[mswanson25]

Hi,

Seems that a huge component of auto insurance in FL is the above coverage. Is it required? If so has anyone gone without it? I've done some searching i the forum and someone claims they have gone without it and also that the coverage actually only allows the filing of a suit against your own insurance company.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

[cfbs2691]

Not sure if it's required.. but there's no way I'd go without it down here.

[limehousemiller]

Originally Posted by mswanson25

Hi,

Seems that a huge component of auto insurance in FL is the above coverage. Is it required? If so has anyone gone without it? I've done some searching i the forum and someone claims they have gone without it and also that the coverage actually only allows the filing of a suit against your own insurance company.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

No, uninsured/under-insured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is not required by the state of Florida, and most people in the state of Florida seem to go without it. Medical insurance and disability plans can cover the same type of things as UM/UIM would, so if you have these things you might consider lowering your UM/UIM or simply going without it, depending on the costs.

The UM/UIM coverage protects your body from people who don't have Bodily Injury Liability or don't have enough of it. So, if somebody runs into your vehicle and does about $50,000 worth of damage to you and they only have $25,000 worth of coverage, you can get paid $25,000 from your UM/UIM. This damage could be things like medical bill or if your injuries prevent you from working. Ya dig?

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by limehousemiller

most people in the state of Florida seem to go without it.

I don't know anyone who goes without it because of the masses who aren't covered or are under covered.

[limehousemiller]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

I don't know anyone who goes without it because of the masses who aren't covered or are under covered.

Oh, well, if you don't know anybody, it must mean that everybody in Florida has it.

What is funny is that while saying you don't know anybody that goes without UM-UIM, you then go on to say "the masses" don't have insurance or don't have enough insurance, seemingly backing my statement that most people in the State of Florida go without it. You don't really know what kinds of coverage the people you know have, and the people you know probably don't know either. Further, many people seem to think that PIP is UM/UIM and UM/UIM is collision coverage, so I would not really trust what the people you know have to say about insurance, unless they are somehow involved in the insurance industry.

Going without UN/UIM may be an unwise decision, especially if you don't have other forms of protection in place, but this does not mean that masses of people do not do it.

[rusty78]

I have always had it and would never drive without it!!! Many...Many years ago my neighbor was involved in a Livery Cab accident...as you know most cabs carry the minimum insurance, then 10,000/20,000 thousand...their medical bills surpassed $100,000 and if they did not have the uninsured motorist protection...guess who has to pay the bills???

It is limited to your policy limits...so if you have 300,000/500,000 per occurrence, you could also pay for and have the same amount of uninsured motorist protection...you could have lower limits as well...but with all the insurance fraud and uninsured motorist driving around today....why would you???

[Red3311]

It is NOT required, but not having it is like trying to catch wasps with your bare hands. GL!

[limehousemiller]

Originally Posted by rusty78

I have always had it and would never drive without it!!! Many...Many years ago my neighbor was involved in a Livery Cab accident...as you know most cabs carry the minimum insurance, then 10,000/20,000 thousand...their medical bills surpassed $100,000 and if they did not have the uninsured motorist protection...guess who has to pay the bills???

It is limited to your policy limits...so if you have 300,000/500,000 per occurrence, you could also pay for and have the same amount of uninsured motorist protection...you could have lower limits as well...but with all the insurance fraud and uninsured motorist driving around today....why would you???

Well, if they had health insurance, in most cases, it would pay for the medical bills.

Depending on the area you reside, it is possible to find policies that provide move coverage than UM/UIM would for less cash and would pay your bills more freely, so that is why you might roll around without UM/UIM. Also, please realize that in a major accident involving barbaric hordes of legal teams, it is probably going to take years before the insurance company is going to give you your UM/UIM cash, in the meantime you're going to be sitting around with piles of unpaid medical bills fielding calls from collection agencies. So this, my friend, is why you might want to go without UM/UIM and buy other types of insurance, instead, or just forget about all insurance entirely.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by limehousemiller

Also, please realize that in a major accident involving barbaric hordes of legal teams, it is probably going to take years before the insurance company is going to give you your UM/UIM cash, in the meantime you're going to be sitting around with piles of unpaid medical bills fielding calls from collection agencies. S

If you hire an attorney, you can access your UM/UIM before the case is settled.

It all depends on whether or not you want to roll the dice in the land of crazy drivers with zero or minimal insurance.

[limehousemiller]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

If you hire an attorney, you can access your UM/UIM before the case is settled.

It all depends on whether or not you want to roll the dice in the land of crazy drivers with zero or minimal insurance.

Yeah, you can hire an attorney, and your insurance company can hire an attorney as well and not give you a dime while the attorney burns up all of your cash, while you're probably laying in a hospital bed.

Even though you were not the cause of your injuries, the insurance companies view you as a criminal who does not deserve a dime (because the insurance companies are rich and you're poor, so no matter what you're guilty!).