November 17th, 2011, 14:20 hrs.
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist (UM) coverage is designed to provide additional coverage in the event that you are involved in an accident with a driver that does not have any or enough liability coverage for your injuries. UM can also be applied in the event that you are hit by a driver that flees the scene of the accident. In general, UM covers what you would have received from the at fault driver’s insurance company, had the appropriate coverage been available. This would include but is not limited to medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc. UM is especially important to have in the state of Florida because drivers are not required to purchase bodily injury (BI) coverage. There is a common misconception that UM coverage pays for the injuries and/or vehicle damage of the uninsured motorist. UM covers the policy holder, other drivers listed on the policy and passengers in the policy holder’s vehicle. In Florida, you are permitted to “stack” UM coverage, which is most common on policies that have multiple vehicles listed. Stacking does incur an additional charge; however, it allows you to collect from more than one of the automobiles you own in order to receive more coverage. There is also a coverage called Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD), but it isn’t currently available in Florida.
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