Uninsured motorist count up to over 500,000

With the slowing economy, some motorists are deciding to do without the mandatory automobile liability insurance.  The Secretary of State's office released a report indicating that the percentage of uninsured motorists on the road increased from 4.7% of all vehicles in 2007 to 4.8% of all vehicles in 2008.  However, that small increase equals a total of about 539,000 uninsured drivers on the roads in Illinois.  Further, the insurance industry has released a report stating that nationwide, the total percentage of uninsured drivers may rise to as high as 15% by the year 2010.

With the raw increase in number of uninsured drivers on the roads, the chances that you will be involved in an Illinois car accident with an uninsured driver increase also.  Now is a good time to review your automobile liability insurance coverage to make sure that you are carrying uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist coverage covers you and your family members in the event that they are involved in a car accident with an uninsured driver or a hit and run vehicle.  It even covers your family when you are in another vehicle or if you are a pedestrian.  It is cheap coverage to buy, and protects you and your family against accidents caused by uninsured drivers.

The way that uninsured motorist coverage works is that when you are injured due to the fault of an uninsured driver, you submit an Illinois uninsured motorist claim through your own insurance.  Your insurance carrier then steps into the shoes of the uninsured driver, paying you the compensation you are due for the injuries caused by the uninsured motorist, up to your policy limits.  Your insurance company then has the right to try to collect the payments it made to you against the uninsured driver. 

Making an uninsured motorist claim benefits you in two ways: (1) it provides reasonably prompt compensation for the injuries you suffered in the accident and (2) it saves the time, expense, and uncertainty of trying to collect a judgment against an uninsured motorist whom may not have the assets needed to pay for the damages he or she caused.

With the economic situation contributing to the decisions of some drivers to drop car insurance all together, there are probably significant numbers of motorists who are choosing to buy cheaper insurance.  This usually translates to insurance with lower policy limits.  This means that while you are reviewing your auto insurance coverage, you want to look at underinsured motorist coverage as well.  This works much like uninsured motorist coverage, but its triggering event is getting into a car accident with a driver who has insurance, but does not have enough coverage for the damages and injuries he or she caused.  In that case, you would be making an Illinois underinsured motorist claim through your own auto insurance.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I can tell you that having this kind of coverage available has made a serious, positive difference in  the lives of my clients who have had the misfortune of being involved in car accidents with drivers who either had no insurance or the state minimum,