victims).

For example, if you are rear-ended by an at fault driver in an auto accident, and that driver has only $25,000 in bodily injury coverage, then that means that is the upper limit you can settle your case and your injury claims. Thus, if you are severely injured–$25,000 is nothing, just a drop in the bucket. However, if you purchased car insurance with Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage, then you can also fight against your own UM coverage for damages exceeding $25,000.

Let’s say the at-fault driver carries the state minimum $25,000. But, you also purchased UM/UIM coverage in the amount of $100,000. If your injuries justify it, I can go after and recover the at-fault driver’s $25,000 plus the $100,000 from your own car insurance company. This would allow me to achieve a personal injury settlement for you of $125,000. Again, this shows how important it is to purchase UM/UIM coverage, always!!

Car Accident Case Examples

I recently had a client who was struck head on by a truck that turned in front of him. The other driver failed to yield the right of way to my client’s vehicle which was proceeding straight down the highway. The other driver received a citation by the investigating police offer pursuant to
https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-42/regulation-of-vehicles-and-traffic/article-4/part-7/section-42-4-704

My client came to me and he had no uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. His injuries were quite severe. He was a roofer and broke his pelvis and leg in the car crash. The at-fault driver who failed to yield the right of way had the Colorado state minimum bodily injury coverage of $25,000. Thus, the limit and the maximum settlement I could get for my client was this $25,000 (as my client had no additional UM or UIM coverage).

This is a great shame and great loss to my client as the $25,000 did not even begin to cover his medical bills. He did have Medicaid which helped him with the medical bills but the settlement was very low for the severe injuries that he suffered due to the fault of the negligent driver.

I had another case recently where my client was severely injured in Greeley, Colorado. My client was heading straight down a road in Greeley on his motorcycle and the at-fault driver turned on a red light. My client flew over the car and landed 50 feet away. His motorcycle was totaled and consisted of debris in the roadway.

Due to severe injuries including spinal fractures, broken hand/wrist and punctured lung, my client was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Denver. The helicopter ride alone in these situations usually costs more than $100,000!!

While my client was in intensive care, I found out that the at-fault car driver had no car insurance at all. She was uninsured. Luckily my client had a very small amount of Uninsured Motorist coverage and I was able to quickly recover that amount from his motorcycle insurance carrier, Progressive. He only had $25,000 in UM coverage so it did not even begin to cover the close to $200,000 in Hospital bills.

In this situation again, my client had Medicaid which covered all of his medical bills. But again you can see how lack of BI coverage with the other car driver and small amount of Uninsured Motorist coverage results in a terrible money settlement and recovery.

Conclusion

I am hoping that everyone will purchase a sufficient amount of Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage in Colorado. One can readily see from the two case examples above that one can be the victim of an uninsured driver or a driver who only has $25,000 in coverage and the outcome is going to be terrible and reprehensible. Most clients are not happy to find out that the at-fault driver only has BI coverage of $25,000.

I thus tell all my clients that they need to purchase UM/UIM coverage and a sufficient amount to cover your money damages if struck and injured by a car, truck or motorcycle.

If you have any questions on uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, I would be happy to speak with you. I am more than happy to sit down with anyone who has questions about insurance coverage and what they can do if injured in a motor vehicle collision, auto accident or car accident.