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| Personal Injury Articles:
PROTECT YOURSELF
AGAINST UNINSURED &
UNDERINSURED DRIVERS
When a driver’s carelessness causes serious injuries, his liability
insurance should compensate the accident victim. Too often, however, the other
driver has failed to buy liability insurance or the amount of liability
insurance is woefully inadequate. Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage
is the only way to protect against the failure of the other driver to have an
adequate amount of liability coverage. Elderkin trial attorneys have seen far
too many cases where seriously injured clients have suffered losses that should
have been paid by the other driver’s liability insurance coverage or by the
client’s underinsured or uninsured coverages. Here are some basic facts about
the importance of these coverages.
Liability Coverage Protects the Other Person
Damages caused by an auto accident may be viewed as a
debt owed to the accident victim. Like other debts, the accident victim
can try to collect from the assets of the person at fault. The law,
however, requires vehicle owners to purchase a minimum of $15,000 of
liability coverage to provide a source of compensation for those people
who may be injured by the negligence of the insured driver. Greater
amounts of coverage are available and, in most cases, should be purchased.
When the accident victim asserts a claim for
compensation against the driver responsible for an accident, that driver’s
liability insurance then becomes obligated to pay the claim. If the
driver fails to buy liability insurance or if the amount of coverage
purchased is inadequate to cover all damages, then the injured person
may go uncompensated.
Underinsured & Uninsured Coverage Protects
You
To protect against the very real risk that the other driver does not have any
coverage or has an insufficient amount of coverage, you should buy underinsured
and uninsured motorist coverage. If the injuries have not been compensated fully
by the liability coverage of the other driver, then the victim’s underinsured
motorist coverage will make up the shortfall. In the same fashion, if the other
driver failed to obtain any liability coverage, then the victim’s uninsured
motorist coverage substitutes as the source for compensation. Therefore, these
two coverages provide a valuable means of fully insuring all of a driver’s
household members. Do not rely on the other driver to be fully insured.
Don't Be Short Changed
Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverages are optional. Although not
required, it is advisable to purchase this protection. We also strongly
recommend that the coverage amount be the same as the amount of liability
coverage carried. The amount of compensation provided for others should not be
greater than the protections provided by underinsured and uninsured coverages.
The ability to double-up on the amount of these benefits can be achieved by
selecting the stacking options. If more than one vehicle is insured, each
vehicle will have its own amount of coverage. The stacking option permits you to
add together the coverages of all vehicles insured. For example, two vehicles
with $25,000 in underinsured motorist coverage will provide a total of $50,000
in coverage.
For an appointment to discuss any litigation issue, please call any one of
these attorneys: Ronald L. Slater, Robert C. LeSuer, Craig A. Markham,
Kenneth G. Vasil, or Lori R. Miller.
WHAT YOU
DON'T KNOW
ABOUT
AUTO INSURANCE
CAN HURT YOU
Our trial lawyers have handled
thousands of auto accident cases involving serious injuries and substantial
financial losses and we find that people frequently are confused by
the complexities of auto insurance. Unfortunately,
this confusion often leads to financial losses that would have been
avoided if there had been a better understanding of how auto insurance
works. Pennsylvania has a complicated mixture of mandatory and optional
insurance coverages. Some losses are paid by your policy and some are
paid by the policy of the other driver. Some payments depend upon a
determination of who is at fault and some do not. Moreover, within each
category of coverage purchased, the policyholder must choose between
different monetary levels of coverage. Added to this mix are the full
tort and limited tort options which dictate whether an accident victim
and his family can seek compensation for bodily injuries and other non-economic
losses. What follows is a brief summary to help you reach a better understanding
of auto insurance.
FULL TORT/LIMITED TORT OPTIONS
Mandatory Selection
You must choose between the full tort and limited tort options. Your choice is
critical because the option selected could adversely impact all members of your
household. Under the full tort option, you preserve all of your rights to
compensation from the driver who is responsible for your injuries. Under the
limited tort option, you can receive compensation for non-economic losses only
if you have suffered a "serious bodily injury," which is defined as an
injury that results in death, or causes serious disfigurement or a "serious
impairment of body function." Because of the uncertainty as to what
qualifies as a "serious impairment of body function", this option
presents unknown risks. If you select the limited tort option, your insurance
premium will be reduced somewhat. However, you may lose the much more valuable
right to be compensated fully for injuries caused by a careless driver.
MEDICAL COVERAGE
Mandatory $5,000
Generally, regardless of who is at fault, your auto insurance is primarily
responsible for paying your medical bills. There are no deductibles or
requirements for pre-approval, although the insurer can question whether the
treatments were reasonably necessary. You are only required to purchase $5,000
in medical coverage. Considering the cost of medical care and the limitations
and tangled bureaucracy of some HMOs, it is advisable to purchase more than the
$5,000 minimum. Your insurance company must offer you the opportunity to
purchase up to $100,000 in medical coverage.
UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST
Optional
This optional coverage provides you with a source of compensation under your own
policy when the person responsible for an accident either does not have any
liability insurance or does not have a sufficient amount of liability insurance
to compensate you fully. Under this coverage, your insurer will compensate you
for bodily injuries and uninsured financial losses. You can also purchase
stacked benefits, which allows you to add together the monetary level of
coverages for each separate car that you insure. For instance, if you insure two
cars at $50,000 each, the stacking option would provide a total of $100,000 of
protection. It is recommended that you purchase this coverage and, if you have
more than one car, that you select the stacking option.
ACCIDENTAL DEATH/FUNERAL BENEFIT
Optional
Accidental death and funeral benefits are optional. Auto insurers must offer up
to $25,000 in accidental death benefits and $2,500 in funeral benefits.
LIABILITY COVERAGE
Mandatory $15,000 bodily injury/$5,000 property
Liability coverage protects you from the claims of the other driver and pays the
costs of legal counsel if you are sued. It is mandatory that you purchase at
least $15,000 of liability coverage for bodily injury claims and $5,000 for
property damage claims, although higher levels of coverage are strongly
recommended.
COMPREHENSIVE/COLLISION
Optional
These coverages pay you for damage to your vehicle, regardless of fault.
Collision coverage typically applies when your vehicle hits something.
Comprehensive coverage usually applies to other causes of damage, such as
vandalism or storm damage.
For an appointment to discuss any litigation issue, please call any one of
these attorneys: Robert C. LeSuer, Craig A. Markham,
Kenneth G. Vasil, or Lori R. Miller.
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150
East 8th Street
Erie, PA 16501
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Phone: (814) 456-4000
Fax: (814) 454-7411
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© 2008 Elderkin, Martin,
Kelly & Messina
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