Tennessee Uninsured Motorists Among Worst

TENNESSEE UNINSURED AMONG WORST

If I told you that you had a 1 in 4 chance of winning $100,000.00, would it get your attention?

I though it might. What if it was reversed, and you had a 1 in 4 chance of loosing $100,000.00?

In Tennessee, it is now estimated that a full 24% (almost 1 in 4) drivers are Uninsured. How can this be? Liability insurance is mandatory now, right?

True. But that has not fixed the problem, and the bad economy has just made it even worse.  We are the third worse in the whole nation!

Elizabeth A. Sprinkel, senior vice president of the Insurance Research Council, stated, “Despite laws in many states requiring drivers to maintain insurance, about one in seven motorists [across the U.S.] remain uninsured. This forces responsible drivers who carry insurance to bear the burden of paying for injuries caused by drivers who carry no insurance at all.”

In 2009, the five states with the highest uninsured driver estimates were Mississippi (28%), New Mexico (26%), Tennessee (24%), Oklahoma (24 percent), and Florida (24%). The five states with the lowest uninsured driver estimates were Massachusetts (4.5%), Maine (4.5%), New York (5%), Pennsylvania (7%), and Vermont (7%).

Is it any wonder I harp repeatedly on the importance of your carrying as much Uninsured Motorists (UM) coverage as you can afford? It is a very cheap part of your policy, and you DO need it. Let no one tell you differently.  You need it.  Your parents need it.  Your children who are driving need it.

So, what about the loss of a $100,000.00 I mentioned?

This kind of thing really happens:  Man steals car in car jacking, and speeds away. He blows down Highway 51 at almost 80 mph and hits a car sitting at a stoplight, knocking her car down an embankment.  He manages to travel on long enough to hit yet another car, running her off the road.  

Ladies in each car came to me individually to represent them for their injuries against the reckless driver.  However, their results were not equal. We obtained a settlement of $100,000.00 for the first lady through her own UM insurance.

I could not represent the other lady, who was also severely hurt. Why? She had no UM coverage.  She lost $100,000.00.

Please look at your insurance card right now, and make sure that it has “UM” or “UIM” on it. If not, buy it. If so, make sure you carry more than just the minimum of $25,000.00. That does not go very far when just the helicopter ride is over $10,000.00. And do not be afraid to use it, as state law protects you from being punished by your insurance company for it.  Drive safely!