I was reviewing my insurance coverage and noticed that my "Uninsured Motorist" coverage is only $60,000..I spoke to my agent and she told me that $60,000 is plenty..But it seems low to me .
Should I get it increased ??
Jeff
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Im not sure, but on your viper, Id get a "stated value" policy. Bring the car in, show them the receipts, tell them its a "show car" not a race car. and have the whole thing insured for $100K. Id also go high on the liability coverage $500K. I know youre a home owner and you may also want to consider a personal liability umbrella. Im not sure what the uninsured motorist coverage really buys you. Even without it, I think they pay you? if not, Id go higher.
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
No - it's not.
As I understand uninsured / underinsured motorist clauses - this is the one time that your insurance pays YOU if you are in an accident and the other person is at fault.
For example, a guy in a 1992 Cavalier hits you. he has the minimum allowed coverage - something like $50k/$100K with $5K medical payments. You sue himto pay for your EXTENSIVE medical care - which can easily run into the 100s of thousands of dollars. He's broke. Now it's your problem.
Here's where your uninsured / underinsured coverage kicks in and will pay up to the amount of coverage you have - for you - without issue.
We carry $1 million - and I think it's rolled into our umbrella policy.
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Thats what I thought, but I wasnt sure. I just looked at my policy and my agent recommended $500K per incident, $1M for a multicar incident, and $120K for replacement of my vehicle.
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Definatley not. When I was hit head on, the POS had a whopping 10K California State minimum. That means, I got a check in the amount of 10K from him. That's it. The additional cash came from my uninsured/underinsured policy-they covered the gap from his policy to my limits.
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Re: Is $60,000 enough uninsured motorist coverage ??
Matt... I think you are you referring to a Personal Umbrella Liability policy? A PUL is written to extend an additional "umbrella" of liability over all your personal activities..... ie it extends over your homeowners insurance policy and your automobile insurance policy.
The PUL will pick up coverage after your underlying liability limits are exhausted... ie your homeowner carrier pays policy limits for a personal liability claim... and there are still judgement dollars to pay... the PUL would pay up to it's limits.
In similar example... say you cause a 20 car pile up.... you have $300,000 per occurrence liability limits... but the judgements against you are $1,000,000. If you have a Personal Umbrella Liability policy with say $2,000,000 limits.. then that PUL would pay the additional $700,000 to satisfy the judgements.
A PUL is a good idea for anyone with higher liquid (ie attachable) assets. I typically recommend that folks consider their net worth, and liquid net worth.... total up the attachable assets.... and whatever that figure is.... purchase a PUL (personal umbrella liability) policy for double that amount.
With the carrier I represent... a $2,000,000 PUL would only cost about $250-$350 per year ... the variable factor is number of vehicles you own, number of drivers, number of homes.
Additionally, most carriers require minimum underlying limits... for instance a minimum of $300,000 liability on the homeowner policy, and a minimum of 300K/300K liability on the auto policy.
And to answer the initial question... I had a client come into the office back in July 2003 and he requested to lower his uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.... we recommended against the manuever..... but did so with a signed statement. About 60 days later he was hit head on, by a drunk, coked-up, unlicensed, uninsured driver..... He spent 3 months in the hospital and his hospital bill was in excess of $200,000. My carrier paid him the PIP benefits of $10,000..... and we paid his lowered uninsured limits of $50,000....... I am not sure how he paid the remaining hospital bill of $140,000.
I'd say unless you are a multi-millionaire who does not work for a living and you have cheap access to healthcare.... you need higher UM limits..... but that may be the insurance agent in me??
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