All motor vehicle owners are required to carry liability insurance in the event that their car is involved in an accident causing injuries. The minimum amount of insurance coverage required in New York is $25,000. Unfortunately, this amount of money often is the amount recovered by those seriously injured in an automobile accident.
The person who causes an accident, also known as the “tortfeasor,” is often incapable of paying judgments beyond the amount of their insurance coverage. Once the “tortfeasor’s” coverage is exhausted, the injured party then has the right to make a claim against their own household automobile policy. This is known as an underinsured motorist claim. The claim can amount to the difference between the tortfeasor’s coverage amount and the amount of coverage on the injured party’s household automobile policy. For example, if a tortfeasor has a $25,000 automobile policy and the injured party has $500,000 in underinsured motorist protection, the injured party can claim the difference of $475,000.
CHECK YOUR AUTO INSURANCE DECLARATION PAGE!!! Your underinsured motorist protection is important protection for you and people in your household in the event you are injured in an automobile accident.