A common scenario arises in auto accident personal injury claims where someone is injured and the other person at fault for the accident has either no insurance, or not enough insurance to cover the injuries suffered.
In Florida, underinsured/uninsured coverage is offered to policy holders, as a way to compensate for the unfortunate losses and injuries the insured suffered because of the the other person’s negligence when that other person does not have bodily injury coverage or their bodily injury coverage is not enough to cover the damages.
Florida Statute 627.727(1) provides:
Motor vehicle insurance; uninsured and underinsured vehicle coverage; insolvent insurer protection.—
(1) No motor vehicle liability insurance policy which provides bodily injury liability coverage shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any specifically insured or identified motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state unless uninsured motor vehicle coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death, resulting therefrom. However, the coverage required under this section is not applicable when, or to the extent that, an insured named in the policy makes a written rejection of the coverage on behalf of all insureds under the policy.
This means that in Florida, when policyholders are being provided with bodily injury coverage, underinsured and uninsured coverage must be offered to the policyholder. The policy holder may, by written and signed waiver, reject the coverage.
Underinsured/Uninsured motorist coverage is a first-party type of coverage, which means that it provides for the losses and damages the insured has suffered. In contrast, third-party coverage protects the insured by providing for the losses and damages caused by the insured.
Underinsured coverage kicks in when the other person (at-fault party’s) bodily injury coverage is not adequate to cover the losses suffered by the insured.
Uninsured coverage provides coverage when the other person has no bodily injury coverage to cover the losses suffered by the insured.
In Florida, where rates of uninsured motorists are some of the highest in the nation, the above scenario happens all to often. In most cases, when the at fault-party does not have adequate coverage to compensate for the insured’s losses, the insured may not have another way to pay for their injuries and losses.
