Quote:
Originally Posted by kkingston57
Were they an actual agent? Agents make more money if they sell you more insurance. Only way you can buy UMBI coverage in the amount of $10K is if you only have liability coverage for 10/20. If you buy more coverage(not very expensive) you can then buy more UMBI coverage.
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Yes, they were both agents who sell insurance and I asked them a lot of questions. I already have $1 Million in liability coverage on my regular auto insurance policy with State Farm. To match that amount with UM coverage, it would cost me an additional $480 per year. That is the maximum amount available through State Farm. I could buy an optional lower amount of UM coverage. Both agents said that it would not be worth buying the UM coverage because I already have excellent health insurance. Most approved UM claims are for medical expenses under "bodily injury" coverage. I don't like the idea of most of my premium cost going to pay for bodily injury protection because most of an approved claim would pay for medical costs for which I am already covered. I can understand that UM insurance for a young person with no health insurance would make more sense, or for someone who wants to protect against "pain and suffering" for a long term disability. The agents both agreed that, to file a pain and suffering claim, I would need to hire a lawyer who would rake off about 40 percent of any claim settlement. That would reduce a potential settlement to a maximum of $600K and probably less. The agents agreed that State Farm is most likely not going to pay a large settlement without being sued. Another consideration is that UM insurance also covers passengers in my vehicle, but, frankly, I am not interested in paying for insurance to cover passengers for an accident that, by the UM definition, is caused by an uninsured driver. So, I don't see any reason to pay an additional $480 per year for coverage that I will never use. I know that some people don't agree.