The state of Florida does not require uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance on vehicles.

Our question: if we already have Medicare and and supplemental insurance, is UM/UIM insurance just a duplication of coverage and wasted premium payments?

Only if your car is worth zero or you are walking.

eta for below - you slackers.
MS? 29%.
The "Thank God for MS" state in all statistics.

We also have the highest percentage of shitty cars with no tread who will wreck in a heavy dew and trucks with crap falling off them onto the highway, so there's that.

I don't know about Florida but but in Texas 1 in 5 cars on the road are not insured. You decide...

Same in GA, 21% uninsured motorists reported last time. I always say if they know this number why not bust them. I am pretty sure if you have full coverage then the UIM is not necessary, but if you only have liability then you would want it.

Really wish they could get their act together, my insurance here in the states just keeps going up, when I am in Germany it keeps going down. Does not matter if you have a perfect record here just keeps going up. Good friend of mine is an Insurance agent and ask me does UIM really exit in the US, I told him it really does.

If I remember our policy Uninsured motorist was only about $10-15/ yr. At that price point it’s worth it. Of course Florida is probably higher.

2 yrs ago I bought a new GMC Denali. I was t-boned on day 28 of ownership. I traded a paid off vehicle when buying it, so I only paid tax on a small amount of money. The idiot that hit me totaling my new truck had no insurance and was a 16yr old kid driving his Mom's Jeep Liberty with 5 other kids piled in the Jeep.

My point is that I definitely needed the UM insurance and Thank God I had it. I still had to threaten my own insurance company to get what was fair. Taxes would have to be paid in full on my new truck with no tax credit for trade--that was over $5000. I also had a new $1500 hard shell tonneau cover and new $1800 Toyo tires with a $1200 2" level kit installed. My insurance didn't want to make me whole. I knew from previous experience in dealing with insurance companies that they need to close things out. The file can not sit unresolved. I must sign the terms to receive payment and close everything out, so I just refused to do so. They eventually paid for everything, but I had to stand my ground. There is no way in hell I would drive in FL without it. There are way too many people that haven't even had a license before moving here and those with insurance have the bare minimum in most cases too.

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I hope your insurance company gave you the cost for Un/Underinsured coverage? If not, ask how much it increases your yearly and monthly costs.

I expect the Un/Underinsured motorist insurance covers both your medical expenses and repair of your vehicle up to the limits of your policy. Contact your insurance company to confirm the specifics of what your policy will and will not cover.

I expect Medicare only covers your medical related expenses like transport (ambulance, helicopter) to hospital, surgery, follow up doctor visits, Physical Therapy, etc... If you have a copay, confirm with your insurance company Un/underinsurance covers medical expenses beyond what your Medicare covers ~ like copays and in-home medical assistants during recovery.

Not knowing what the supplemental insurance you mentioned covers, find out from that insurance company if it covers medical expenses and/or vehicle repairs.

I expect the Un/Underinsured Motorist Insurance will be the only policy that repairs your vehicle and the other two you have will only cover some of your medical expenses.

Ask all the companies about pain and suffering, long-term in-home medical assistance for a caregiver, funeral expenses, and ensure you understand the policy maximums.

Last suggestion with all insurance companies, get what they tell you in writing.

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Michigan, the estimates are 25% statewide are driving without insurance. In urban areas like Detroit, Flint, Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo the estimates are 60-70% without any coverage let alone underinsured.

I passed two motorcycles the other day without license plates. M/C plates are twenty five dollars a year, if they can’t or won’t pay for those why would they pay for insurance?

Another thing here, we are a no-fault state, no collision coverage on your car you lose UNLESS your car is parked and unoccupied, then the driver that hit you is on the hook, well maybe anyhow.

We used to have Mini Tort coverage here. So if you struck my car, you were at fault my insurance paid for my car and I paid for my deductible. But I could claim against your insurance company for my deductible or uncovers losses (if I had liability only) up to a certain amount, currently 3k.

