Is the Mandatory Minimum Insurance Enough to Cover Someone in a Car Accident?

To drive in Missouri, you are legally obligated to carry the mandatory minimum insurance coverage to ensure that if you are at fault in an accident, you can pay for the resulting damages and injuries. The mandatory minimum coverage you must have is $25,000 per injured person and $50,000 worth of coverage for any one accident. But what if you are in an accident and the damages and injuries cost more than that? Who is responsible if your minimum insurance isn’t enough to cover the cost of the accident?

There are times when accidents are severe enough to cost well over the mandatory minimum requirements for Missouri law. If that happens, you may end up being responsible for paying the additional costs. So, if you don’t increase the mandatory minimum amounts, that can leave you holding the financial bag if the cost runs over what your policy dictates.

Should You Consider Additional Coverage?

You might also want to consider other types of insurance coverage besides just liability. If you are at fault for an accident, then your insurance company will cover the injuries and damages to the other driver, and they will also cover your injuries. But if your car or property is damaged, then you are responsible for covering the cost of car repairs - or worse, replacement. If you take out additional collision coverage, then your insurance company will be responsible for paying for your damages too. Whether collision insurance makes sense for you depends on the type of car you drive and if you want to risk leaving yourself vulnerable to cover the cost of repairs. Sometimes the small additional amount you pay for coverage might save you big time if you are in a huge accident.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Although everyone is required to carry the mandatory minimum, that unfortunately doesn’t mean that everyone does. So, if you are in an accident and hit by someone who isn’t covered by insurance, it can leave you without financial recourse. Your insurance will cover your injuries, but when it comes to your property damage, if you don’t have collision insurance - and depending on the policy exclusions sometimes even if you do - your property damage might not be covered under your own policy.

Uninsured motorist coverage is additional insurance that will take care of your injuries and damages even if the other driver was at fault and not carrying the mandatory minimum liability coverage. You are eligible to sue someone if they weren’t carrying insurance, which is why some people opt out of carrying uninsured motorist coverage. However, the problem is that even if you win and are awarded money, trying to collect might be a whole other issue.

You are required to carry a mandatory minimum liability policy to drive in the state of Missouri, but there are times when it might not be enough to cover you for all accidents. To ensure that you aren’t left without recourse, you might want to weigh the pros and cons of paying the additional money for a bit more coverage. If you are in an accident and having a hard time getting the compensation you are entitled to, it is imperative that you hire a St. Louis car accident attorney to protect you and get the compensation you deserve.

The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C.
7751 Carondelet Ave #601
St. Louis, MO 63105

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