Drivers in Colorado are required to carry the minimum automobile insurance coverage allowed by law. Those minimums include bodily injury per person of at least $25,000, bodily injury per accident of at least $50,000 and property damage per accident of at least $15,000. This, unfortunately, does not include any automatic coverage for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Is this protection worth the expense?
The answer is usually yes. There are some facts that you need to know about this insurance though. First, this coverage cannot be purchased without having a primary motor vehicle policy. Second, the amount of the insurance has to be equal to that of your policy’s bodily injury limits.
Even though there are mandatory minimums, many drivers don’t have any insurance or have coverage that is not high enough to cover the expenses resulting from the accident. When the policyholder has uninsured or underinsured coverage, the policyholder, any additional drivers on the policy and passengers in some cases are covered. Be sure to ask your insurance agent who is covered by this insurance.
While you may feel that you are a safe driver, that doesn’t mean you won’t get into an accident. Dealing with the other driver’s insurance can be difficult at times, but dealing with the at-fault driver or your own insurance company when you don’t have uninsured or underinsured coverage can be even more difficult.
As an injured party in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you have a right to compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and much more. An experienced personal injury attorney can provide more information on how to proceed with seeking such compensation.
Source: Colorado Division of Insurance, “Un-Insured and Under-Insured Motorist Coverage in Colorado,” accessed Aug. 18, 2015
