[kilolima]

Why is uninsured a separate category from insured driver insurance? The insurance company should just pay out regardless of the characteristics of the other driver. What if they are wearing a funny hat instead of a serious hat?! Seems like a scam by the insurance companies to pad their premiums.

[astura]

>Why is uninsured a separate category from insured driver insurance?

Because if another driver hits you and that driver was insured to cover all the damages they caused then their policy would cover you and you'd never have to make a claim on your own policy.

There's a lot of different types of insurance you can buy:

Liability - this is mandatory. Covers damages paid to other people caused by you.

Everything else is, typically optional.

Collision - Covers damages to your car paid to you caused by you.

Comprehensive - Covers "act of God" situations paid to you like tree falling on you car, hail damage.

Uninsured/underinsured coverage - Covers damages paid to you caused by other people who weren't carrying enough insurance to fully cover the loss.

[acjohnson55]

It's because each coverage covers specific causes of losses. The pricing of the coverage needs to be justified by actuaries. It's a very competitive market, so they can't just "pad their premiums"; another company will undercut the price.

[sokoloff]

I can buy coverage to repair my vehicle if it’s damaged in a collision where I’m at fault (“collision insurance”). I can buy coverage to repair my vehicle if I’m not at fault and the other driver is under-insured (“under-insured coverage”). Same for another driver at fault who is un-insured.

Those are different risks and not everyone wants coverage for all of them.