Written by: Lawrence Flick
You are sitting at a red light when the car behind you doesn’t stop and rear ends you. It’s bad enough to be hurt in a situation like this and have injuries, medical bills and lost income. But to add insult to injury, you find out that the other driver doesn’t have a car insurance.
Are you out of luck? Not necessarily.
One of the main purposes for car insurance is to make sure that if a driver causes a car accident there is money available to pay for medical expenses, lost income and other damages sustained by people who that driver injures.
To transform this important purpose from an idea into reality, Kansas and Missouri law in most cases require owners of cars to carry a minimum amount of car insurance. Minimum coverage requirements are for 25/50 liability. What this means is that the driver is required to carry a minimum insurance of $25,000 for injury to each individual up to $50,000 for physical injury per accident and $10,000 per crash for property damage. Research indicates that fortunately, most drivers in Missouri (approximately 86 percent) carry the required insurance. In Kansas, statistics indicate that 90 percent of drivers have the appropriate insurance.
Medical expenses can add up very quickly and while opinions vary, based on decades of experience as an auto wreck attorney, the required minimums can be completely inadequate. In a crash where the injuries are more than minimal or if several people are hurt, medical expenses and other damages, can quickly exceed this minimum coverage. As an example, Flick Law Firm has handled vehicle accident cases involving medical expenses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. For a modest additional premium, many people choose to purchase higher liability limits than the required minimum.
But where are you if the other driver didn’t have the required car insurance?
Missouri and Kansas law generally require “uninsured motorist” coverage be included in car insurance policies. Uninsured motorist coverage is designed for exactly the situation where the other driver was required to carry insurance, but didn’t. If the driver responsible for causing your car accident did not comply with the law and carry the required insurance, your insurance company through your uninsured motorist coverage can be required to compensate you for injuries you sustained due to the negligence of the uninsured driver.
Another situation where uninsured motorist coverage can be invaluable is a hit-and-run accident or crash involving a so-called “phantom” motorist. When a driver has hit and run you, you may not be able to identify that driver or their insurance company. This is another situation in which you may be able to make a claim on your uninsured motorist coverage.
About The Author
Lawrence Flick is the founder of Flick Law Firm and has recovered money for people injured by uninsured motorists. If you or someone you love was seriously injured, disabled, or killed in a traffic accident caused by an underinsured or uninsured motorist, consult with Flick Law Firm today. We have been successfully handling car accident cases since 1995, and we will work to help you obtain fair compensation for your accident-related damages.
