Uninsured Motorist Insurance

Of all the auto insurance types available, this is one of the hardest to understand. The concept behind uninsured motorist insurance is to offer protection to policy holders, not only against financial loss as a result of accidental damage to another motorist's car, but also the option to be protected against personal expenses, should the other motorist be uninsured.

A common assumption by motorists is that every driver has insurance these days. Quite a few states mandate it and make operating a vehicle without proof of insurance an indictable offence. This does not, however, stop some motorists from remaining uninsured to cut costs. By nature, such delinquents are penny-pinching and are therefore unlikely to be willing to cover the expenses they cause another motorist to incur due to an accident. Even worse, they may lie about their willingness to pay and lead on the other driver for months with no real intention of paying them a cent in damages. This is where uninsured motorist insurance comes in.

An example of the usefulness of such insurance, and how it works, is this. Driver A has an insurance plan that covers him for up to a certain amount in damages claimed by another motorist, in this example, Driver B. Driver B, however, has not bought an insurance plan any at all, in violation of state laws. Now let's say these two motorists collide. Driver A has stopped in front of a restaurant, which happens to be directly in line with a side road, and Driver B comes speeding down that side road, possibly unfamiliar with the locale and slams into Driver A's stationary vehicle.

Anyone, with or without knowledge of insurance, would say that this accident is entirely Driver B's fault. He even admits it but, unfortunately, doesn't have any insurance plan for his vehicle. Apparently, he always assumed he would never have an accident and this is his first. This does not help Driver A, however, who luckily was not in the car when it was hit. The car has been totaled and the expenses to Driver A will be vast. What can he do?

Driver A calls his insurance agent, from whom he has purchased uninsured motorist insurance and informs him on the accident. In due course, he is reimbursed by his own insurance company for the damage caused by the uninsured vehicle - giving this type of insurance its name. Were it not for this clause of his policy, he would have had little option but to undertake the tedious process of suing the other driver for damages.

Hopefully, this has cleared up how uninsured motorist insurance works and explained its usefulness. It would be nice if everyone followed the rules and had insurance but this is simply not the reality. This being the case, it helps to be ready for any eventuality - the core point behind insurance.