Well, I could, until changes in our no fault championed by Dan Gilbert (read up on him) and our Governor Whitmer to make insurance more affordable. The big thing in that bill was to allow the insured to choose how much medical coverage they wanted and a lesser known part was that unless a driver opts for Mini Tort you cannot claim against that at fault driver, you now have to sue them personally.

So you take your chances. Personally I’ll pay for that coverage.

Thanks Shovelhead for the MI insurance info.Gong to check my policy for the mini tort coverage.
As far as the medical I carry the highest available, the next step down was actually more expensive than the highest coverage. When I told my agent his she didn't believe it but after checking was shocked it was true.

In 1982 I lost my first new car to an uninsured schizophrenic motorist doing about 80 mph.

The Uninsured Motorist Fund paid the medical bills and for my car. I even made around $500 on the deal.

And in Virginia, you are required to carry it.

Why would you not want it? It isn't just for bodily injury. How would your car get repaired or replaced? (I think you need separate coverage for the BI and property damage.) Collision insurance is for you damaging your car.

I would NEVER go without UM/UIM coverage. There are way too many drivers out there with no insurance. Hell, a lot of them don’t even have a driver’s license.

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
I would NEVER go without UM/UIM coverage. There are way too many drivers out there with no insurance. Hell, a lot of them don’t even have a driver’s license.

Quit talking about Arkansas like that! Estimated 20% of fatal accidents in Arkansas are caused by unlicensed drivers. 19.5% of cars are without insurance. I always see cars with expired Paper Temporary Tags. I saw one the other day that expired in JANUARY 2024. Bet they didn't have a license or insurance.

Ive done some auto accident litigation. I’ve seen some people screwed by getting hit by uninsured motorists and not having UM/UIM.

UM/UIM should be a minimum of 250k. If you own your home, 500 or more with an umbrella of 1M at least. You’re protecting yourself not the other person.

I did tort litigation for years and you’d be surprised how many uninsured vehicles are on the road. Not to mention the costs if you cause a serious accident:

I am sure the statistics are out there for the number of accidents that involve insured motorists to uninsured motorists.

Look at that and decide if the percentage risk of being smashed by UM, vs being in an accident where the other driver is insured, warrants the gamble.

Then take the difference and by scratch off tickets and keep them unscratched in the glovebox for when you smash.

That's the smart move.

This covers not just uninsured but also under-insured.
State minimum liability limits are not all that high and if you get hit the cost to replace many cars can easily be over that number.

you really should have UM coverage, I am an attorney in FL and represented insurance companies for years in auto accidents. Limits are up to you, but you might consider doing 100 in coverage and then stacking the policies if you have more than one car. It might be cheaper than adding $200 in coverage ask your agent.

You can get UM stacked or unstacked, unstacked costs a lot less. Stacking multiplies the coverage by the number of vehicles you own.

Since the majority of drivers in Florida are underinsured, I would personally never drive without it.

In case you didn’t know, the reason for the 24/7 barrage of ambulance chasing injury attorney commercials and billboards is becuase our state laws are very litigation friendly. Ask your agent for horror stories. Any agent in the biz for 5 minutes has chapter and verse insurance lawsuit stories. Get as much insurance as you can afford. Max it out and then get an umbrella policy on top that will cover your home and personal daily activity. I know I’m mixing uninsured and liability and other insurance here but the consequences of being under insured can be devastating and transfer that risk to people with lots of money and lawyers. One do the major downsides of FL.

Just checked my FL policy... UM/UIM is the single biggest chunk of the premium at $337 for 6 months, $250K per person or $500K per accident limit... but there are so many yahoos on the road around here I don't see how you can drive without it. $56.16 a month seems pretty inexpensive for FL UM/UIM.

Florida Has the Highest Rate of Uninsured Drivers in The U.S.
https://www.flafirm.com/resour...d-drivers-in-the-us/