Full Coverage doesn’t mean Fully Protected

 

Full Coverage doesn’t mean Fully Protected

 

Many people confuse the terms!  Full coverage means your vehicle is insured and some liability & medical coverage is included ~maybe only the state minimum limit! 

While insuring your car may be important, protecting yourself is probably more important.  Your car has a finite value (and depreciates daily), while a lawsuit could ruin your life, so you should carefully consider your liability limits.  If you or a household member is responsible for an accident where a person (or several people) sustains an injury, you could be sued for bodily injury and juries award large sums.  In addition, the injured party’s attorney would take 40%, so if the injured party sued for $100,000, they would only get $60,000.  Because hospital and rehabilitation expenses can be very high, $60,000 would not be sufficient, especially if there’s a serious injury.

 

And consider medical coverage.  If you sustain an injury in your car – or a vehicle owned by someone else, your auto insurance pays first!  Yes, I know that sounds strange, but if you are a pedestrian and struck by a car, or even if you scratch your hand on someone else’s car, your car insurance medical provides first coverage.  If you feel your personal health insurance is sufficient, then you do not have to increase medical, but review your coverage carefully.  Many health insurance policies (including those provided by the employer) may have high deductibles, coverage limitations and usually limit Chiropractic to 6/year.  Since being rear ended, is one of the most common accidents, you could easily need more than 6 visits to the Chiropractor.  And coverage for work loss, funeral and accidental death are fairly inexpensive options to consider too.

Uninsured & Under Insured Motorist is another coverage that some people overlook.  No, it does not apply to your car, but rather allows you to collect from YOUR insurance company if the person (or people) responsible for your injury doesn’t have insurance (or maybe it’s Hit & Run & you don’t know who hit you!) or has low limits for bodily injury.  If you are badly injured & need to sue for pain & suffering, it allows your insurance company to pay.

And finally, Full tort vs Limited – this applies to your right (and the members of your household) to sue for pain & suffering.  Limited tort limits your right to sue for pain & suffering due to injuries sustained in an auto accident.  Limited tort can lower your premium.