This week I had a client come into the office with horrendous injuries. Her medical bills are already in excess of $60,000 and her auto accident just happened two weeks ago. By the time all of her treatment and recovery are finished, she could easily have bills in excess of $100,000. Add to this her lost wages and pain and suffering and she has a substantial case. Unfortunately, the person who hit her had only a small liability policy. This means that the client likely will not recover enough to pay her medical bills, much less recover anything for herself.
In some cases, this would not be so catastrophic if the client had her own unisured motorist ("UM")coverage. With that type of insurance, if the "at fault" party does not have any or enough liability coverage, then the UM coverage would kick in and pay for the client's damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. However, in a effort to save money, many people decline UM coverage. In order to do so, they actually have to sign a form saying they decline the coverage. If the insuarnce agent does not obtain the signed waiver form, the client may be able to establish a right to the coverage. If there is no UM insurance, the badly injured client will have a great case but no one against whom to collect. As a result, she will likely end up facing a dire financial and personal situation since she will have huge unpaid medical bills, she may be unable to work and will suffer in pain in the future.
In order to protect yourself and your family, you should talk with your insurance agent about securing the most UM coverage you can reasonably afford.
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