As a personal injury lawyer who has handled thousands of car accident claims, one of the most common questions deals with drivers who cause accidents and don’t have insurance coverage or don’t have enough insurance coverage for the damages they have caused. Car accidents
When buying auto insurance online or with an agent, it is vitally important to discuss not only your own liability limits, but also your limits of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
First, have a frank discussion with your agent about your income and assets and let them recommend appropriate levels of liability insurance coverage to protect you and your family. Most people do this.
What most people forget about is protecting their family from the millions of drivers who do not carry auto insurance or carry very low limits. You have the opportunity to protect yourself and your family from these irresponsible drivers, who also seem to cause the most accidents.
Uninsured motorist coverage is mandated in most states and should be equal to your liability limits. In Missouri, you are allowed to stack up the uninsured motorist limits in your claim against your own insurnace company when an uninsured motorist causes bodily injuries.
Underinsured motorist coverage is coverage on your policy which sets a new higher limit to the amount of coverage available to satisfy a claim against an at fault driver who has lower liability limits. More often than not, the at fault driver’s insurance limit is deducted from your underinsured motorist limit.
Too many cases with catastrophic injuries or death are underpaid in this country. For every plaintiff on the news getting more than people think they deserve from a jury, there are 10,000 people getting underpaid because the insurance limits are not adequate. Multiple fracture cases resolving for the $25,000.00 limits, burn cases resolving for pennies on the dollar. The best personal injury lawyer cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip. Case results
Plenty of well off families, especially those with teen drivers, fail to protect themselves with the right insurance coverage. Every family needs to be educated on the importance of auto insurance coverage before they make a financial decision that could impact their future.
When purchasing auto insurance, make sure that you have higher liability limits, higher uninsured motorist limits, and purchase significant underinsured motorist coverage. Some companies even sell umbrella excess coverage or $1,000,000.00 that covers your family for all three.
If you have questions about insurance coverage, you can always call attorney Bill Holland at Holland Injury Law for some quick advice at 314-888-7888.
