Many of my clients wonder what they can do if they were in a car accident with someone who either wasn't insured or didn't have enough insurance to be a fair amount to cover the damages caused by the accident.

Connecticut law requires car insurance companies to provide coverage to the people who buy their car insurance called“uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage” (seen often abbreviated as: UM/UIM). This means that if the vehicle operators do not have any insurance or not enough insurance you can make a claim against your own insurance company for the damages you suffer. It is important to note that the amount of damages that can be claimed is limited by the amount of uninsured/underinsured coverage purchased.

This is why it is critical that you and your family have adequate uninsured and underinsured coverage. Many people skip over this consideration because they do not fully understand this important coverage and because they do not own real estate or, in cases where they do own real estate, they think they are covered by an umbrella or excess coverage policy. However, this is not what an umbrella and excess policies are typically for and those types of policies do not typically cover uninsured and underinsured situations.

The good news is that, in Connecticut, there are ways to increase your uninsured/underinsured coverage by requesting Double UM (Uninsured Motorist) and Conversion Coverage.

Double UM increases your coverage to twice the amount of insurance than the amount you purchased in your liability coverage and conversion coverage enables you to collect the full amount from your coverage, regardless of how much you may have already collected from the person who caused the collision if your damages warrant that.

Medical Payment Coverage is an option you should always strongly consider purchasing.

Another consideration I see neglected often is medical payment coverage. In my opinion, you should obtain medical payment coverage on your automobile policy. This is an affordable component of insurance that ensures your medical bills are paid for from your car insurance. I recommend obtaining the highest medical insurance coverage that is available. With this “med pay” coverage you do not have to worry about deductibles, co-pays or being “in network” up to the amount of the coverage purchased.

I strongly recommend that you ensure you have the most amount of insurance coverage you are able to afford. Most people are pleasantly surprised to find out that increasing your coverer is very affordable and, having helped injured people for 20 years, I can tell you that having the proper coverage is important to protecting you and your family.

Since I am not an insurance agent so I recommend you follow up with a licensed insurance agent to answer any specific questions and to obtain the proper coverage.Of course, if you want my opinion or have any questions please let me know.