Do I need Uninsured/Underinsured coverage if I only have Liability?

[fleshconsumed]

My car is 13 years old, I bike to work most of the year, and at best I put 5000 miles on it in any given year (and that's only if I take it on a road trip). A couple of years back I dropped full coverage to bodily/property liability only, meaning, in the event of an accident where I'm at fault, my insurance will cover damage to the other side, but I'll be on my own. My insurance is up for renewal and I noticed, that I still have two line items on the bill, one for "Uninsured Motorists" and one for "Underinsured Motorists". Do I need those if I only have liability aka one way insurance?

 

[Tormac]

The best answer is "it depends". Without it if you will get in an accident with someone who has no insurance, and has no money then you will be on your own to repair your car. If you get in an accident, and it is not your fault you could try to take the person to court (laws will vary from state to state), but even if you win if the other party has no money (which will likely be the case if they are driving with no insurance) you will have a hard time collecting.

If you are driving a beater, and either don't mind doing work on it yourself, or if it is not likely worth any deductible then it may be worth taking the small risk of being in an accident with an uninsured driver.

 

[RLGL]

Short answer is YES

 

[fleshconsumed]

Just to be clear I have a one way insurance, meaning my insurance only covers the damage to the other side, and I'm on my own for any damage sustained to my car.

So I see two scenarios.

If I'm at fault, my insurance pays out for damage to the other side and I'm on my own for fixing my car. Very straightforward.

If the other driver is at fault, it gets a little murky. Technically, the other driver's insurance is responsible for repairing my car. Would uninsured/underinsured coverage do anything for me in this situation? I highly doubt my insurance would fix my car if I don't have full coverage and just uninsured/underinsured?

 

[deadlyapp]

Just to be clear I have a one way insurance, meaning my insurance only covers the damage to the other side, and I'm on my own for any damage sustained to my car.

So I see two scenarios.

If I'm at fault, my insurance pays out for damage to the other side and I'm on my own for fixing my car. Very straightforward.

If the other driver is at fault, it gets a little murky. Technically, the other driver's insurance is responsible for repairing my car. Would uninsured/underinsured coverage do anything for me in this situation? I highly doubt my insurance would fix my car if I don't have full coverage and just uninsured/underinsured?

Just because your insurance is not collision/comprehensive doesn't mean you're liable for all damage to your vehicle in a case where the other driver is at fault.

The uninsured/underinsured clause only covers bodily injury as far as I know and does nothing for your car. I suppose that your insurance doesn't cover your injuries if you're in an accident and not at fault? So it's basically the insurance coverage extending your liability insurance to you. If you have good medical insurance perhaps it's just like double-dipping.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

Better go it and not need it as dameon says

 

[boomerang]

Nobody has mentioned that the laws of your state may require that coverage regardless of what other coverage you have.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I would definitely have it, even if it is not required. If another driver is at fault and does not have insurance, it is very hard to collect. This happened to my daughter. She was rear-ended by an elderly driver, and even though he *did* have money, somehow he managed to tie it up so that she was never able to collect. Your only chance really is to hire a lawyer and pursue it. The real point is not coverage for the loss of a "beater", but medical coverage. For a beater, one can drop collision and comprehensive and take the risk, but I would not drop uninsured. As another poster said, some states require it. Even if one has "good" health insurance, you can still be responsible for thousands of dollars worth of co-pays and deductibles. For an accident, I would assume uninsured coverage would take care of at least part of this.