10/06/2026
I'm reading Ari Emanuel's memoir and the part that stopped me wasn't Hollywood. It was a car.
Early in the book, he's broke and his dad is on him about one thing: get good car insurance. Years later he's crossing Wilshire and gets hit. Broken ribs, torn ACL, multiple surgeries. His dad's nagging is the reason that story has a decent ending.
My parents were the same way. Save your money, but think about what goes wrong. If you grew up in an immigrant house you know exactly what I mean.
Here is the part most people get wrong. When someone hits you, you're not getting paid by them. You're getting paid by their insurance. And most drivers carry the state minimum, which is not enough to cover one surgery, never mind a year of recovery. If the guy who hits you has no insurance or the minimum, the only thing standing between you and eating those bills yourself is your own policy.
That's what UM and UIM are. UM covers you when the other driver has nothing. UIM covers the gap when they have too little. Your UIM pays the difference between their limit and yours, so if you're carrying $100,000 and they're carrying $30,000, you have $70,000 more to work with. If you waived it to save forty bucks a month, you have zero.
Pull up your policy tonight. Find the line that says UM/UIM. If it's blank or it matches the minimum, call your agent tomorrow. Nobody plans to get hit on Wilshire.
Full breakdown of the book and the coverage is on the blog.
William Morris Endeavor
