Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Law is Outdated For the Modern Policy Holder
The basic purpose of the uninsured motorist statute was to minimize losses to the people who are involved in accidents with uninsured or financially irresponsible motorists. Under the statute, at least some
coverage was afforded an
insured person with injuries caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. The effect of the statute was to guarantee to an
insured motorist the
minimum financial responsibility under his or her own policy for injuries resulting from a
collision with another party who either has no
automobile
liability
insurance or has
insurance with insufficient
limits.
Insurance Code section 11580.2 was enacted in 1959, repealed, and then re-enacted with some changes in 1961. The statute established as a matter of public policy that every motor vehicle
liability policy that provided coverage for bodily injuries issued in
California must provide UM/UIM motorist coverage
. Unless the provisions of section 11580.2 are expressly deleted by an agreement in writing between the insurer and the
insured, such provisions become a part of every policy issued in
California that covers
liability arising from the ownership, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle.
The goal of Insurance Code section 11580.2 was to ensure that those drivers injured by uninsured motorists were protected to the extent that they would have been had the driver at fault carried the statutory minimum of
liability
insurance.
Woodland Hills personal injury attorney Barry P. Goldberg submits that a credible case can now be maintained that the "statutory minimum of liability insurance" established in 1974 is so antiquated and inadequate in 2011 that the purpose of the uninsured motorist statute has been completely undermined. Given the spiraling costs of medical care and property damage repair, and the unrealistic minimum limits, it makes sense to simply grant consumers the amount of coverage they had the foresight to purchase.