Personal Injury Protection coverage is required by law, but besides that it’s a good idea to have this coverage.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists Coverage

Suppose you’re driving on a highway, and another vehicle is merging from an on-ramp. He is supposed to yield, but doesn’t. The other vehicle sideswipes your car and then drives on! You are the victim of a hit-and-run accident. You can’t catch up to the other vehicle because of the damage to your own car. (Besides, it’s probably not a good idea to chase after someone that just hit your car and took off, you may wind up getting in a more serious accident.) If you didn’t have uninsured motorists coverage you wouldn’t be compensated for the damage to your vehicle. You would have to pay out-of-pocket to get your car fixed. Not many of us could afford that.

Uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage protects you when you are the victim of a hit-and run accident or when an uninsured or underinsured vehicle strikes your car. The best auto insurance for you from the leading car insurance companies.

Except for under a basic policy, which is explained at the end of post 4, New Jersey state law requires uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage, but besides that it’s a good idea to have this coverage.

You know another reason why it’s a good idea? That innocent person walking across the street deserves to be compensated for his injuries. You could be ruined financially, but his life may be just ruined. Compensating him is fair and it’s the right thing to do.

Let’s take another example. As you drive, you approach an intersection. You come to a stop sign, signaling to make a left hand turn. A man in a car across the way waves you on. You start to turn and boom, he hits you. When the police arrive he denies ever having waved you on and even though it was just a minor fender bender, he is complaining of a severe pain in his back. Yes, this man is attempting to commit fraud. Illegal, but tough to prove.

Suppose you didn’t have liability insurance. How are you going to pay the lawyers to defend your case? How are you going to prove fraud? It’s just your word against his.

Bodily injury and property damage liability insurance also pays for your defense costs, for actions brought against you as a result of an auto accident. In addition, it is the insurance company’s duty to investigate all cases of suspected car insurance fraud. Maybe this man committed fraud before and the insurance company has a record of it. Perhaps the insurance company can draw on expert witnesses to testify that given the very minor damage to the vehicles, no serious injury could have possibly been sustained.

Bodily injury and property damage liability insurance is a good idea. It protects you when an accident is your fault and when it’s not your fault. It provides compensation to deserving victims of automobile accidents, and when an accident is staged and there is a case of fraud, a company with resources can investigate the claim.