Increasing Your Insurance Protection

Doubling UM/UIM Coverage

What is the most important part of any motorcycle (or auto) insurance policy?
The most important part of your motorcycle or auto insurace policy is your UM/UIM.

What is UM/UIM ? 
UM/UIM is Coverage against Uninsured Motorist / Under Insured Motorist .

Where do you find it ?
You'll find it listed as UM/UIM on your policy's declaration page, stating your coverages. This is really important to motorcyclists. 

What they don't tell you...
Some Insurance companies in the industry do not want you to know about this coverage because it's low profit and high risk for them. They would prefer to sell only the minimum UM/UIM required by law (usually 20/40) and that is a distinct disadvantage to you, the motorcyclist.

Why is UM/UIM so important?
Connecticut law requires every motorcycle (and auto) insurance policy carry these two forms of coverage.  UM/UIM Insurance covers you if you are injured by a negligent driver who has no insurace, or too little insurance to pay for your injuries and damages. Uninsured Motorist (UM) means that the other party carried no insurance at the time of the accident.

What UM does for you?
If you are involved in an accident caused by an Uninsured Motorist, your UM provides money payments to you or your family from your insurance company for medical expenses, wage loss, permanent injuries and other losses you would have received from the other person's insurance, if they had been insured.  

What UIM does for you?
Under Insured Motorist coverage (UIM) provides the same benefits as UM and is useful when the other party carried insurance but it wasn't enough to cover all your losses.  UIM  covers any gap between the other person's insurance and the total amount  of UIM that you purchased. 

How does UIM work ?  Here's the easy math...
For example, if the negligent driver has a $20,000 policy and you have $100,000 UIM limit, you have an additional $80,000 available to you after collecting the other party's entire $20,000 policy).

Some good reasons to purchase higher UM/UIM...
There are good reasons why you should purchase high limits of UM/UIM coverage. UM/UIM coverage is very inexpensive (pennies per day) .  The folowing facts should help convince  you to carrry a lot of UM/UIM insurance, since:

• 80% of all car vs. bike accidents are the fault of the car's driver
• Motorcyclists are far more likely to be seriously injured in an accident 
• When serious injury occurs, the other driver's insurance coverage is often non-existent or insufficient

Therefore, if your insurance company or its agent suggests low limits of UM/UIM insurance or that you reduce your UM/UIM coverage, they are not giving you the best protection. It's in your best interest to get the highest UM/UIM coverage you can.

How can I increase my UM/UIM Coverage?
In Connecticut, when you buy liability insurance, you automatically get an equal amount of UM/UIM coverage. However, under Connecticut law, you can then increase your UM/UIM limits up to twice the amount of your liability limits. (For example, if you buy $100/300 liability policy, you can double your UM/UIM coverage to $200/600 and the insurance company cannot refuse your request). 

Remember, under Connecticut law, the Insurance Company cannot refuse this request. Since UM/UIM is the least expensive part of your motorcycle policy, you can double your protection at very little cost. In short, when purchasing motorcycle insurance or for that matter, auto insurance, it is best to first focus on protecting yourself from the uninsured/underinsured driver. 
 

The best and cheapest form of life and health insurance?
This is accomplished by buying the highest amount of liability insurance you can afford and then requesting double the UM/UIM coverage. UM/UIM insurance is simply the best and cheapest form of life and health insurance you can buy to protect yourself and your family and the insurance company cannot refuse your request when you say, "please double my UM/UIM coverage."

How can I reduce the overall cost of my motorcycle insurance in order to purchase higher UM/UIM limits?
See M/C's list of possible Policy Discounts that may reduce your overall cost ** .

  ** Percentage of discounts vary between insurace companies that we underwrite. Maximum discounts may apply.

 This information is offered for the benefit of anyone purchasing motorcycle or auto insurance to protect themselves. However, since time and space constraints do not permit an in depth discussion of all aspects of UM/UIM, the information contained herein does not constitute legal advice. If you wish further legal information or more detailed information, please feel free to contact Haymond Law for the legal aspects of UM/UIM.