Several months ago we warned that with the change in economic conditions in Connecticut there would be more people driving without auto insurance coverage. Well, our fears are being realized. Several people have called recently, after an accident, saying that they were hit by someone who had no insurance.
The recourse in a situation like that, if you are injured, is to make a claim under your underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage. Your own insurance company will pay for “damages which an insured person is legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an uninsured auto or underinsured auto because of bodily injury sustained by an insured person.”
There are several options in Connecticut:
- Maintain Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage at the same limits that you have bodily injury limits.
- Increase the uninsured motorist coverage to twice your bodily injury limits. For example if you have $100,000/300,000 bodily injury limits the uninsured limit would be $200,000/600,000.
- Add uninsured/underinsured motorist conversion coverage. That coverage reduces the damages, not the amount of coverage available, if money is collected from another insurance carrier.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage can be complicated, please call us at The Haas Agency in order to make sure the right choices are made for your situation.
