Absolutely. If someone hits you without insurance this coverage will pay to fix your vehicle with a small deductible. The company will then pursue the At Fault party until all the losses are recovered and then send you back your deductible. Usually they have to collect payments for years to collect all the damages. If you don't have UMPD coverage you will have to do that yourself. UM is well worth the premium. As a matter of full disclosure, I own and operate a small Independent Insurance Agency and have for the part 22 years. Before that I worked as an agent for a direct writer insurance company.
Uninsured motorist coverage provides insurance coverage when you are hit by a person who has no insurance coverage. You uninsured motorist coverage will take the place of the insurance that the other person did not have and will cover your damages just like theirs should have if they had it. The only difference is that you will have a small deductible for property damage coverage.
Uninsured motorist property damage coverage is usually not required and sometimes is not offered at all in a particular state. If it is offered in your state you should consider purchasing it. One accident with an uninsured driver can leave you with significant bills to cover your property damage.
The insured drivers uninsured motorist coverage should take care of it. Doesn't matter if property is private or not.
It is a very good idea to have uninsured motorist coverage. You need to always have yourself protected.
If you have an uninsured motorists coverage, then it should.
It should be, if the signature is not on file to decline coverage, it could be added.
The Property Damage coverage on the car you were driving should cover the damage to your own car. In the event that the car you were driving didn't have insurance coverage then you may be able to make a claim under your own Collision coverage or Uninsured Motorist Property Damage coverage could apply.
That's what Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage is for. You have that on your insurance policy. I have been in this situation. The first thing you do is talk to your insurance company. Tell them about the accident and how it is their fault. It is better if you provide proof like police report or written statements, but if not, it depends on how your insurance company rules it. From there, your insurance company should tell you what your options are. Most likely, they would go after the uninsured motorist and make them pay. You don't even need to deal with the uninsured motorist.
Absolutely, unless you are independently wealthy and don't care if your vehicle is a total loss every once in a while. Uninsured motorist fees are very nominal compared to the alternative.
You are looking for liability only coverage. You should also consider uninsured & underinsured motorist coverage which will supply medical payments if you are injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver.
Generally, you cannot, in the absence of collision or uninsured motorist coverage. If the hit and run driver is eventually identified you may be able to sue them personally. Both collision coverage and uninsured motorist coverage are "first-party" coverages, meaning that they cover your own vehicle. Collision coverage provides property damage for your own vehicle irrespective of fault for the collision. It is normally subject to a deductible, meaning there will be an amount that you will have to pay out of pocket. You will have to check your policy, or with your insurance agent, to see if you have the coverage, because it is generally not mandatory. That said, if the vehicle is financed, the entity through which you financed it may have required that you get collision coverage to protect the collateral. If you did not, the company that financed the car may have obtained "force-placed" coverage for you and charged your account the premium for it. Therefore, you should contact the finance company and determine if it did and if so, get the specifics on the coverage so that you can make a claim. Uninsured motorist coverage provides benefits to you if you were injured (usually there is a requirement of permanency, but state law controls) by the negligence of an uninsured driver. It does not provide any property damage benefits, so depending upon the damages that you sustained, it may be moot whether you have it or not. If your state requires you to maintain liability coverage on your car, it will generally also require that your insurer have offered you the chance to buy or to waive the purchase of uninsured motorist coverage.
You uninsured motorist coverage, if you have it should handle the gap. Otherwise, you can sue the driver that hit you for the difference.