While not everyone may like paying for car insurance, it can be a lifeline should you be injured in a car accident. In Minnesota, drivers are required to carry both uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage as part of their car insurance policies. Our readers may wonder, however, how does uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage work?
Uninsured/underinsured coverage kicks in when you are in an accident with a driver who does not have car insurance. In this case, it essentially acts as a replacement for the insurance coverage the at-fault uninsured driver should have been carrying, and compensates you for your damages, to the extent of the policy’s limits. The policy could cover both bodily injuries and property damage.
Essentially, when Minnesota residents purchases uninsured/underinsured coverage, they are purchasing insurance to provide compensation for damages caused when another motorist is at fault in an accident. Depending on the policy, this could include compensation not just for doctor and hospital bills, but also for lost wages and pain and suffering. When it comes to compensation for property damage, this includes not just the repairs to a person’s automobile, but also to any property damage caused by the uninsured driver, such as a broken fence.
As this shows, uninsured/underinsured coverage fills in the financial gaps should a person be in a car accident in which the at-fault driver does not have car insurance. However, sometimes even the compensation received from insurance is not enough to cover all of the damages. When this happens, Minnesota residents may want to explore other avenues of compensation available, including the possibility of filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: WalletHub, “Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Do You Need It?,” Karl Elsenhower, Jan. 21, 2015
