why is there insurance against uninsured drivers?
In: 144
Because “you can’t get blood from a stone” as the saying goes.
If someone is driving uninsured and they cause an accident in which you are injured and/or your property is damaged, they are certainly liable for those losses… but you can’t recover money from them that they don’t have.
Chances are if they can’t afford liability auto insurance and are driving despite a legal requirement that they carry it, they don’t have any other significant assets you can get a lien against or whatever.
And even if they have it, or could come up with it over time, you would still be on the hook for whatever court costs or attorney’s fees it took to get a judgement against them for wage garnishment or whatever (not to mention the time and hassle of navigating the legal system).
Whereas if you have UM/UIM coverage, your insurer will pay you for the loss, and then “subrogate”, which means they then go and attempt to recover what they paid out from the at-fault party, and you no longer have to worry about it.
You get compensated, get your car fixed/hospital bills paid (up to the limits on your policy), etc, and never have to deal with that other party directly. And most insurers won’t even count that loss against you when your policy comes up for renewal.
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