Liability insurance is a requirement for someone who wants to drive in South Carolina, just like a driver’s license and vehicle registration must be secured before someone can lawfully get behind the wheel. Everyone who remains compliant with the law pays for coverage that will repair vehicles damaged in a crash and pay for medical expenses if people get hurt.
Unfortunately, although people largely trust their insurance to do right by them after a wreck, some people discover that they aren’t able to file a claim when they need the help the most. There are a variety of circumstances in which insurance may not cover the expenses involved in a South Carolina collision.
Those hit by an uninsured driver
South Carolina has a relatively average amount of uninsured drivers when compared with the rest of the country. It ranks 28th on the Insurance Information Institute’s ranking of states based on the percentage of uninsured drivers. In 2019, roughly 10.9% of South Carolina drivers were on the road without proper insurance. Someone without insurance cannot provide the necessary liability coverage to the people involved in the crash that they caused.
Those who are at fault for a wreck
Liability coverage typically only applies in scenarios where someone is at fault, and they will protect that person from financial losses by covering the costs generated in the crash. If someone is at fault for a collision, they will not be able to make a claim against the other driver’s coverage, nor can they generally expect their insurance policy to cover their losses unless they carry special coverage.
When catastrophic injuries arise
Although every driver in South Carolina does need to carry insurance, basic coverage is often not enough when a crash causes major injuries. The bodily injury coverage required by law would likely be enough to cover a basic broken bone but would fall far short of providing the necessary support someone requires after a brain injury or damage to their spinal cord. People could have hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of expenses that insurance cannot cover.
Those who recognize that insurance may leave them without proper coverage will be in a better position to evaluate their needs. Filing a personal injury lawsuit is a reasonable response to a crash that caused injuries for which insurance cannot provide sufficient coverage and which was not a victim’s fault.