Uninsured motorist, do you carry it?

I was shopping insurance and while on the phone with Geico the salesman mentioned that my rate would go down considerably if I removed the UI part of my policy.

I have 10k/20k stackable uninsured motorist on (3) cars. I dont even know why, possibly because my State Farm agent decided to add it.

So I guess the question is, is it worth it if you have good health insurance coverage? Should I drop it and save $400/year or not?

I am in Florida if it matters.

I am in NJ.. it's mandatory

Illinois - mandatory

I was sure it was mandatory in Florida, but apparently it is not ... that's what the Geico salesman told me after I tried to argue with him

Mandatory in MInnesota as well.

South Carolina, mandatory.

I've never needed it, but my eldest son has.

I think it is mandatory in NY as well.

Almost a quarter of Florida drivers are uninsured! Sounds like the lizard would rather not cover you for YOU for cheap since it might cost them some money.

Not sure if its mandatory but we have it on 2/3 vehicles for peace of mind. I have met several uninsured and unlicensed drivers. Never in a collision thankfully.

Do not drop it... I am 17-20,000 out since turning 16, I am 32 now. I am in SE PA and it is not mandatory, per the regs... It is mandatory if you drive around here though. A very large part of the drivers locally have no insurance, or licence, or green card, or are legally in the country... There is literally zero recourse with any court with these situations. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks Ross

California its required. Even if it was not 22% of the drivers on the road are not insured.

250/500K here but it does not cost me anywhere near 400$ a year like 200$ or so total.

We carry uninsured and under-insured. We also dropped our limits some and took out an umbrella policy.

Required in VT, also.

wearymicrobe wrote: California its required. Even if it was not 22% of the drivers on the road are not insured. 250/500K here but it does not cost me anywhere near 400$ a year like 200$ or so total.

I was just checking requirements by state and it seems that it is not needed in California. I still think based on what I see on this thread, it might be worth having and possibly upping the limits ... 30k is not going to cover much.

Mandatory here in Alabama.

wlkelley3 wrote: Mandatory here in Alabama.

I dont think it is. So far everyone above is right except for California and Alabama ...

I carry it as well. Too many experiences with uninsured motorists to risk it.

Phoenix - not mandatory, but a must have. This uninsured tire wreck my hooptie with no apologies. The chrome shiny bit near the curb is my exhaust tip.

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It has also covered me in parking lot hits absent notes of responsibility.

The way I see it, there are basically two options for insurance:

• liability only. Good on cheap cars that you don't care much about and own outright.
• full coverage, collision, comprehensive, UIM, etc. Good on everything else, required on cars that are financed or leased.

I can't see why you'd get collision and comprehensive but not get UIM.

Not mandatory in NV, but like in CA, tons of uninsured or underinsured motorists. State minimum insurance here is so low that it's quickly exceeded in any kind of accident.

On the cars it's not too bad, but on my motorcycles it's about 1/2 the total premium.

Mandatory in PA, and my bill just went up, Ins.CO says it's because of our zip code.

Translation: there are a ton of SOBs driving in your town that are uninsured, heck many don't even have a license or registered car, you have pay more now, even though you're driving old beaters and have a good record.

Be sure you really understand what you're buying and what you're covered for. There are so many misconceptions about uninsured motorist coverage. It varies state to state, so I can't cover all 50. But in general.

UM and UIM are NOT the same thing. UM is uninsured motorist coverage. That means the person who hit you has no insurance at all. Zero.

UIM is underinsured motorist. That means the person who hit you has insurance, but the liability limits are not enough to cover your injury. So if the person who hit you has $500,000 in liability coverage, UIM would never kick in unless you were very badly hurt or killed.

Both of them are you going after your own insurance policy, as it steps in for the person who had no/not enough insurance.

UM/UIM always includes bodily injury coverage, but it DOES NOT always include coverage for your car. It varies state by state. In Florida, I'm pretty sure it does not cover your car.

You also need to be clear on when uninsured motorist (UM) coverage would be triggered. If the example given by former520 is true, where they paid that under UM, then his carrier made a mistake. That's not UM, that's a regular old collision claim. Typically, UM requires either the car that hit you is identified but confirmed to have no insurance, or physical contact from a vehicle that fled the scene, or an independent witness to verify that another car forced you off the road, or some variation of that. Again, it's state specific, but that's the general concept.

Is UM/UIM worth it? Personal call. But just be sure you know what you're really paying for.

EDIT HappyAndy, unless the laws have changed since I moved out of PA, UM is not mandatory in PA.

Another interesting FL insurance fact that would make me want um/uim there: bodily injury liability coverage is not required, and many people do not have it, so in addition to the 20+% of uninsured people, you have another significant % of people who have insurance in general, but who did not choose to have any coverage to pay for the injuries of anyone they hurt.

I've never heard of it being mandatory, but I always keep it or comprehensive (which supersedes it) on all of my vehicles. Don't think it's ever added more than $150/year for me though.

We have it, can't see any reason not to. The money spent year over year would be peanuts if needed and not had.

That's Why we buy insurance.