Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
In Massachusetts, drivers frequently choose to take irresponsible risk by not purchasing automobile insurance or simply purchasing coverage that has only minimal coverage in case of an accident. By law, all drivers are required to have insurance. However, car insurance can be expensive and many feel as though they can save money by purchasing only minimum coverage or buying no coverage at all. However, if you are in a wreck you quickly become aware of how important it is to have good insurance coverage. For that reason, it is crucial to protect yourself by making sure you have sufficient automobile insurance coverage.
Drivers can protect themselves from uninsured or underinsured drivers by purchasing uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage as part of their own insurance policies. In Massachusetts, UM coverage is required while UIM coverage is optional. In many situations, these two coverages are purchased together by drivers as an addendum to their regular policy.
UM coverage is especially helpful in situations of hit-and-run accidents. Many times, in a hit-and-run, the responsible driver is never located and the injured victim must turn to their own policy for recovery. In these cases, UM coverage is invaluable. UM coverage pays damages for bodily injury to people injured or killed in certain accidents caused by uninsured or hit-and-run drivers. Massachusetts law requires you to carry UM coverage of at least $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident. However, in most cases you will want to elect a much higher coverage limit as medical bills alone can easily exceed these totals in a serious car crash. It is not unusual to find UM policies with $150,000 to $200,000 of coverage.