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How to Buy Car Insurance From An Attorney's Point of ViewToo often I advise clients about their automobile coverage AFTER they have suffered injuries from an automobile accident. Before I started practicing Personal Injury law, I, like most, could not explain the policy I purchased from my automobile insurance company. Knowing what I know now, I would like to share with you some important information, definitions and TIPS for buying car insurance. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) - PIP is an extremely valuable part of auto insurance coverage for you, your family members and passengers. PIP pays NO MATTER who is at fault. PIP also pays if a vehicle hits you while you are walking or entering, leaving or sitting in your vehicle. The State of Florida requires this coverage. DO NOT allow an insurance company to sell PIP coverage to you with a deductible. PIP covers 80% of medical expenses, 60% of loss of income. Most companies will only sell $10,000 of PIP. The best companies offer extended PIP; that means you can purchase more than $10,000 of PIP benefits. Bodily Injury (Liability Coverage) - BI coverage applies to everyone else who is hurt in an accident when an accident is caused in anyway by your negligence behind the wheel. BI coverage will never cover injuries you suffer. So, if you have purchased high BI coverage (as you should to protect yourself financially), you have insured your assets, but have done nothing to protect yourself if you suffer injuries. Medical Expense Coverage (MEDPAY) - MEDPAY coverage acts as a supplement to the PIP coverage for medical expenses discussed above incurred by you, your family and passengers. MEDPAY pays 100% of all medical expenses up to the amount of the MEDPAY coverage you purchased. With high medical expenses, this can be an extremely valuable benefit. Under or Uninsured Motorists Coverage (UM or UIM) - UM coverage is the most important insurance that you can purchase from YOUR insurance company. UM coverage protects you, your family members, and passengers when someone other than you caused the accident. UM coverage is triggered when the at-fault party has NO bodily injury insurance or does not have enough insurance. Because Florida law does not require a person who owns a car to have bodily injury insurance, it is common for motorists to have no insurance or inadequate BI insurance. The need for UM coverage in Florida is great because so many drivers are penny wise and pound foolish when purchasing insurance. My candid opinion is that UM is the most valuable protection you have when someone else is at fault. Stacked versus Non-Stacked - this can mean a great difference in the compensation you receive if you, a relative or passenger is seriously injured or killed by another's negligence. There is a principal difference between these two types of coverage. Under Stacked Insurance, the total amount of protection is the total of the UM coverage multiplied by the number of vehicles on your policy. Under Non-stacked Insurance, the stated limit applies per accident no matter how many vehicles you own or insure. If you have Non-Stacked Insurance and you own or insure more than 1 vehicle, call your insurance company immediately and ask that your insurance be STACKED. Your coverage limits are then multiplied by the number of cars you own. For instance, your 100/300 UM limits will become 300/900 if you own or insure 3 vehicles. With stacking, instead of $100,000 coverage limits, you could automatically have $300,000 of coverage limits! Of course, car insurance is not free. However, the cost of having quality coverage is far outweighed by the benefits that coverage can provide after an accident. I hope this short discussion on car insurance has helped you. Should you have any questions about your auto policy or if you were injured in a car accident and are not sure what the next step is, my door is always open. Please Buckle Up and Drive Safe.
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Location: 5327 Commercial Way, Suite C-114, Spring Hill, FL 34606 Phone: 352.597.3999 Fax: 352.597.2555 Web: www.sdevitolawfirm.com
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