If you are like many consumers, you probably receive your auto insurance bill and declarations page in the mail, pay the renewal, and file it. You know you have coverage, hope you never have to use it, and assume that it is adequate.

In all reality, there are so many uninsured drivers out there. Or, drivers that have purchased state minimum limits of liability. In the state of Illinois, state minimum limits of liability are $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury you might case and $25,000 for damage you might cause to someone’s property. Do you know of any surgery you could receive that would cost only $25,000?

I’d like to share a real-life incident that involved an insured being hit on the highway and subsequently using her own auto insurance to pay her medical bills that totaled over $200,000.

Incident: The insured was driving on a highway and was rear ended by another driver, causing her car to hit a light pole. The other driver was uninsured and attempted to flee the scene but was apprehended. The insured sustained serious injuries.

Outcome: The insured’s primary insurance company paid out the full Uninsured Motorist limit under her auto policy. Unfortunately, it still left the insured with $260,000 in medical expenses. Thankfully, the insured had an umbrella insurance policy in place that included an endorsement for excess uninsured motorist coverage. The endorsement paid the remaining medical expenses of $260,000.

In this particular situation, the insured used both an auto insurance policy and an umbrella insurance policy with an extra endorsement that is designed to provide coverage for medical expenses incurred by an uninsured or underinsured driver.  Protect yourself and your assets.  You can’t control who is insured or not insured or what their auto liability limits might be.  You can, however, make sure that you have proper coverage for yourself and your loved ones.  Check with your agent to see what coverage you have and what coverage might be available through your insurance company.