Virtually Every Tampa Automobile Accidents Lawyer Recommends Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Protection

In addition to the everyday dangers you will encounter on Tampa Bay area roads like speeding and reckless driving, one prevailing concern is the number of uninsured and underinsured drivers out there. Even though automobile insurance is required by law before you can receive a valid Florida vehicle registration, many drivers cancel their insurance after their registration is renewed for the year. Exacerbating this problem is the economic downturn in our country; now even more Tampa Bay, Florida drivers are trying to save money by reducing their coverage to the bare-minimum or cancelling their car insurance altogether.

What does this mean to the rest of us? It means that if you are the victim of an automobile accident with property damage and/or injuries, and the other driver is at fault, there is a good chance that the at-fault driver is either uninsured or underinsured. Therefore, you may have to rely upon your own insurance to pay for collision damage, medical bills, lost wages, and so on.

To pay for someone else's negligence on the road, your first line of defense will be your PIP (or personal injury protection) coverage, which typically pays $10,000 toward your medical bills and lost wages. For medical bills that arise after your PIP is exhausted, you will need Uninsured Motorist Protection (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Protection (UIM). This is perhaps the most important type of insurance you can carry in the Tampa Bay area and throughout Florida. With this protection, if you are struck by a driver who does not have any insurance—or who does not have enough insurance—to pay for your injuries, your insurance company would make up the difference, up to the limits of your policy.

Some people may feel comfortable that their PIP insurance will be adequate to cover their lost wages and medical treatment after an auto accident, only to be surprised that their PIP is immediately exhausted just by their single visit to the emergency room after a collision. This problem will only get worse as medical expenses at hospital emergency rooms continue to spiral up. If you are in an auto accident with an uninsured motorist and you don't carry health insurance, once your PIP is exhausted, there will be no more money available for medical treatment. In addition, unless you carry disability insurance, you will never be able to recover your lost income. Both of these problems can be avoided by carrying adequate un/under insured motorist insurance coverage.

Tampa automobile accidents lawyer Dale Appell, P.A. strongly recommends that every driver invest in uninsured motorist protection and underinsured motorist protection. This is just as important in Tampa, Florida as it is in surrounding areas like Clearwater, St Petersburg, Riverview, Tarpon Springs, Odessa, Largo, Pinellas Park, Hudson, Temple Terrace, and Hillsborough. There are too many drivers with no insurance, or insufficient insurance, in our area to refuse this essential coverage. Without it, you could be left with insurmountable medical bills, lost wages, and auto damage that you may never be able to pay for by yourself.