What is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage?

You’ve taken all the precautions when it comes to insuring your snowmobile. It doesn’t seem right that you should have to pay for medical bills or damage to your sled when someone else is at fault for an accident and they don’t have any or enough insurance. What can you do? You can protect yourself and your snowmobile with Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Property coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Property coverage helps you out by paying for costs related to injuries and property damage in the case of an accident where the other driver is at fault, and they are considered uninsured, underinsured or it’s a case of “hit and run.” If that person is uninsured (which in most states and provinces, is illegal), your insurance covers the payment limits you have set up, while in the instance of an underinsured claim, it covers the difference of their policy and the actual cost of the damage (again, within your policy limits).

Clearing Things Up

If you’re still a little unclear about this type of snowmobile insurance, let’s use an example to clarify. While you’re stopped on the trail, another rider can’t stop in time and hits you from behind (ouch!). When he hit you, you fell off your snowmobile and broke your wrist. The medical bills came to $1,000, while the bill to fix your snowmobile came in at $2,000. The bad news: he doesn’t have any insurance. The good news: your Uninsured Motorist limits are $20,000/$40,000/$15,000. Since the bills fall well within your policy limits, you’re totally covered.

Getting into a snowmobile accident is stressful enough, but finding out that the other snowmobile driver has little or no insurance just makes a bad situation worse. To find out if Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Property coverage is available in your area, be sure to speak with your powersports broker or insurance agent.