St. Petersburg Car Wreck Demonstrates Why Everyone Should Purchase Uninsured Motorist Protection

According to an article posted at TampaBays10.com on May 31, 2008, Jamaal Miles of Pinellas Point Florida was driving west on the Tom Stuart Causeway Bridge in St. Petersburg Florida when he lost control of his car. As a result, his vehicle crossed the median and crashed into an eastbound automobile driven by Amanda Anderson of Seminole Florida. The bridge was apparently closed to all traffic for two hours after the accident. Miles, his passenger Fredrick Wade, Anderson, and her passenger Charles Mosley were all taken to St. Petersburg area hospitals.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriffs office, Miles was cited for failure to use due care, no valid driver's license, no proof of insurance, and not wearing his seat belt. If in fact it turns out that Miles did not have insurance, the others involved in the car accident will not be able to receive compensation for their injuries unless they have purchased Uninsured Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM). Most people do not even know what UM coverage is or why they need it.

UM coverage is insurance coverage you buy to cover you when someone other than you causes the auto accident and that person either does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance to fully compensate you. Insurance companies rarely encourage you to buy this coverage because they cannot accurately predict the risk associated with a driver they do not know that may cause an accident you are in sometime in the future.

While UM coverage is a bad bet for the insurance company, it is a good idea for you. Some comentators have estimated that upwards of 25% to 33% of all drivers in Florida have no bodily injury insurance to compensate people when they cause an accident. In otherwards, if you are in a car accident caused by someone else, there is upwards of a 33% chance that person does not have insurance to adequatley compensate you. With odds like that, it is worth the extra money to purchase UM coverage to protect you.

Scott Distasio
St. Petersburg Auto Accident Lawyer

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