This past week we had to tell a mother and father that the most we could recover against a driver who lost control of her vehicle and killed their son was $30,000.00. That is because the at fault driver had the minimum liability automobile insurance coverage required by Maryland of $30,000.00 and their son did not have uninsured motorist coverage above that amount.
We also had to tell a mother and a son that the most we could recover against a driver who ran a stop sign and struck and killed their husband and father was $25,000.00. That is because the at fault driver had the minimum automobile insurance coverage required by Virginia of $25,000.00.
These clients were already suffering as a result of their terrible losses and now will suffer further because the at fault drivers only have minimum coverage.
Until the minimum insurance coverage required to drive a car in Maryland and Virginia is raised the only way to protect yourself is to purchase Underinsured Motorist coverage. Your Underinsured Motorist coverage will provide you additional coverage when an at fault drivers insurance policy is insufficient to cover your losses. For example, if my clients had a $300,000.00 Underinsured Motorist policy they could have recovered up to that amount for the injuries caused by the at fault drivers and they would not be limited to $25,000.00 or $30,000.00.