Navy Veteran in Jacksonville Got At Wrong Place, Time & Insurance
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office reported that Matthew Huhn's vehicle was struck by a stolen car last week while pursuing it, causing damage to the tire and preventing him from driving. He had auto insurance, but he was missing coverage that cost him thousands.
He was in the Navy for ten years and was stationed at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville. A few months ago, he returned to Jacksonville from the Navy. JSO carried out a PIT maneuver on a black compact car that police say was driven by Joshua Burnett.
Huhn does not have collision coverage on his auto insurance policy, so his insurer will not cover repairs to the vehicle.
According to industry experts, this is a relatively small price to pay when one in five Florida drivers lack insurance and one in eight nationwide are uninsured. It is something we may all be paying for. According to industry experts, Florida drivers have experienced above-average increases in their auto insurance due to many uninsured individuals on our roads.
“Without a vehicle, I cannot go to my — my son is in Orange Park, and my other son is in Keystone.” she said. “It feels like everything is against me.”
Husn does not blame police officers for doing their job, but rather the suspect who hit him and himself for not realizing he needed collision insurance to cover himself in the event of being struck by an uninsured driver.
Huhn has had a difficult time of it lately. While he may be able to cope with his PTSD by having a service dog, the insurance he chose will not cover the thousands of dollars he could lose if he lost the dog.
To help Huhn pay for the damages to his car, his mom set up a GoFundMe page explaining that it is part of his job to have a car.
A hard lesson to learn," Huhn said. "A bad way to learn a lesson."
If you get into a collision with an uninsured driver in Florida, collision coverage still makes sense.
Data from the Insurance Research Council says Florida is sixth in the country when it comes to uninsured drivers. They say 20.4% of Floridians don't have car insurance.
On top of that, Brightway Insurance Agent Matt Carlucci Jr. says 50% of drivers in the state don't have enough coverage on their car or truck.
According to Carlucci, you should always have collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist coverage. When a driver who is both uninsured and underinsured hits you, you are covered."