Take five minutes to do this, it could really help you out if you get in a car wreck.
Call whatever company/agent you have your car insurance with. And see how much underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage you have. This insurance is what you will use if you are hit in a car wreck and the person who hit you either doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough liability insurance coverage.
Currently the state minimum for liability insurance that all drivers are supposed to have in both Mississippi and Tennessee is $10,000 for property damage (car), and $25,000 per person for bodily injuries (medical bills, rehab and etc.) up to $50,000 max in bodily injuries per accident.
What does that means in plain english?
The person who hit you only has the state minimum of liability insurance. That means if you get them to settle for the maximum amount of insurance coverage they have, you will only be reimbursed $10,000 for your car and only $25,000 total for your medical bills and missed work. That still leaves you in the hole for $178,000. And if you yourself have the minimum for underinsured/uninsured coverage you’ll probably be able to “stack” the coverage and get an additional $35,000. But that still leaves you $143,000 behind!
As a lawyer I can tell you from experience that a lottttt of people here in the Mid-South don’t have any car insurance or only have the bare minimum. That’s why you need to call your insurance agent right now and ask how much your underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage is. You should make sure you have at least $250,000 worth. And the best part is that this extra bit of insurance is extremely affordable.
In order to get you guys up-to-date info, I just spoke with my agent’s office (shameless plug: Ron Townsend with American National 754-1555) to see how much it costs to increase your coverage to at least $250,000. Guess what? It only costs around $40-50 per year!
So go ahead an make the call right now. It’s wet outside today here in Memphis and you never know when some crazy idiot driving with no insurance is going to ram you from behind. And for only $3.50 per month more on your insurance bill you could be protected.
And, oh yeah, the call to my insurance agent only took 2:26 seconds.
