July 2002

As you all know, I started my legal career doing personal injury work which I continue to do to this day. What amazes me when doing this type of work is the misinformation people have about their car insurance policies.

As I have seen in many cases, clients with "basic" insurance coverage come into the office expecting thousands of dollars in settlement amounts because of the injuries they sustained in a car crash. Too often, and to the client's amazement, no monies were available to pay for their injuries, let alone for their pain and suffering caused by the other party's negligence.

Since this scenario occurs much too often, I decided to dedicate this month's article on certain insurance coverage and what it means in laymen's terns.

Florida requires every vehicle on the road to be insured for at least $10,000 in property damage liability and $10,000 in PIP (personal injury protection) coverage. I stress that if you have this type of coverage, CHANGE it now. Without going into great detail about the pitfalls of this coverage, I suggest the following to protect yourself and your family when it comes to proper insurance coverage:

1) In addition to the $10,000 in PIP coverage, also tell your insurer that you want Medical Payment coverage on your policy. I recommend this in the amount of at least $10,000. What this provides is protection from the 20% of medical bills that you will be responsible for under the $10,000 portion of your PIP coverage. Also, when purchasing the PIP coverage of your policy, DO NOT elect a deductible. Save the deductible for the comprehensive portion of your policy.

2) Increase the limits of your property damage liability coverage to at least $50,000. In most cases this should adequately protect you against a lawsuit should you total someone's vehicle.

3) GET UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE. This is a must. There are too many uninsured/underinsured vehicles on the road for you not to purchase this coverage. UM coverage as it is often referred, protects you from the uninsured/underinsured driver that injures you in a car crash. Should the other party have no insurance, you would be able to make a claim under your own policy for any physical injuries as well as pain and suffering, lost wages and any other loss caused by the negligent driver. I recommend at least $100,000 in UM coverage.

4) If you own more than one vehicle on the same insurance policy, ALWAYS make an election to have "stacking" coverage. This simply means that should you find the coverage on one of your vehicles insufficient to pay for your injuries, you can "stack" or add the coverage on both vehicles and double your benefits.

To give you an example of a good policy, ask your insurer what the policy limits are if you were to lease a vehicle. That is a good start.

In sum, I recommend the following: 10k in PIP coverage (no deductible), at least 10k Medical Payment coverage (no deductible), 50k in property damage liability and, at least 100k in UM coverage.

And I know what you all are thinking: that all of this is going to double my insurance rates. Well, the insurance industry would love to make you believe that, but it's simply not the case. Check into the rates for increased coverage and BUY IT. Trust me on this one. I truly hope that you never need to use your insurance policy because of an injury to you or your family, but if you ever do, you will be thankful that you have the increased coverage.

I know that this is a brief summary in the complicated world of auto insurance, but if you want more information regarding coverage, please feel free to contact me.