Personal Injury FAQ - How should you make sure you and your family are properly insured?
At Wakefield Law, we have been helping clients who have been in accidents or have been injured by fault of another for three decades. When you think personal injury law, you should think insurance. According to a recent study, approximately 95% of all personal injury cases settle. What this means is when people are in an accident, usually the parties who do the majority of the talking, negotiating, and handling of the case are the attorney for the injured person or persons and an attorney or adjuster for an insurance company.
So – you’re a parent of a child who has started driving. What’s the most important thing other than seatbelt, mirrors, etc.? INSURANCE. Too often when we are handling an insurance matter for a client we run into the difficult issue of there not being enough insurance or gaps in coverage for our clients. We can try to find alternative sources of coverage when there are gaps in insurance, but even with our experience the limits of liability on insurance policies can prevent clients from obtaining payment for medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.
When your little one is growing up and getting behind the wheel, it’s critically important to make sure you have carefully reviewed your car insurance coverage in regard to all drivers. When your child or children head away to college for the first time, it’s even more important to make sure your insurance will not fail to come through in an accident away from home. Some insurance policies require that you notify them regarding where all drivers they are covering are living, including where they are living at school.
Limits of liability are policy details that insurance companies provide – the limits are maximums of what the insurance company will pay in the event that you or your family member makes a claim. Usually, in an accident where you or your family member is not at fault, the negligent party’s insurance will be the one that matters. However, if there is not enough coverage in the negligent party’s insurance policy, your insurance becomes a source of additional recovery. It’s called underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) and it provides that if there is not enough money to cover damages from the negligent party, your insurance will have to pay to make you or your loved one whole. However, this is often the final source of recovery – if you have a low UIM limit, you can be dealing with too little coverage in every direction. No matter what your injuries, how benign (hopefully) or severe they may be, your insurance will not cover or pay any amounts over their policy limits. It’s vitally important to make sure you understand what your family’s coverage is per accident and per family member.
Another important consideration, aside from making sure bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering will be covered by your insurance in the event of an accident that is not your fault, is making sure you know what will happen if you or your loved one is in an accident where you or your loved one ARE at fault. If you are at fault, your insurance will only cover the injured party’s damages up to your policy limit. What that can mean is that if there just isn’t enough coverage from your insurance, you can risk facing the injured party, pursuing your personal assets for any insurance shortfall.
Insurance matters can make anyone dizzy but understanding your limits and what will happen if you or your loved one is in an accident is such a valuable way to look out for your family. If you want to talk about these matters, or any other personal injury matters, give Charles Wakefield with Wakefield Law a call! 703-771-9740