It’s that time of year again. Summer is over-although you can’t tell by the weather. Each year, it seems like summer gets shorter and busier.
Gearing up for you may mean a lot of late nights doing homework and an increase in traveling to games and other school-related functions.
As a Faulkner County resident, what should you be thinking about?
Whether your child is waiting at the bus stop, traveling on the bus to games, it is inevitable that you and your child(ren) will come in contact with a bus on the road. For a child to be involved in any kind of school transportation-related accident is truly unbearable to think about; however, ignoring the fact that this could happen is dangerous.
What should I do? You should call your insurance company right now and check your UIM (Underinsured Motorist Coverage).
$25,000 is the absolute lowest insurance policy that you can get in Arkansas. If you or your child(ren) are hurt much at all, you can rack up significant medical bills. In my 30 years of helping injured victims maximize recovery, trust me when I say I’ve seen astronomical medical bills (like $45,000 for someone being transported via med-evac).
If you don’t have a UIM policy, buy it now! To your surprise, it doesn’t cost that much extra. Looking at the overall picture, if something tragic ever happens, it will pay for itself.
So, what is UIM?
UIM is an auto insurance policy that essentially extends additional coverage to you if the other parties’ insurance policy limits do not cover your medical bills and injuries.
Let’s use the example of a school transportation involved accident:
- Let’s just say the maximum limit the school’s insurance company will pay out is a total of $100,000.
- If there are 4 children involved, the insurance company will distribute the funds on a per person/per accident basis among those who are injured.
- So let’s say the 4 people who are hurt get $25,000 each.
- Sounds great and all, but your son, Randall, has racked up over $50,000 in medical bills.
- So now you have to come up with at least an additional $25,000.
If you have the UIM policy in place, your automobile insurance should step in to cover your child in the event of a school transportation-related accident. I highly advise you to call your insurance agent today because in the event that this happens, you want to focus on the recovery of your child and NOT the medical bills.
Hopefully, you won’t need us, but if you do…
If you or your child has been hurt as the result of a school transportation-related accident, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 501-354-4577. You can rest assured that everything possible will be done to help you!