What do you mean, I don’t have full coverage??

Once again, I have to call my new auto accident client who was injured in a rear ender a few weeks before, and I have to break the news to her that the man who ran the red light and crashed into her car had no car insurance. Not only that, my client, who told me that she had “full coverage” on her car at the initial conference, actually had only that motor vehicle insurance coverage required by Florida law; that is Personal Injury Protection (pays up to $10,000 for your medical bills and loss of wages regardless of fault) and Property Damage Coverage (Pays $10,000 for damage you cause to someone’s property as a result of your negligence). She did not have bodily injury liability coverage (“BI”) or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (“UM”). When I told her that she apparently did not purchase BI or UM, she was astonished that she did not have this coverage and said “I told my insurance agent that I want full coverage and he told me I had full coverage!” My poor client learned a painful lesson. She told me she was going to call her agent and add this coverage to her policy in the event of any future accident. Moral of the story: If you can afford the premium, it is crucial to have UM coverage on your auto policy to protect you if you are injured by someone that is uninsured or underinsured. There’s no better time than now to look at your auto policy and see what you purchased. Had my client secured this important insurance, there would have been coverage available to compensate her for the costly surgery she now needed as a result of the accident, as well as her pain, suffering, and loss of income.