By: Jason D. Briel, Esq.
One of the most vital aspects of owning an automobile is properly protecting yourself from the unknown. Accidents can happen at anytime, anywhere and many times due to no fault of your own. When you suffer serious injuries in an automobile accident you have the option of suing the driver responsible for your injuries. However, you may only recover from the responsible party what they have paid for in terms of automobile liability insurance coverage. Under current laws, especially in Pennsylvania, drivers can take to the streets with liability coverage as little as $15,000.00. After paying for the costs of the lawsuit an injured party may barely have enough money left over to pay for out-of-pocket expenses.& ;
When the Defendants insurance company agrees to pay the full amount of the insurance policy, a Plaintiff must sign a release which lets the Defendant off the hook without further damage. In cases like this, the only recourse for an injured party is to file a claim with their own automobile insurance company for underinsured or uninsured coverage. If you decide not to pay a higher premium on your own car insurance to include this type of coverage, you could be at risk to have little to no compensation for injuries you suffer in an accident.
Remember, when buying underinsured/uninsured coverage for your own policy, you are limited to buying coverage equal to or below the amount of liability coverage you choose to cover yourself with. For example, if you are part of the underinsured problem and only buy liability insurance coverage of $15,000.00, you are limited to only buying $15,000.00 in underinsured and uninsured coverage. Make sure you are part of the solution. Protect yourself and others by purchasing an amount of liability and underinsured/uninsured coverage to adequately protect yourself. Unpaid and overdue medical bills are a growing problem and they can do major damage to your credit.
THE FOREGOING IS A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE LAW AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE AND SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY& ;
