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Aggressive Lawyers for the Seriously Injured

How Do You Access UM and UIM Benefits?

Car accident
By Michael LoGiudice
Founding Attorney

To register your car or motor vehicle in the State of New York, you have to have state-issued liability insurance coverage in certain specified amounts. More specifically, you must carry $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage for one person per accident and $50,000 in bodily injury liability coverage for all persons per accident. You must also carry $10,000 in property damage coverage per accident. New York also requires drivers to have Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage for bodily injury. The required UM coverage amount has the same minimums required for bodily injury coverage.

How Do You Access UM and UIM Benefits?

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage can apply in two different scenarios. If you are injured in a car accident caused by someone else and that person does not have insurance, then you can access your UM coverage benefits to cover qualifying losses caused by the accident. Alternatively, UM coverage can apply in situations where a person is injured in a car accident caused by a hit-and-run driver. If the hit and run driver cannot be identified or cannot be found, then the injured party left at the scene will be able to seek compensation under his or her UM coverage to pay for things such as medical bills and other related expenses.

With underinsured motorist coverage (UIM), benefits will apply if you are injured in an accident caused by someone who does not have enough insurance coverage to properly compensate you for the harm you have suffered due to the accident. If a person only has the minimum of $25,000 per person per accident and $50,000 for all persons per accident, coverage can quickly run out and leave an injured party with a pile of medical expenses and other costs. If the bodily injury liability coverage limits have been exhausted, and an injury party has damages that have gone uncompensated, then he or she can seek access to his or her UIM benefits with his or her own insurance company.

The damages associated with being injured in an automobile accident caused by someone else can easily total substantial sums of money. The cost of medical treatment and follow-up care alone can put a financial strain on a person. That is why access to insurance coverage can be critical to staying financially afloat after a car accident. On top of medical bills, you may have lost income because of needing to miss work due to your injuries. Insurance coverage provides critical compensation to those who need it most. That is why it can be such a sound decision to carry UIM coverage and UM coverage beyond what the State of New York requires. It is coverage that will protect you should you be injured by someone else who lacks the insurance coverage you need to be properly compensated for your losses.

Personal Injury Attorney

Have you been injured in an auto accident? Talk to trusted personal injury attorney Michael LoGiudice about your options for recovering the compensation you deserve for your losses. Contact us today.

About the Author
Michael LoGiudice handles all personal injury and medical malpractice claims. He is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School (1997) and has many verdicts and settlements totaling in the tens of millions of dollars.
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