By law, every driver on the road needs to have a minimum level of insurance coverage in case he or she is involved in a crash. However, many drivers ignore this rule and choose to drive illegally with either no coverage or insufficient coverage. This means you could be significantly put out if you are ever involved in a crash with one of these careless drivers. If you have uninsured motorist coverage under your insurance policy, your damages should be covered. However, if you chose to forgo uninsured motorist coverage, you could face a stressful, expensive ordeal if you are unlucky enough to be involved in a crash with an uninsured driver.
About Uninsured Motorist Coverage
All auto insurance policies in Tennessee include uninsured motorist coverage. However, individuals are entitled to deny or decrease coverage for uninsured motorist coverage if they choose. Choosing to forgo uninsured motorist coverage could make insurance slightly cheaper, but it could make the aftermath of an accident drastically more expensive and stressful.
Uninsured motorist coverage is part of your insurance policy, and will cover the damages caused by the at-fault uninsured driver. This can include medical expenses, damaged property, and vehicular damage. This can cover you, the insured party, while you are driving your vehicle, or if you are harmed as a pedestrian. This can also cover relatives listed under your policy, or individuals driving or riding in vehicles covered under your policy. This can be especially helpful if passengers are injured in an accident with an uninsured driver.
However, as with other types of insurance coverage, it only covers so much. This means, even with uninsured motorist coverage, you might still not be able to pay everything off. To find out how much your policy covers, you can look through your contract or call your insurance company to learn more. But, having uninsured driver coverage is definitely a start.
What To Do If You’re In an Accident
If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist, and the other driver was at fault, you have a right to compensation. If you have uninsured motorist insurance, this can be instrumental in helping you pay for damages from the crash. Unfortunately, if you do not have coverage, you could be in a tight spot.
In any other type of accident, if the cost for damages and medical expenses exceeded your coverage, the typical option is to file a lawsuit against the guilty party. However, if the guilty party is uninsured, they are unlikely to have the funds to pay for your damages out of pocket. Most people who forgo insurance do so because they cannot afford it, so even if you are able to file a successful lawsuit against the negligent driver, you might still be left without sufficient funds.
If you were injured in a car accident, our attorneys want to help. All car accidents can be damaging and troublesome, but accidents involving uninsured motorists can be particularly problematic. To ensure you are doing everything possible to seek fair compensation after a crash, discuss your case with our experienced attorneys.
Contact Donati Law, PLLC to discuss your car accident with our Memphis personal injury attorneys.