Trends - Uninsured coverage no longer just for autos
Most consumers are aware of the risk that they may be injured in a car accident caused by someone who is uninsured. This is why most consumers are wise and secure limits of insurance for Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist protection on their auto policy. And the very wise, (see my blog entry from July 11, 2007) add uninsured motorist coverage to their excess liability (umbrella) policies.
If you're smart enough to buy high limits of insurance to help fund the possibility that you could hurt someone else (the reason you buy liability insurance), you are surely smart enough to want to buy high limits of insurance to help fund the financial losses you'd incur if you get hurt by someone else (the reason you buy uninsured insurance). Well now we're very proud to say that we had a hand in initiating and creating uninsured protection insurance for losses in addition to losses that might occur as a result of an auto accident.
Want some examples? What if you get serious hurt by someone while skiing and that person doesn't carry any liability insurance because they never thought it was important to buy a renter's insurance policy? Who will pay for your losses? What if your child is bitten by someone's roaming dog and is permanently disfigured? What if you're accidentally stabbed by an errant steak knife at a restaurant? Sound too "out there"? These are all actual events where this new uninsured protection insurance would have provided coverage!
We expect this kind of coverage to grow in popularity as advisors and families see the benefit in protecting their financial position against things that happen to them just as much as they see benefit in protecting their financial position against things they accidentally do to someone else. But we need to make a special note of thanks to Fireman's Fund who is the very first insurance company to take our idea and turn it in to a reality (being introduced in all 50 states). I try to stay insurance-company neutral in this blog but their pursuit of this idea for the benefit of their clients is really outstanding, though not at all surprising given our experience with everything that they do.
Mechelsen, Inc. Darren McGraw, MBA, CRM, CIC mechelseninc.com
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