How to Find Insurance to Make a Personal Injury Claim When Injured in a Car, Truck or Motorcycle Accident
Part of the expertise of a good personal injury lawyer is the knowledge of how to find all available insurance for a personal injury claim related to a car, truck or motorcycle accident.
The 3 Things Need for a Successful Motor Vehicle Accident Claim.
There are three (3) things you need to be able to make a successful personal injury claim when injured in a car, truck or motorcycle accident and they are (1) fault of someone else, (2) suffering a physical injury as a direct result of the accident and (3) insurance to make a claim against. Many people to do not realize the necessity of insurance to make a claim, but it is absolutely necessary and sometimes unavailable or hard to find.
Locating Insurance for a Personal Injury suffered in a Car or Truck Accident.
In a car or truck accident, the most obvious insurance to be located is the liability insurance of the at-fault driver. However, what if the at-fault driver does not have insurance or the amount of insurance they have is insufficient to satisfy your claim. There are insurance coverages that you can buy on your own car or truck that are called uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages. These coverages are extremely valuable and inexpensive and I would highly recommend purchasing as much of these coverages as you can afford.
Think about this- You are driving every day on roadways with people who may be inexperienced, distracted, uneducated and foolish. Many of these drivers will have no insurance or the statutory minimum. You have the opportunity to buy protection from these individuals by purchasing uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages. When you buy uninsured motorist coverage you are protecting yourself against the driver who has no insurance. If they have no insurance, you can be sure they have little or no assets to satisfy your claim.
When you buy underinsured motorist coverage, you are protecting yourself against the driver who has minimum amounts of insurance. The minimum in Kentucky for the claim of one person is $25,000.00 and in the event of a serious injury, $25,000.00 will only cover a small portion of the claim. If you buy this coverage, your attorney can collect the at-fault party’s liability limits and then make a second claim against your own underinsured motorist policy to obtain the full value of your claim or at least a greater portion of the value of your claim.
Locating Insurance for a Personal Injury suffered in a Motorcycle Accident.
The insurance analysis when someone is injured in a motorcycle accident should be the same as an accident in a car or truck, but the laws are a little different with regard to motorcycles and the coverages written by the insurance companies are a little different.
Kentucky law requires Kentucky no-fault insurance coverage (also called PIP coverage) on all automobiles and trucks, but not motorcycles. The lack of PIP coverage can cause the motorcycle accident victim financial hardship on a couple different levels. First, PIP coverage offers a partial lost wage benefit of $200/week and this can be valuable to someone unable to work due to their injuries. Of course, motorcycle accidents often involve significant physical injuries and it is likely that the motorcycle accident victim will be off work due to their injuries. Secondly, the existence of PIP coverage extends the statute of limitations for their personal injury claims. If the motorcycle accident victim fails to settle their claim or file a lawsuit within one-year from the date of the accident, they will lose their claim entirely against the at fault party. If they had PIP coverage, they would have at least 2 years to resolve their claim or file a lawsuit.
It has been my experience that no matter the income level or educational level of the motorcyclist, they tend not to purchase uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverages on their motorcycle. I find that most people have these coverages on their cars and truck, but not on their motorcycles. The reason, I believe, is because the insurance agents are not recommending the coverages, which is a mistake. Motorcyclists need these coverages even more than the drivers of cars and trucks because the motorcyclist has no protection in the event of an accident and their injuries tend to be more severe.
When I represent a motorcyclist, I always look to see if the uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage on their automobile will be available for the motorcycle accident. These coverages go with us wherever we go. This means that even though we are not in the vehicle that the coverage was purchased for, we can still make a claim against it. For instance, if you are a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, you can use these coverages, or you were riding in someone else’s truck or car at the time of your accident. You should be able to use these coverages if you were riding on your motorcycle. However, the insurance companies have written exclusions into these policies for motorcycle accidents. If the exclusion is not there, then the claim can be made. Therefore, it should always be checked by the personal injury lawyer.
Contact Kentucky Vehicle Accident Lawyer
If you are involved in a car, truck or motorcycle accident, you will require the services of an experienced Kentucky vehicle accident attorney to investigate the cause of the accident and maximize all benefits available to the victims and their families. Matthew Troutman, a Kentucky vehicle accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling car, truck and motorcycle accident claims almost exclusively since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victim in the above accident.
If you need legal assistance due to a motorcycle accident, contact Louisville vehcile accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 502-648-9507 or 859-696-0001 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your motorcycle accident claim. To learn more about Kentucky vehicle accident attorney Matthew Troutman and the Troutman Law Office, click here.