By Jenny Robinson
Guest Writer
Rittenberg, Buffen, Gulbrandsen,
Robinson & Saks, Ltd.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
In my article last month, I explained how Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage protects you and your family.
To recap, when you are involved in a car accident, you make a claim to recover for your damages with the help of injury lawyers under your UM coverage where an at-fault driver has no insurance (or hits you or your vehicle and drives away). If the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough insurance to cover your damages, and you have higher limits than the at-fault driver, you can seek to recover additional money under your UIM coverage to compensate you for your damages. Here you can get Tips for Choosing the Right Insurance Company.
With UM coverage, how much you can recover is limited by the extent of your damages, but also the extent of your UM coverage limits. You should view more here.
With UIM coverage, how much you can recover is limited by: the extent of your damages; the at-fault driver’s liability insurance limits and; how much additional UIM coverage you have. Generally, the maximum you can collect under your own UIM policy is the amount of your UIM policy, minus the amount of the at-fault driver’s liability policy. You could also discover more on saving money by comparison of prices. In a collision where you are the only one injured as a result of the underinsured driver’s negligence, if the at-fault driver has $20,000 per person liability limits, $40,000 per occurrence and you have $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence UIM limits, the most you can recover under the at-fault driver’s policy is $20,000 and the most you can recover under your own UIM policy is an additional $30,000 ($50,000 total). When it comes to your business, you can find 7 Reasons Why You Need Business Insurance.
If your two children were also injured in the collision, $50,000 is the most anyone of you could recover and $100,000 is the most all three of you together can recover. It does not matter if one of you loses a limb, becomes handicapped, sustains brain damage or dies. The policy limits are what the policy limits are.
The sad truth is many people do not have sufficient UIM and UM coverage. There is also need for handling tough family disputes in some houses. Even after a settlement or award for one’s entire UM or UIM policy limits, many people are poorly compensated for their damages and left with debts. Notwithstanding, insurance companies remain, and will remain, quite happy to sell you automobile insurance with bare bone coverage ($20,000 per person, $40,000 per occurrence, which is Illinois’ mandated minimum coverage limits). Doing so provides them, NOT YOU, with the most bang for your buck. After all, they are in the business of selling insurance to make a profit.
While buying an automobile insurance policy with lower limits costs a little less money, it could turn into the most costly mistake. For very little money, you can and should increase your policy limits to protect yourself, your family, your passengers and anybody else you allow to drive your vehicle.
How much one’s insurance costs depends upon many factors, including the insurance company, driver’s age, marital status, driving history, number and type of vehicles insured, each vehicle’s main use, annual mileage, family members insured, etc. Therefore, everyone’s insurance rates will differ. Using myself and my husband as an example, I can show you just how little it costs to increase one’s coverage and better protect yourself.
My husband and I own two vehicles, a new Jeep Cherokee limited and a 2007 Honda Accord. USAA provides us with our insurance. We have liability, UM and UIM limits of $1,000,000 per person, $1,000,000 per accident (1 mil/1 mil) for both vehicles.Based on my family, every month, the difference between coverage limits of $20,000/40,000 (20/40) and $1,000,000/$1,000,000 (1 mil/1 mil) totals only $15.99. Over the course of a year, we pay only $191.88 year (or approximately 53 cents a day) more for $1,000,000/$1,000,000 than we would if we took the state’s minimum of $20,000 per occurrence, $40,000 per vehicle. While your own rates will vary based upon numerous factors, I urge you to call your insurance company so as to insure you are adequately protecting yourself and your family.
Accidents are a horrible thing, but, when tragedy happens, failing to have adequate UM and UIM limits to protect yourself and your family is a double tragedy. It is something you can easily prevent. Increasing your UM and UIM coverage limits cost very little.
No matter what coverage limits you or the at-fault driver has, there are certain steps you must take within a limited amount of time to protect your right to recover against the at-fault driver and/or under your own insurance policy. Failure to do so could bar you from ever recovering any money for your damages. There is the local business Hale Law, P.A. that can help with the any legal aid if necessary.
Therefore, if you get injured as a result of a motor vehicle incident, whether the driver has insurance or not, or flees the scene, please call me as soon as possible so that I can help to protect your rights. You can reach me at my law office, Rittenberg, Buffen, Gulbrandsen, Robinson & Saks, Ltd., 309 W. Washington, Ste. 900, Chicago, IL, 60606, 312-332-5400, or on my cell phone 773-501-7232. I would be happy to meet with you at my office in downtown Chicago or in Aurora.
Information obtained is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. The material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The material is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up to date. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.