Is UM Coverage Following You?

In addition to Florida’s mandatory PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage, Florida residents may purchase different types of automobile insurance.  One of those is Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist “UM” coverage.  This is voluntary insurance coverage that must be purchased in addition to PIP coverage.  The purpose of UM coverage is to ensure that you have full insurance coverage when (1) an at-fault driver has insufficient liability insurance to cover your injuries/damages; (2) when the at-fault driver cannot be located or identified (ex. hit-and-run accident).  Far too often, at-fault drivers have insufficient insurance to cover the serious and permanent injuries they cause.  In these situations, UM coverage is incredibly beneficial to have. 

Additionally, a noteworthy and often overlooked benefit of UM coverage is who it covers beyond the policyholder.  In addition to the policyholder, standard UM policies generally cover the policyholder’s spouse and any relatives (not just minor children) who live with the policyholder.  UM insurance follows these insured individuals, not the insured car.  This means UM coverage covers the policyholder and resident relatives whether they are riding in the policyholder’s car, riding in another person’s car, are pedestrians or riding a bicycle and are hit by a car.  We have seen many cases involving resident relatives and cases arising from unlikely and unfortunate pedestrian and bicycle accidents in which UM coverage applied when no other insurance coverage was available. 

In order to seek benefits under a UM policy for injuries/damages, the UM coverage must have been in place on the date of the accident.  Under Florida law, the statute of limitations to bring a claim for UM benefits is five years from the date of the accident.  If you have questions about UM coverage, contact Baggett Law for a free and confidential consultation.