Here we take a look at what Uninsured Motorist is, how it works, and what makes it an important insurance coverage.

Uninsured Motorist is a car insurance coverage option that is available for insured drivers.

Uninsured Motorist provides protection from uninsured drivers. Despite state laws and regulations requiring auto insurance, there are many people who choose to drive without it.

Uninsured Motorist aims to negate the risk of collision with an uninsured driver by allowing insured drivers to carry insurance coverage that protects them from damage and personal injury resulting from an uninsured driver.

Uninsured Motorist coverage helps to prevent you from paying money out-of-pocket for personal injury or property damage caused by other drivers who don’t have insurance.

Every state in the United States requires every owner of a vehicle to carry auto liability insurance. Auto liability insurance protects individuals and/or property of other drivers on the road.

If someone elects to break the law and forgoes auto liability insurance, then when that person hits you and injures you or damages your property, there is no insurance policy that will cover the costs.

Your auto liability insurance is meant to protect other drivers and their property, so your auto liability insurance won’t cover you. Neither will your collision or comprehensive insurance, which are meant to repair your property when you cause an accident and to cover non-collision related damage.

If you have personal injury protection, it should cover medical payments and other personal injury expenses, but the liability limits are usually low, and it won’t cover any damage to your vehicle.

The only insurance coverage that will comprehensively cover any personal injury and property damage that you may incur as a result of an uninsured driver is Uninsured Motorist coverage.

Without Uninsured Motorist coverage, if you get hit by an uninsured motorist, you really only have two options: first, you can try to make the driver pay you cash for the damage incurred out of his pocket.

Second, if he is unable to or won’t pay, the only other recourse is to sue, likely in small claims court. This can be a long, drawn out process with no guarantee of success.

With Uninsured Motorist, you don’t have to worry about whether or not the driver who hits you is insured; you can drive peacefully knowing you’re covered.

Uninsured Motorist coverage acts as the uninsured driver’s auto liability insurance. It serves as a proxy insurance for that driver, and insures you and your property from the damage an uninsured driver may cause.

The most common response from insured drivers after they realize that they have to pay for extra insurance because others don’t follow the law and don’t buy insurance is that it’s unfair. And those that say this are right.

In a perfect world, everyone would obey the law and buy insurance. If everyone had the required liability insurance, there would be no need for uninsured motorist.

Reality is that all people don’t have insurance, and as a result those that are responsible end up shouldering a larger cost burden to compensate for those who break the law and don’t carry the state mandated insurance.

Auto insurance is required at a state level. This means that each state can (and does) have different insurance requirements.

Lawmakers in some states have deemed Uninsured Motorist insurance important enough that they require every insured driver to carry it. Currently, there are 22 states that require this coverage:

• • • Connecticut
    • District of Columbia
    • Illinois
    • Kansas
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Oregon
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Vermont
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wisconsin

If you live in one of the states above, you are required to carry at least a minimal amount of uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured Motorist also protects you from hit-and-run damage.

If, for example, your vehicle is side-swiped in a parking lot while you are shopping, Uninsured Motorist insurance is the coverage through which you can file a claim to get the damage repaired.

Uninsured Motorist is an important insurance coverage to have. If you live in a state that doesn’t require the coverage, you should think strongly about adding it to your policy to fully protect you and your property.