HOW TO BUY AUTO INSURANCE: A KENTUCKY AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY’S PERSPECTIVE
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Most people decide what type of auto insurance to buy based upon the advice of the insurance agent. However, if the purpose of buying auto insurance is to protect yourself from financial devastation due to serious personal injury, then the advice of a Kentucky Auto Accident Attorney since 1986, may be of interest to you. I have represented 1000s of people injured and/or killed in auto accidents and I know what auto insurance coverages are important to them and their families.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage: This coverage provides coverage for injuries caused by someone who does not have any insurance on their vehicle at the time of the accident. There are lots of people driving around without insurance on their vehicles and it should not surprise you that they cause a disproportionate number of auto accidents. Irresponsibility breeds irresponsibility. Make sure you have this coverage. It can be purchased to cover both personal injury and property damage caused by an uninsured driver. Most people buy only the kind that covers personal injury and, therefore, they have to buy a new car or fix their car with their own money.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage: This insurance provides coverage for injuries caused by someone who has liability insurance, but does not have enough to satisfy your claim. This coverage is one of the most used coverages by this Kentucky Auto Accident Attorney on behalf of car accident victims and it is one you need in as large an amount as you can afford. The minimum liability coverage required in Kentucky is $25,000.00 and the majority of drivers carry the minimum. $25,000.00 is not enough money to pay even the smallest claims for personal injury. Underinsured Motorist Coverage (called “UIM”) allows me as your Kentucky Auto Accident Attorney to make a claim against your own insurance company when the person causing the accident does not have enough insurance to satisfy your claim. Some good news- Uninsured Motorist Coverage and Underinsured Motorist Coverage are relatively cheap coverage. Insurance companies are forced by law to offer it and they do not want to because it is cheap and frequently used. You need, at the very least, to have as much UM and UIM as you have liability coverage. I find that many insurance agents fail to educate their client’s about these coverages and its affordability.
Added PIP/No-Fault Coverage Kentucky law requires you to purchase $10,000.00 in Personal Injury Protection Benefits (also called basic reparation benefits and Kentucky No-Fault Benefits). This coverage pays for medical expenses, lost wages and some other replacement costs. Although Kentucky requires you to buy $10,000.00 of this coverage, some agents forget to tell you that you have the option of buying more. You may want to consider buying more no-fault in increments of $10,000.00 because you may need the wage loss coverage and $10,000.00 can evaporate quickly. Many clients who exhaust their $10,000.00 quickly with medical expenses and then struggle to pay bills because they do not have any wage replacement coverage. Additional no-fault coverage is particularly important recently because health insurance companies are paying less and less, which means you will be paying more of your medical bills out of your own pocket if you do not have added no-fault.
EXCESS COVERAGE If you paid $800.00 per year for $500,000.00 in liability coverage on your two vehicles and I told you that you could increase that coverage to $1 Million with an annual payment of $150.00, would you do it? This coverage is called an excess policy. You can greatly increase your coverage for a relatively small premium. Further good news is that many excess policies include Underinsured Motorist and Uninsured Motorist coverages. You need to ask your agent to make sure these coverages are included.
Should we look for more ways to spend money on car insurance? Absolutely not! However, there are certain coverages that are worth our attention and I would suggest that you at least price them out so that you can determine if you can afford them. Thousands of people are killed and seriously injured in auto accidents every year in the state of Kentucky. It would be irresponsible of anyone to think that they are exempt from a serious auto accident some time in their life. So, as a Kentucky Auto Accident Attorney, I am encouraging you to purchasing the right insurance coverages. For further information do not hesitate to call Matt Troutman at the Troutman Law Office or at troutlaw3550@gmail.com.
Helpful Links:
Kentucky Motor Vehicle & Traffic Laws
Kentucky Motor Vehicle Licensing Laws
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