Chattanooga Personal Injury Attorneys

Why Do I Need Uninsured Motorist Insurance in TN or GA?

Why Do I Need Uninsured Motorist Insurance in TN or GA?

Despite the fact that Tennessee and Georgia require automobile insurance, there are still many drivers on our roads lacking it. By some estimates, as many as fifty percent of all drivers in Tennessee and North Georgia lack insurance coverage. Furthermore, those that do carry insurance only carry the lowest limits allowable by law: $25,000 per person/$50,000 per wreck.

What does all this mean? It means if a careless driver causes injury to another driver, the injured party may never recover enough money to compensate them for medical bills as well as pain and suffering. This is why Tennessee and Georgia law requires every car insurance company selling liability insurance also to offer uninsured motorist coverage in an amount equal to the limits of the property damage and “at-fault” bodily injury coverage amounts in that policy.

What Is the Minimum Legal Automobile Insurance Policy in Tennessee?

In 2008, under the 2010 Financial Responsibility Law, the state legislature increased the minimum liability coverage amount by revising section 55-12-102 of the Tennessee Code:

“(12) Proof of financial responsibility or proof of financial security means:…
(i) If proof is required after December 21, 2008, proof means:
(a) A written proof of liability insurance coverage provided by a single limit policy with a limit of not less than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) applicable to one (1) accident;
(b) A split-limit policy with a limit of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for bodily injury to or death of

one (1) person, not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident, and not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for damage to property in any one (1) accident…”

If the bare legal minimum car insurance policy of 25/50/15 is purchased, then one can only receive that same amount of coverage for an uninsured motorist {UM} policy. Why is this? Because Tennessee law forbids UM coverage exceeding the liability coverage. Keep this fact in mind when shopping for car insurance. Even though an inexpensive premium is desired, drivers also need enough insurance to protect against uninsured drivers or underinsured drivers. In this day and age when an ambulance ride costs $1500, a CT scan costs $1800, an MRI costs $4500, and a 24-hour hospital stay can easily run $10,000 dollars, $25,000 dollars is really not very much.

When Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Apply?

Most UM policies will cover injuries to:

  • the insured, while driving or riding in their car or any car and while as a pedestrian
  • any relative who lives with the insured while driving or riding in the vehicle listed in the policy
  • anyone else riding in or driving the insured’s car, with the insured’s permission
  • anyone riding in a car the insured is driving but does not own.

When Does Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage Apply?

UIM coverage applies only if the injured party proves to their insurance company that the careless driver who hit them lacked enough insurance to properly compensate them. This can be proven after the injured party has managed to get the careless driver’s insurance company to offer them “policy limits” of $25,000 in writing. This can be a complicated procedure because it requires cooperation between the injured party’s insurance company and the careless driver’s insurance after the accident.

For more information about the laws in Tennessee regarding car insurance, contact Dennis and King in Chattanooga, TN at 423-892-5533. They are here to help and can provide a great deal of information about how underinsured motorist insurance can apply to injuries if a negligent driver has caused an injury.

By |2022-03-14T19:45:12-07:00January 22nd, 2020|General Info|0 Comments
Personal injury attorneys - Cover of the the "know your rights after a serious car accident" PDF

FREE GUIDE

Your Rights After A Serious Car Accident

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Looking for more free resources to help you with your personal injury claim?

10 best attorney of 2021 in client satisfaction

$1,150,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$1,000,000

ATV Accident
Settlement

$650,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$600,000

Tractor Trailer Accident

$400,000

Tractor Trailer Accident

$300,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$300,000

Tractor Trailer Accident

$300,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$245,000

Motorcycle Accident Settlement

OUR SERVICES & REVIEWS

A personal approach to personal injury

Personal Injury

Car Accidents

Truck Accidents

Motorcycle Accidents

ATV Accidents

BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

BOATING ACCIDENTS

NURSING HOME ABUSE

PREMISE LIABILITY

“I would highly recommend Ms Dennis, she is very kind, and she listens to your concerns. And the staff is great also. My family and I can not thank her enough for her help during the lost of our love one. Thank you!”

TERESA BUCHANAN

“My experience with Dennis & king law was absolutely amazing she got me the money I need for my pain in suffering she was honest the entire way until time for me to settle. She checked on me to make sure I was doing fine… great outcome!!”

RAVEN DOLBERRY

“My experience with Dennis & King was overwhelmingly positive. I chose them when I was hurt in a car accident… I ended up getting a nice settlement in a matter of weeks…”

ZACHARY RUSSELL

OUR TEAM IS STANDING BY

Free Strategy Session

During your initial strategy session, we will assist you in creating a strategy in how to best pursue your claim, whether it be the result of a car accident claim, 18 wheeler injury, or, other kind of personal injury claim.

There are 5 points to your free claim strategy session:

  • First, we will listen to your story. You will have a chance to tell everything to someone who wants to hear what happened to you.
  • Based on the information you provide, we will give you our best advice on both what claims you have and the next steps you should consider to go forward with your claim.
  • If you claim is something that we think we can help you with, we will explain the services that we can provide for you, and what the next steps are that we should take. We will start working immediately.
  • If your matter is something that we do not think we can help you with, then we will attempt to put you in contact with another lawyer that might be able to help you.
  • Either way, what should happen is we will put to rest some of the unknowns that you may be experiencing. We will start to shed light on what you can expect and how to best pursue the benefits you deserve.