For most of us, keeping the perfect level of insurance coverage can be tricky. Often, people misunderstand the types of insurance coverage that are available to them. Consequently, consumers and may find themselves lacking insurance coverage at a time when they need it most. Today I’d like to go over the importance of maintaining two specific types of auto insurance: Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
As the driver or passenger of a vehicle in Florida, it is important to understand that under Florida Law, it is not required for other drivers to hold Bodily Injury Insurance. This type of insurance is responsible for compensating a person who becomes injured as a result of another driver’s negligence. Again, this type of insurance is NOT REQUIRED in Florida. What this means then, is that no one in Florida is required to hold insurance to pay for your medical treatment in the event that they cause an accident, which leads to your bodily harm.
This is where Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage comes into play. Like Bodily Injury Insurance, Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage is an optional coverage. However, this coverage that is designed to protect you if a negligent driver without Bodily Injury Coverage injures you. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage also protects you against someone with insufficient Bodily Injury Coverage.
Of course, as a consumer, you always have the right to choose whether or not it is worth it to you to pay for Underinsured Motorist Coverage. For obvious reasons though, the importance of maintaining this type of coverage cannot be stressed enough. Without it, being involved in an accident can easily lead to you having to cover 100% of your own medical bills, regardless of whether or not you had any fault in the accident.
To summarize, Florida law does NOT require drivers to hold Bodily Injury Coverage. Because of this, traveling in a vehicle without Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage is a potentially huge financial gamble. Insurance companies will always provide it’s clients with the option to elect whether or not you wish to receive Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage though it is always recommended. In fact, if you do not want to pay for this service, you must affirmatively deny the coverage in writing. At this point, I hope that the importance of this coverage is clear.
If you have any questions about your own insurance policy, please don’t hesitate to contact Nicoletti Law Firm for a free consultation.
Nicolette R. Nicoletti
Managing Partner
Nicolette R. Nicoletti is the founder and managing partner of the Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers. She was born and raised in New Port Richey, Florida. Nicolette attended Genesis Preparatory School and graduated salutatorian of her class. She then went onto Saint Leo University for her undergraduate education. She graduated magna cum laude from the Honors Program with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. While at Saint Leo University, Nicolette was President of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society), Secretary of Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice Honor Society), and an active member of Delta Epsilon Sigma (National Scholastic Honor Society).
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