What Types of Car Accident Insurance Do I Have? What Do the Numbers on My Policy Mean?
The coverage provided by an insurance policy is reflected, generally, in a separate document called a declarations page.
The number following the coverage description is the dollar amount of the maximum policy payout, i.e. “limits”
Personal injury and accident lawyers Attorney Eric T. Kirk in Baltimore MD see numbers like this every day. Typical “100/300” liability coverage means that the insurance company will provide coverage “up to” $100,000 in damages for personal injury caused by an insured person, and a maximum of $300,000 for any one accident if multiple people are hurt. The phrase “up to” is an important limitation in two ways. In no way does this obligate an insurance company to pay that amount, or anything at all, for that matter. Secondly, experienced lawyers that have handled cases that are more valuable than the policy limits know that collecting any amounts beyond the policy limits can be an arduous task.
What does UM/UIM 50/100 mean?
UM means uninsured and UIM means “underinsured”. These are two varieties of one coverage, commonly called “uninsured”. I’ve explored some of the details of this coverage in other guides. Experienced personal injury and accident lawyers know that the “50” is $50,000, the maximum uninsured benefits available to any one person injured, and that “100” is $100,000, the maximum per occurrence.
