Practice Areas

Firm News

Client
Testimonials

Library

Explanations and Advantages of Stacked Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Florida

What is stacked uninsured motorist coverage in Florida?

Once a consumer has made the wise decision to include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on their policy they will also be required to elect whether to stack that coverage. This election must be completed on the form selecting UM coverage and is done at the time that the application for insurance is made. It may also be addressed after the policy is initially issued if the policyholder is making coverage changes at a later time. Unfortunately many people have no understanding of the advantages offered by electing stacked UM coverage. Consumers need to educate themselves about the advantages that stacked UM coverage offers to them, often at a minimal increase in policy premium.

One of the most important advantages of stacking is that it multiplies the per vehicle UM coverage by the number of vehicles insured on the policy. In order to demonstrate how this operates to the consumer's advantage let’s look at the way UM coverage is expressed on a typical policy. If a consumer selects UM coverage of $100,000 per person, it is typically shown as 100/300 on the policy declarations sheet. This means that there is $100,000 of UM coverage per person but no more than $300,000 for any one accident regardless of the number of people injured and claiming under the policy. Using our example, by purchasing stacking UM on a policy insuring three vehicles, the effective coverage available to the insured would be $300,000 per person but no more than $600,000 per accident (expressed as 300/600). While this is a simplified explanation of stacking, it demonstrates the potential benefit to the consumer of adding this valuable coverage to a policy, particularly where more than one car is insured on that policy.

In addition to the benefit of stacking coverage on a policy with multiple vehicles, it has the potential of giving additional UM coverage in situations where the insured party, carrying stacking UM on a policy insuring only one vehicle, is injured while a passenger in someone else's vehicle. The consumer should ask questions in order to understand the advantages that stacking UM might offer on any policy they may be considering purchasing.

If someone does not have stacking UM coverage on their existing auto policy it is recommended that they contact their insurance carrier and investigate the potential advantages that this coverage may afford them.

About

The Law Office of James W. Dodson, P.A., is a Clearwater, FL based car accident law firm. They offer all prospective personal injury clients a complimentary, confidential assessment of their case.

Quick Contact

Videos

FAQ