What is the purpose of obtaining uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage?

The purpose of obtaining of what we refer to as UM coverage is to protect yourself from a person that may not have insurance or does not have adequate coverage that would cover the amount of damages that you received. For instance, if you broke your leg in a car accident and you're laid up from work for a month or two and the person that caused the car accident only had a $10 thousand policy and your damages far exceed that $10 thousand, that UM coverage would cover that amount up to the amount of coverage that you've purchased.