Now that almost everyone acknowledges that we are in a recession with no real immediate outlook for improvement, automobile owners are asking themselves what they can do to survive until the economy improves.
It has been reported that consumers around the nation are cutting insurance cost or dropping policies entirely in an effort to cut back on expenses. On automobile policies, many insurance customers are reducing coverage limits to save money. Many times policies are canceled for non payment of premiums. The percentage of uninsured and underinsured motorists is expected to rise in these difficult economic times.
A motorist can protect themselves by making certain their own insurance policy provides UM (uninsured/underinsured) coverage. In Louisiana, UM coverage is automatic and provided by statute unless validly rejected. Many times I hear people say they have “full coverage” when asked whether their policy has UM coverage only to discover there is no UM coverage. Every driver who wants to protect himself against an uninsured or underinsured driver which causes an accident, should check their insurance policy to make certain their policy provides UM coverage.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
