It’s bad enough when someone crashes into your vehicle and gives you serious injuries. If it turns out the driver who caused the accident does not have insurance, it can seem like a disaster. How will you pay your bills for medical care, auto repairs, lost wages and more?

In Indiana, there is a type of auto insurance you can get in case something like this happens to you. It’s called uninsured/underinsured motorist’s insurance, or UM/UIM. In fact, the law requires a newly-written collision insurance policy to include uninsured coverage unless the insured person rejects it in writing. Its purpose is to make sure you can get at least some compensation after a serious collision with an uninsured or underinsured person. Having this added to your policy might save you from having to seek bankruptcy protection someday due to overwhelming debt from your accident.

The Level of Coverage You Will Get

State law requires UM/UIM insurance to have the following minimum liability limits:

  • Bodily injury from an uninsured motorist: $25,000 for an individual/$50,000 per collision
  • Bodily injury from an underinsured motorist: $50,000

The premium for this additional coverage is 5 percent of what you pay annually for your standard collision insurance. So, if your insurance costs $800 per year, UM/UIM insurance would cost you $40 more. For this relatively small cost, you get some assurance that you will not be forced to pay your accident-related bills out of pocket if you get hit by a driver without sufficient auto insurance.

Potential Challenges With Um/uim Insurance

However, though you will be making a claim to your own insurance company, don’t assume that the process will be smoother than usual. The adjuster assigned to your claim may still offer you an unacceptably low settlement offer or claim the crash was your fault. Another possibility is that your UM/UIM coverage is not enough to cover your damages after an especially severe wreck. But having this insurance can make things a lot easier on you and your family someday.