Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Bodily Insurance

I really do appreciate & thank all those that took the time to post & better help me to understand the matter.

To help better understand where I'm coming from? I received a renewal from my current Insurance Company. However the rates keep escalating to the point that I decided to evaluate my current provider and see if I could locate a quality RV insurance provider that could make a difference using the same criteria/coverages that I currently have with our current insurance...that includes UNI & UNBI

As a Good Sam RV Member I called GS and explained the situation to a patient Representative that was able to find a Qualified RV Insurance Company for this SC. With all the same coverages plus some small additional coverages; at substantial savings.

A special thank you again to those that read & replied to assist with this topic & Also to Good Sam! Keep up the good work ... :)

Lwiddis wrote:
Tooooo many Californians without insurance for me to chance not having full, very full, coverage. I’ve got lots to lose, the uninsured don’t.

X2
First situation. Driver hits my vehicle, he is using personal vehicle to do deliveries, HIS insurance company finds out cancels his insurance and sends me a letter saying "sorry, he's not insured". IF you or someone you know is using their personal vehicle to make money that vehicle IS NOT insured unless they have a supplemental policy stating that. At least in Ca. it's that way.
Wonderful.

Scenario 2. My MH is hit and run. I have photo's of vehicle, driver and submit it to CHP. Their policy is basically they do nothing. If there are injuries, yes. They send the clown a letter. Wow. I check report at CHP office and the file sits there.

So to answer the question regarding should I be insured, absolutely.

I live in California and things definitely do vary from state to state, but here’s how it works here:

Definitions:

UM: Uninsured motorist. (Property damage)

UM BI: Uninsured motorist bodily injury.

The UM is pretty simple. The main difference between UM and your own collision coverage is the deductible. If somebody hits you and is at fault and they don’t have insurance or their limits don’t cover the damage, then your UM covers the loss without any deductible. The other party must be identified though, even if it’s hit and run. Otherwise anyone who backed into a phone pole would claim it was hit and run to get out of the deductible and not be charged an at-fault loss.

For UM BI, think of your insurance filling the role of the other party’s insurance and there isn’t the requirement of identifying the at-fault party. Don’t confuse this with Med Pay that just pays your doctor bills. This is full liability insurance that covers larger settlements (pain and suffering, lost income, special damages). Where you would normally sue the at-fault party, now you’re technically suing your own policy.

Years ago a car full of thugs had just shot up a party and were fleeing and they ran a stop and t-boned my family. My wife’s head went through the passenger window and gave her a huge scar. The thugs went to jail and didn’t have insurance. Our UM BI covered my wife’s injuries and paid for her time off work, cosmetic surgery, and a special settlement for having a scar forever. 30+ years later and she still has to wear her bangs down to hide her forehead.

I was a property and casualty insurance agent for 30+ years...had only one claim on the under/uninsured coverage...me. It ended my career and nearly cost me my life. I collected well. So my advice don’t try to save a few bucks buy some decent limits.

Tooooo many Californians without insurance for me to chance not having full, very full, coverage. I’ve got lots to lose, the uninsured don’t.

In South Carolina coverage UN/UNDER is required. It’s fairly cheap. May be different elsewhere. https://doi.sc.gov/588/Automobile-Insurance

In some states uninsured motorist insurance is required; presumably you'd have minimum required coverage whilst in those states with any policy since they generally guarantee minimums for any state. Clearly if they're offering it as an optional extra coverage it isn't legally required otherwise.

Uninsured motorist insurance also covers hit and run collisions and parking lot damage where the offending party is not identified, or so I've been led to believe. Your insurance agent would of course be the best to say exactly what is covered.

Do you have good medical and disability insurance already? High deductibles? Policy limits?

I believe this bodily injury is to supplement whatever medical insurance you already have. I believe it would help all of your passengers also. Verify with your agent.

No I don't think it is mandatory.

Keep in mind many people carry the very minimum liability limits and have nothing for you to collect from them personally. This insurance is to help you when their insurance stops paying.

Not mandatory but desirable for the personal injury side.
OTOH, if you rig gets damaged your collision is going to fix it even if the other guy isn't covered. Then if he has anything, they'll go after him.
You'd be on your own for any personal injury though.