Uninsured Motorist (UM) insurance permits its holder to recover in an automobile accident if the party who caused the collision is underinsured or uninsured. A plaintiff may receive UM benefits in several ways. If you are in an accident in your vehicle with an uninsured motorist, you may receive UM benefits from your own carrier. Also, if you are a passenger in another person’s vehicle who has UM insurance and his vehicle is involved an accident with an uninsured motorist, you may be able to collect UM insurance from the driver’s UM as well as your own UM policy.
If you do not know whether your insurance policy includes UM insurance, you should call your insurance provider and inquire about your policy coverage. You should also request a declaration page, which will show the policy’s exact coverage and exclusions. As of January 1, 2010, Louisiana raised the required amount of minimum liability insurance. Today, an individual must carry at least $15,000 in minimum liability and a total of $30,000 in liability coverage for multiple individuals involved in the same accident. An individual must also now carry $25,000 worth of coverage for damage to another individual’s vehicle. This change is a substantial increase from the prior $10,000 minimum. In sum, Louisiana law currently requires all individuals to carry at least a 15/30/25 automobile insurance policy.
For further questions, contact Broussard, David & Moroux at 888-337-2323(toll free) or 337-233-2323 (local).