I don't sell car insurance, but as a lawyer practicing in the
field of personal injury I frequently see people suffer because
they have the wrong insurance coverage. Often, this happens
because they purchased directly from an insurance company
instead of an independent broker.
Many of my clients who have been seriously hurt in a car
accident were struck by someone who had no insurance or only the
minimum liability insurance coverage, which is $25,000 in New
York and much less in many other states. Unfortunately, many of
my clients were sold insurance policies with liability limits of
$100,000 or $300,000, but were not sold matching uninsured and
underinsured coverage.
Just this week, yet another new client had this problem. My
client was a pedestrian crossing the street when she was struck
by a car which fled the scene. The driver was caught shortly
after leaving the accident, but the owner of the car only has
the New York State minimum liability insurance of $25,000 and my
client has serious injuries consisting of many broken bones
including a fractured arm, leg and skull.
My client owns a car with liability insurance limits of
$300,000, but she purchased the insurance from GEICO whose
salesperson didn't sell her underinsured coverage. GEICO does
not use independent insurance brokers, but sells insurance
directly to consumers through in-house sales agents.
For a small fee, my client could have purchased underinsured
coverage of $300,000 which would have allowed her to recover
$300,000 for her injuries instead of $25,000. Ironically, she
did not need the $300,000 liability coverage to protect her
assets. However, since you cannot buy underinsured coverage
higher than your liability coverage, I would have advised her to
purchase $300,000 liability coverage for the sole purpose of
being able to purchase $300,000 underinsured coverage.
I have had many clients in this situation who lost their jobs
because of serious injuries and incurred substantial debt. If
they had matching underinsured coverage, the additional money
available to pay their claim would would be a big help to pay
their bills and get their life back together.
Underinsured motorist coverage will pay you money from your own
automobile insurance policy if you have been hurt in a car
accident by someone who was negligent for causing your injury
and who had less liability insurance coverage than you did.
Uninsured motorist coverage will pay you when the other car did
not have any insurance coverage or the identity of the other car
is unknown.
Underinsured and uninsured coverage is inexpensive and usually
available in limits that match your liability insurance
coverage. It is not available in amounts greater than your
liability insurance coverage.
Underinsured and uninsured coverage is so important that a
couple of states now require coverage limits matching your
liability insurance limits, unless you decline the coverage in
writing. Several years ago, I suggested to several New York
State senators that they enact a similar law in New York.
I have also seen many clients who were not sold the maximum
medical payments insurance, which costs me only $2.01 per month
on my car insurance policy. This is particularly important for
people who do not have a good health insurance policy. It is
also beneficial for passengers who do not have health insurance.
Why should you buy car insurance through an independent
insurance broker? The courts have defined the reason. There have
been several "malpractice" lawsuits against insurance companies
for failure to offer underinsured and uninsured motorists
coverage limits matching the liability limits. However, when the
insurance company sells directly to consumers, these cases have
gone in favor of the insurance companies. The courts found that
when a consumer buys insurance directly from an insurance
company, rather than an insurance broker, the consumer is only
buying insurance and is not paying for advice.
When you buy auto insurance from an independent insurance broker
who represents several different insurance companies, you get
the advantage of an insurance professional who can evaluate your
needs and advise you accordingly. Additionally, only an
independent insurance broker can provide you with a choice of
insurance companies and premiums, so you get the best coverage
at the lowest price.
Whether you buy your car insurance directly from an insurance
company or through an independent insurance broker, always make
sure that you purchase matching uninsured and underinsured
motorist coverage and the maximum medical payment benefits.
About the author:
Philip L. Franckel, Esq., is the founder of
http://www.HURT911.org an accident and injury research web site
for people hurt in an accident and personal injury lawyers. Mr.
Franckel also publishes articles on Lawyer Advertising at
http://www.Lawyer-Advertising-Blog.com
