Uninsured and Underinsured coverage is a type of auto liability coverage that covers the expenses in case someone meets with an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver. According to a 2017 report by the Insurance Research Council, one in eight drivers is uninsured meaning they do not have any insurance policy. An Underinsured driver is the one whose policy limit is too low to cover the total expenses of the person they are in an accident with. Hence, uninsured and underinsured insurance coverage becomes very important to protect you from irresponsible drivers on the road.

Working of Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage:

If you are in an accident with a driver who falls into any of the two above-mentioned categories, including hit-and-run automobiles, you can claim the amount from your insurer if Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist is covered in your policy. This coverage helps in cases where you meet with an accident when you are not at fault, with a driver whose vehicle is not insured or not insured enough to cover all the damages done. In such a case, you will not have to bear the expenditure if your policy covers Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage. This coverage pays for your medical bills, lost wages because of the accident, pain and suffering compensation, funeral expenses, or vehicle damage expenses.

Let’s take an example to understand underinsured coverage better. Assuming in an accident, the total damage expenses incurred by you is $100,000, including both the medical bills and vehicle repair expenses, and the other driver’s insurance policy only covers $50,000, you can claim the balance amount from your carrier up to the limit of your policy coverage. You can only claim the actual costs that are a direct result of the accident and not otherwise.

Adding on Uninsured and underinsured coverage to your auto insurance policy is usually inexpensive and can prove beneficial to you hence it is recommended that you include it whenever you are buying an automobile insurance policy.

In Personal Line Policies, the details of this coverage can be found in 6PDR and 6PRP Group in the ACORD database.

  1. 6PDR (Personal Automobile Driver Supplementary Information Group): The Personal Automobile Driver Supplementary Information Group contains the rating and underwriting information unique to Personal Auto about drivers of vehicles insured under this policy.
    This Group must always be attached to a driver group containing the common driver information.Important elements in this group to get the details:

    • Excluded from Uninsured Motorists Coverage Indicator (6PDR53): It is a Yes/No indicating field that indicates if the driver is excluded from Uninsured Motorists Coverage.
      Reference ID: EXUM
      Element Number: 53
      Length: 01
      Class: Y/N
      Data Type: AN (AlphaNumeric)
    • Excluded from Uninsured Motorists Property Damage Coverage Indicator (6PDR54): It is a Yes/No indicator field that indicates if the driver is excluded from Uninsured Motorists Property Damage Coverage.
      Reference ID: EXUMP
      Element Number: 54
      Length: 01
      Class: Y/N
      Data Type: AN (AlphaNumeric)
  2. 6PRP (Personal Umbrella and Excess Primary Policy Information Group): This element group provides a means of summarizing information for each primary policy, for example, Automobile, Personal Liability, Watercraft, or Recreational Vehicle. It contains information regarding primary policy limits of liability, deductibles, company name, policy effective and expiration dates, etc. For rating purposes, it also contains information summarizing the number of units (homes, vehicles, watercraft) to be used in premium development. A flag to indicate policy exclusions or modifications is included. For example, an endorsement excluding auto liability coverage for a specific household resident may be present.
    The use of a Primary Policy Information Group eliminates the need to transmit a number of large element groups (Homeowner Rating/Underwriting Group, Personal Auto Special Driver Group) that are normally not required for underwriting Personal Umbrella policies.

    Important elements in this group to get the details:

    • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Indicator (6PRP13): An indicator of whether additional coverage has been requested to that already existing under the insured’s automobile policy. This coverage must be offered in certain states. The valid codes are:
      Y: Additional Coverage has been requested.
      N: Additional Coverage has not been requested.
      Reference ID: UNIND
      Element Number: 13
      Length: 01
      Class: Y/N
      Data Type: A
    • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Per Person (6PRP14): The limit of liability as a result of injury or death
      Reference ID: UMPP
      Element Number: 14
      Length: 08
      Class: Null
      Data Type: No (Number)
    • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Per Accident/Occurrence (6PRP15): The limit of liability on a per accident or occurrence basis.
      Reference ID: UMPAO
      Element Number: 15
      Length: 08
      Class: Null
      Data Type: No (Number)
    • Uninsured/Underinsured Property Damage Limit (6PRP16): The limit of liability for damage to the property of another, including loss of use.
      Reference ID: UMPD
      Element Number: 16
      Length: 08
      Class: Null
      Data Type: No (Number)
    • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Combined Single Limit (6PRP17): The limit of liability for both bodily injury and or property damage
      Reference ID: UMCSL
      Element Number: 17
      Length: 08
      Class: Null
      Data Type: No (Number)