Drivers sometimes do not have car insurance or don’t have enough car insurance. Missouri and Illinois mandate every driver have insurance. The Missouri minimum of coverage for liability insurance (for when your negligence injures someone else) is $25,000 and in Illinois it is also $25,000. Make sure you get car insurance with at least this minimum coverage. We all know that it is a misdemeanor to drive without minimum insurance. Missouri’s minimum insurance is 25/50/10 - $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 in property damage. Illinois’s minimum insurance is 25/50/20 - $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $20,000 in property damage. Further – get more than the minimum insurance. It is relatively cheap and injuries and damages often exceed this minimum. If another driver injures you or one of your passengers, their insurance should cover your claim. That is why your claim is against them and their insurance company. Find more information about insurance information in Missouri and in Illinois.

Having liability insurance is especially important in Missouri if you are injured and want to make a claim against the negligent driver. Missouri law now prohibits recovery for pain and suffering damage by a car crash for a victim if that person was driving and had no liability insurance. All an uninsured driver can recover is medical bills and wage loss damages. Make sure you have insurance and pay your premium so it is not canceled.

You are also mandated to have uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage occurs when another driver injures you or a passenger and they did not have insurance. Yes, they violated the law and they ought to get a ticket for not having insurance, but you are still left uncompensated with no recourse. So, you have uninsured motorist coverage with your insurance. You can make a claim against your own insurance company for your personal injuries even though another person, and not you, caused those injuries. Uninsured motorist coverage is very powerful, and a lot of lawyers don’t understand it.

Did you know that if a driver hits and injures you and flees the scene, or a phantom vehicle injures you, you have an uninsured claim? All uninsured coverage in Missouri and Illinois must cover you if there is a hit and run driver or if the driver is unknown and cannot be located. Uninsured motorist coverage also covers you if someone steals a vehicle and then injures you. We have had many examples in my law practice of this occurring. Further, in Missouri uninsured motorist coverage can be stacked. This means that if you own 2 or 3 vehicles and an uninsured driver hits you, you can stack your $25,000 uninsured coverage to get more insurance.

You also might have underinsured motorist coverage. This comes into play when another driver has minimal insurance and your damages are large. For instance, if you have $100,000 underinsured coverage, and the driver that hit and injured you only has $25,000, you can make a claim against your own insurance for your underinsured motorist coverage. You also might have personal injury protection insurance, which often occurs when you rent a vehicle. This is additional coverage you can obtain when you rent a car that will protect you specifically for personal injuries.

You might also have medical payments or med pay coverage. This is usually a smaller amount, under $10,000, that you have on your insurance policy to pay for medical care resulting from a car accident. It is strongly recommended you use your own health insurance, and the med pay should pay your co-pays or deductibles. Sometimes health providers try to make you use your med pay rather than using your health insurance because they want to make more money. However, you should always insist on using your health insurance coverage and making that med pay claim later. This is a complicated area in which some lawyers are well versed. Sometimes people have liability only insurance which does not cover their own property damage. This only protects if you are negligent and you injure someone else. Note that under Missouri and Illinois law even if you have liability-only coverage, you have to have uninsured motorist coverage as well.