Austin School Bus Wreck Is An Example Of The Need For Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

  I’ve written often about the need for you to buy uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage when you purchase your automobile insurance coverage.

Yesterday, there was a bus wreck in Austin when a car apparently ran a red light and hit the bus, almost forcing it over a bridge.  Though reports say no one was hurt, four kids were taken to Dell Children’s Hospital. 

This wreck is a prime example of why it is so important to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. 

In Texas, the minimum insurance that a driver is supposed to purchase is $30,000/$60,000 coverage.  That means the most the insurance company could be forced to pay to any one person in a wreck is $30,000, and the most they could be forced to pay to all of the injured persons combined is $60,000.

Multi-victim wrecks, like this one, really test the $60,000 limit.  Even if everyone has small claims, when there are 20 or 30 people injured, that $60,000 doesn’t go a long way.  The only way to make sure that you’re fully compensated is by having your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to protect you.

While most of us aren’t on buses any more, our kids may be.  And while we might not be in a bus wreck, it is very possible that we’re in  multi-vehicle wreck where five or six people are injured.  Again, one or two of those people going to the hospital will eat up that entire $60,000.  And like the bus wreck, the only way to make sure you’re compensated for your losses is to have UM/UIM insurance.