Answer: When you get an insurance policy today and pay for certain "bodily injury" limits, then those are the "limits," period, unless you paid extra ($) for what they call "uninsured motorist" or "underinsured motorist" coverage; and unfortunately, you absolutely need this extra "UM" coverage these days, since there are so many dirt bags out there on the road. In South Florida, the odds are great (approximating 70%!) that if you get in an accident, the other guy will be an "uninsured" or "underinsured" driver - so you'd better have "UM" coverage - since your own injuries will often exceed the limits under your policy; and this is the reason "why," by law, your own company must offer you "UM" coverage up to the same limits as your "bodily injury" coverage - and better for you, before they can escape paying you these "UM" benefits, they have to produce a "rejection form" (approved by the Insurance Commissioner) proving that they offered you these benefits when you took out the policy … and that you "rejected" them at that time.
You'd be surprised at how many people are clueless (like too many lawyers too!) as to this critically important issue - people who could have received far more money under their claims, had they known of this extremely important requirement under the law, people who never "rejected" this coverage "in writing" at the time of their policies, people who were never properly advised of this all-important coverage at the time of their insurance policy application - people who absolutely would have received a whole lot more money, had they only hired a lawyer who knew how to proceed.
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