Under Governor Wolf’s state reopening plan, our offices are open
for business by appointment only. Metzger Wickersham is accepting new
clients and all attorneys and staff are available to assist you. Please
contact us via phone,
email or chat with a live representative on the
website.
In Pennsylvania, insurance companies are required to offer the option to
purchase uninsured motorist coverage (UM coverage) and underinsured motorist
coverage (UIM coverage) on all policies. In order to opt not to have the
coverage the policyholder must sign a waiver acknowledging that they were
offered the insurance coverage but are choosing not to purchase it.
UM coverage is insurance that protects you if you are injured by an uninsured
driver or if you are involved in a hit and run accident. UIM coverage
is insurance that protects you in the event that you are injured by another
driver who does not have enough liability insurance to cover his or her
total damages caused in a motor vehicle accident. UM and UIM insurance
provides coverage to the insurance policyholder, drivers covered by the
policy, household relatives, and passengers in the insured vehicle at
the time of a motor vehicle accident.
In Pennsylvania, many drivers carry only the state required minimum liability
coverage in the amount of $15,000 per person. This means that if a driver
causes an accident and it results in injury to another party, the maximum
amount the injured individual may receive from the at fault driver’s
insurance company is $15,000. However, if the injured person’s damages
exceed $15,000 then he or she can make a UIM claim under his or her policy
to attempt to recover the excess damages.
Unfortunately, you cannot control the lack of or amount of liability insurance
available from an at-fault driver to compensate you if you are in a motor
vehicle accident. However, what you can control is the amount of UM and
UIM coverage you carry. It is incredibly important that you elect UM and
UIM on your automobile policy so that you and your family are fully protected
in the event of a crash.
If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident with an uninsured or an
underinsured at-fault driver, contact a personal injury attorney at Metzger
Wickersham today to see if we can assist.