Do you need uninsured motorist car insurance? Now, this is a question that I get, uh, virtually every single week when dealing with car accident cases here in St. Petersburg. And the reason why the subject keeps coming up is because so few people out there carry the proper insurance. And so what it comes back to is there’s a fundamental misunderstanding in Florida and again in St. Petersburg of course, because that’s where we were located and we handle the majority of our cases, but people believe that they have full coverage. And so they have, uh, an insurance policy. They’re out there driving, they’re fully covered, uh, and they don’t think anything else, uh, about the situation. And I, and unfortunately full coverage means different things to different people. There really is not a set definition of what full coverage is. And in order to drive in the state of Florida, uh, all you need is motor vehicle insurance with PIP or no fault benefits and property damage coverage.
You don’t need anything else to, to get an insurance policy and drive. And so people will get these bare minimum policies and think to themselves, well, I’m fully covered. Uh, I have full, I have full coverage, I don’t need anything else. And in reality, that’s just not the case. So the two forms of insurance that everyone needs to carry and in some amounts, even if it’s $10,000 or $25,000, is both bodily injury coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. Now, bodily injury coverage means it’s, it’s insurance to protect yourself. If you hit someone else and you injure them, uninsured motorists covers you, pays you if someone else hits you and doesn’t have enough insurance or any insurance at all, that’s where you’re really, you’re your pot of last resort reserve comes in. Uh, so you would be absolutely shocked at some of the stories that I see day in and day out here at St. Petersburg, personal injury attorneys, McQuaid and Douglas.
In fact, I’d say probably one third to 40% of the cases that come in don’t have insurance. And when I say don’t have insurance, well, they may have full coverage. But what, again, what does that mean? They don’t have bodily injury, they don’t have uninsured motorist. And so there’s no way that I can put any money in their pockets. There’s no way that I can compensate them for their injuries because they do not carry bod people on the road do not carry bodily injury coverage and our clients are not buying uninsured motorist. And for example, I’ve got a case last week, a a a 15 year old kid stole his parent’s car, took the, took the keys, went out, was driving 90 miles an hour and head on collision. Seriously injured. Well, the policy excluded anyone under 18 no insurance coverage. My client didn’t have uninsured motorists.
You get a lot of illegal immigrants out there that don’t have it. They don’t have a valid license. They’re driving around uninsured cars. Again, they hit you and you don’t carry uninsured motorist coverage. You don’t get anything. And it’s not just illegal immigrants and kids, it’s actually a lot of people out there. I mean, you’d be absolutely surprised how many people are not carrying around any bodily injury coverage. And it’s mostly because I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding out there. So again, the insurance companies are not doing a good job on car accident issues. Explaining to people about why they need bodily injury and why they need uninsured motorists. People are not using insurance agents like they used to. They just go online. They just pick whatever type of coverage. They just pick the cheapest thing that they can buy and they’re not getting bodily injury and uninsured motorist. So when they’re in a car accident in St. Petersburg, there’s just nothing that we can do for them. So protect yourself out there. Carry bodily injury and uninsured motorist coverage because if you’re in a car accident and you’re injured, you will thank me and good luck.
*The above has been transcribed by a third party service and has not been checked for accuracy.
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If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident, then you should take the proper measures to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. Contact St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas today and speak with an attorney. For over 60 years our firm has been successfully helping people who have been injured due to someone else’s carelessness. We have been nationally ranked for decades by US News and World Reports as a Tier 1 law firm, which is the highest ranking that can be received. Sean McQuaid and Jonathon Douglas have dedicated their careers to continuing the firms legacy of superior legal representation.
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St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas
5858 Central Ave suite a, St. Petersburg, FL (727) 381-2300
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Sean McQuaid and Jonathon Douglas were voted best personal injury attorneys in Saint Petersburg, Florida for 2019.
