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If you were recently in a car accident that was caused by an underinsured driver, you may need the help of a St. Louis underinsured motorist accident lawyer to help you get the compensation you deserve. Legal counsel can help walk you through the complexities of car wrecks and help you decide what legal actions to take next.
It is illegal to drive a car in Missouri or Illinois without insurance, and every insurance policy is required by law to include uninsured motorist coverage. However, most states do not require underinsured motorist coverage, and though it is relatively inexpensive, most insurance agents do not bother to tell you about it. To protect yourself, understanding underinsured motorist coverage is extremely important.
In Missouri, a driver is in compliance with the law if he or she has at least $25,000 of liability insurance coverage. Let’s say that you are walking along on a sidewalk and that driver drives off the road, hits you and you are hospitalized with a broken leg. Without question, your medical bills alone will exceed $25,000. Once the negligent driver’s liability insurance company pays all of his coverage, you still have outstanding bills, unpaid lost wages and you were not compensated for your pain and suffering. On the other hand, if you had $100,000 of underinsured motorist coverage, you could make a claim against your own insurance company to pay the difference.
The difference between uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage is extremely important for that reason. Your uninsured motorist coverage will NOT pay the difference if the at-fault driver has at least minimum coverage.
Once you have to make a claim against your own insurance company, it is not necessarily smooth sailing. Suddenly, your own insurance company is working against you to pay you as little as possible. If you’re in this situation, contact one of our St. Louis car accident lawyers immediately.
We’ve been in the personal injury field since 1949, so we have the experience to get you the coverage and compensation that you deserve. Contact us today so we can discuss your case.
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