Why UM Insurance Is So Important For Bikers
As a motorcycle accident attorney, I want to explain why I think it is vital that you get as much UM Insurance as possible, how it works and what’s the best UM insurance available. This goes beyond just motorcycle wreck cases, it will also apply to the other vehicles that you have beyond your motorcycle. Here is a real-life example.
An Example of Why Uninsured Motorist Coverage is Necessary in Atlanta
One of our group members had posted about his accident in 2012, and how it was an uninsured driver that ended up hitting him, putting him in the hospital with really bad injuries caused by a bike accident.
Another example is from several years ago. A client of mine reached out about their brother who was actually close to my office. He was coming off of 400, waiting at a light to go across it, to go left onto the other side of the road, and had the green light. He starts to go, and out of nowhere comes an uninsured driver, who didn’t even have a license, and this driver struck and killed him instantly.
The family reached out to me for the wrongful death side of the case, and unfortunately, with the other driver being uninsured, as he was a day laborer, there were no assets to his name and no insurance. All they could rely on was the UM Insurance that their brother had on the motorcycle.
The motorcycle was his only vehicle and his only transportation. So, this was all they had for the loss of this individual, which included the loss of his life, included his pain and suffering before he died, including the damage to his vehicle, lost wages, etc.
This family no longer has assistance from him and his job going forward, so this was a massively large case in court because there was not enough insurance. $50,000 is all he had in UM. That barely covers the emergency services. If you end up going to the hospital and you’re in the hospital for several days, the $50,000 won’t even cover your hospital bill.
Why Bikers in Atlanta Should Obtain Uninsured Motorist Coverage
The point you’ve got to realize is that UM insurance is there to protect yourself, so don’t be cheap out on it, because a lot of people do. They figure, “oh all I care about is protecting my assets in case I cause an accident.” Well especially with motorcycle riders, you’re subjected to large injuries that will cause you to be out of work for many weeks, months, or god forbid, years.
You have got to make sure you protect yourself because you don’t know if an uninsured or worse even, an insured driver that may only have the minimum coverage, which is only twenty-five thousand in Georgia. This underinsured person could still have insurance and it still not be enough. That’s where UM comes into play. It is in your best interest to have this coverage so you can file a UM or underinsured motorist claim after an accident.
What Does Uninsured Motorist Insurance Cover in Atlanta?
There are two different types of UM insurance, and the best is add-on insurance. The other option is a difference in coverage. Now the difference in coverage is going to be cheaper than an add-on. You want to always opt to the add-on UM insurance, even if it means you’ve got to have a lower limit, as it still helps protect you.
What I always recommend is no less than a hundred thousand dollars of add-on UM, especially because you’ve got to be able to afford it. You’d be surprised if you looked at it how much it’s costing you every six months versus getting Starbucks every day. You can certainly come up with several hundred dollars every six months to cover that UM insurance.
What Are the Different Types of UM Insurance in Georgia?
What’s the difference? Well, add-on insurance does what it says. It adds on right on top of whatever insurance the at-fault party has. That’s really important in those situations where the at-fault party only has a small amount of coverage – which won’t cover everything that your case entails. Then, your insurance comes on, and it adds right on top of whatever the limits are of the other driver.
Now, the difference in coverage one is also just what it says, which is why I don’t like it as much. It only covers up to the difference between the at-fault insurance minus your insurance. So, let’s say you’ve got a scenario where there’s $25,000 of liability limits of the at-fault and you’ve got $25,000 of UM difference in coverage. It means 25 minus 25 is zero, and you have no UM coverage in that scenario. So, you only cover yourself if the party – at fault party – is uninsured in that scenario.
Another example is $25K at fault, $50K difference in coverage. Well, what happens there is $25K comes from at fault and then $25K from your UM. So, you can see why even if you’ve got to go with difference in coverage, you want that to be at least a hundred thousand, if not much more.
It is better to do the add-on of $25K, $50K, $100K, $200K or more. These are the kind of levels I’d like to see motorcyclists at, especially well over a hundred thousand dollars.
Contact Spaulding Injury Law to Learn More About Pursuing An Uninsured Motorist Claim Settlement
This is not something to mess with. You’ve got to protect yourself and your family more than anything else with uninsured motorist property damage and bodily injury insurance. If they are out your wages, if you’re racking up medical bills, you may not have health insurance coverage or it may not cover all of your bills, giving your family the financial burden. You’ve got to protect yourself out there because you never know who’s going to hit you.
If you have any questions or comments about what I’ve mentioned here you want to add to it, shoot me an email or contact another uninsured motorist lawyer in our office.
When you become our client at Spaulding Injury Law, you’ll be represented by a thoroughly experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney like Theodore A. Spaulding. For over 15 years, Mr. Spaulding has helped victims of negligence across the state of Georgia resolve personal injury cases, and he’s received a remarkable number of awards and honors from the legal community recognizing his commitment to clients and to the metro-Atlanta area.
Mr. Spaulding has been named one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in Georgia by the National Trial Lawyers for six successive years.
He is honored as a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum ® by the Top Trial Lawyers in America ®.
Charter Member of the Distinguished Justice Advocates.
Member of the Atlanta Bar Association.
