Underinsured motorist coverage is exactly what it sounds like. It is an option that you opt for on your auto policy that allows you to add an extra layer of coverage in the event that your medical bills, your pain and suffering and your injury outpaces the actual coverage that the defendant had on his car when the accident occurred.
The significance of this is there is anywhere between 80 to 90% of people out there driving in South Carolina who are riding around with what’s considered state minimum policies. The state minimum for the State of South Carolina is $25,000, therefore the typical defendant who hits you and is at fault is only going to have $25,000 that you can potentially get from his auto insurance company to compensate you for your injuries to pay your medical bills, and any other damages.
A lot of times especially in the context of permanent injuries or injuries that are catastrophic in nature, your medical bills and your injuries are going to far outpace that $25,000. For example, if you’ve got a $25,000 hospital bill because you spent a couple of days in the emergency room at a critical three stage, the emergency room bills get extraordinarily expensive especially when you’re in the ICU.
If you take that and you submit it to the defendant’s insurance company, they’re immediately going to tender that $25,000 because you’ve already got $25,000 in medical bills.
However, then you have $25,000 in medical bills and there’s nothing left over to pay you for your pain and suffering, and there’s nothing left over for your permanent injury that has come as a result of this particular accident.
That is precisely where underinsured motorist coverage comes in. It’s an option that you opt for on your own auto insurance policy. For example, on my car, I have 100/300 and I opted for underinsured motorist coverage for precisely this reason.
In the event that I’m involved in a wreck in which I’m significantly hurt and there’s a permanent injury and the defendant only has $25,000 in coverage, I can go back on my own insurance policy and I can say, “Look, the defendant didn’t have enough money and I’m really hurt and I’ve got $70,000 in medical bills,” and my own insurance company is going to step into the shoes of the defendant and they’re going to say, “OK. Well here, here’s $100,000 to go ahead and cover the rest of your medical bills and to compensate you for your injury and hopefully compensate you for your long term permanent personal injury.”
If you have questions about underinsured motorist coverage, then please contact The Hartman Law Firm at 843-300-7600
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