What are UIM and PIP coverages on your auto insurance policy, and why are they important to have?

Even though the law says that every driver should carry at least some auto insurance, in reality, there are thousands of drivers on our roads who are not insured at all. In addition, thousands more only carry the bare minimum insurance. What this means to you is, if you are injured in an auto collision, you may have to use your own insurance to pay your medical bills, lost wages, lost ability to work, and other damages. But what type of insurance should you carry to give yourself the protection you need?

Due to the many uninsured and underinsured drivers out there, virtually every lawyer will recommend that you carry a significant amount of uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist (UIM) protection insurance. By purchasing these policies—which often only cost a few dollars a month—you will have an insurance policy to pursue compensation for your injuries if a driver with no insurance (or little insurance) hits you.

Although it is not mandatory in Washington, we also strongly recommend that you purchase personal injury protection insurance. Personal injury protection, or PIP, insurance covers your medical expenses and lost wages, up to the policy limits, no matter who is at fault in the collision. Therefore, if you are injured in a car crash, your own PIP insurance would be the first policy to pay toward your medical bills.

One possible drawback to these insurance requirements is that most people only buy the minimum of PIP, usually $10,000, and that amount does not go very far when I comes to medical bills. Often your emergency room bills alone will total more than $10,000. So once your PIP insurance is gone, what is the next step? If the collision was the other driver’s fault, then the at-fault driver’s insurance (what lawyers call "3rd party insurance") likely would be the next policy in line to compensate you for your injuries. However, if the at-fault driver is not insured, you are out of luck unless you carry UIM insurance.

With UIM insurance, claims that exceed your own PIP and the at-fault driver’s insurance will be covered up to the limits of your UIM policy. Often, UIM policies are one of the only coverages available for personal injury lawyers when they make a claim for their clients.

If you have questions about the insurance policies that may be available in your case—including PIP and UIM coverage—please contact us at 253.858.5434 for a free initial consultation.