Why You Need Underinsured Motorist Coverage In South Carolina
South Carolina law requires all vehicles to maintain a minimum of $25,000 per injured individual ($50,000 per accident) in liability insurance coverage for personal injury and the same amounts in uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. Liability coverage protects you and your assets up to the amount of your coverage should you be at fault in a motor vehicle accident and injuries occur to the other party. If you have more in assets (cash, personal or real property), then it is a smart idea to purchase more coverage.
If you are injured in a car accident in South Carolina as a result of someone else’s fault, then the at-fault party’s liability coverage is triggered to compensate you. If the at-fault party is not insured or it is a hit-and-run, then your UM coverage is triggered.
But what happens when the at-fault party only has minimum ($25,000) liability coverage, but your damages are significant and this is not enough to fully compensate you? Many times the only additional source of recovery is an optional coverage that you could have purchased as part of your insurance policy, known as underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage.
UIM is coverage that you can purchase that will be triggered only after the at-party’s liability coverage is exhausted. While South Carolina law does not require that anyone purchase UIM coverage, it does require that insurance carriers expressly offer it to you and explain the optional coverage to the policyholder at the time of the policy’s inception . The law also requires that the policyholder expressly decline, in writing, to purchase the coverage. If an insurance company fails to properly offer you the option to purchase UIM, or have you properly decline it, you may be able to reform the policy to include it, even after an accident occurs.
UIM coverage amounts can vary with more coverage affording more protection for you. Pursuant to South Carolina law, you cannot have more UIM coverage than you have liability coverage on a policy. However, if you purchase UIM coverage and there are multiple cars with UIM coverage under the same policy, you may be able to “stack” the UIM coverage for each car under the policy to provide you with additional layers of coverage. This can be crucial if you have suffered catastrophic injuries.
You may think that since it is not required by law and because you are a safe driver, saving a little money by declining this coverage option is a smart decision. Simply put, it is not. This coverage is designed to protect you from the negligence of others, and the limited liability coverage they likely have. It doesn’t matter how safe a driver you are – there is little to nothing you can do to prevent a DUI accident or distracted driver from running a stop sign, blindsiding you or a loved one, and costing your family thousands of dollars in damages.
Unfortunately, it happens all the time, and the liability limits required by law do not adequately reflect today’s costs of medical treatment. Even relatively minor treatment can result in medical bills far in excess of $25,000. If injuries are catastrophic, medical bills can reach into the millions. Without adequate UIM coverage, there is frequently not enough in insurance proceeds to compensate you fully for your damages, and you may be swallowed up in debt for medical expenses when the accident was caused by someone else. UIM coverage is essential to provide financial security for you and your family.
If you have questions regarding UIM coverage or insurance coverage regarding a South Carolina car accident, including whether or not you believe you were offered the option to purchase it by your insurance company, please do not hesitate to contact our South Carolina Attorneys at the HHP Law Group at 803-400-8277.
