25/50. 100/300. Liability. UM/UIM. What does it all mean?
When you purchase an insurance policy, it will have limits to the amount that can be claimed against it for any given accident. Understanding you policy limits will help you to make a wise decision on how to fully protect yourself in case you are involved in an accident.
If there is one thing I hate more than snow, it’s driving in snow. With winter in full force and many more days of driving in snowing conditions, I thought it would be a nice little reminder to share some winter driving tips.
It just so happens that I found this article that sums up winter driving quite nicely. From the article:
If you do not have to drive in a snowstorm, then don’t. Stay home or take public transportation. Winter driving conditions can be very dangerous and unpredictable.
One other piece of advice, if you see an accident on a busy road or highway and conditions are still slippery, wait for the police or ambulance to give assistance. A woman was killed in Salt Lake City when she got out of her car to assist another injured person when a truck lost control on the slippery roads and slammed into her. Be careful out there.
If injured in an auto accident, there are several important steps to take immediately after an accident. Provided you are able, always do the following:
Part of our weekly series of case studies of recent car accident settlements. These case studies should help you determine the market value of your personal injury insurance claim. The finer details have been kept out to protect the identity of the individual, but the overall details are accurate and true.
Case Study
Gender: Male
Age: 30’s
Type of accident: Male gets t-boned while driving through an intersection
At-fault insurance company: State Farm and Allstate
If your cell phone doesn’t have a camera attached to it, please call your carrier right now and get a free upgrade with one that does. There is absolutely no excuse to not have access to a camera at all times to help you gather evidence if you are involved in a car crash.
Now that you have a shiny new camera phone, what should you be taking pictures of? Everything! Don’t let the other person move their car until you get lots of pictures of the damage, the accident scene, bruising, cuts and bleeding, weather conditions, traffic conditions, or just about anything else you can think of. The more pictures the better so don’t be timid in documenting the accident.
We all know that brand new cars lose value the minute you drive it off the lot. Some cars are known to lose up to half their value in the first 3 years. This means that you may owe more on your car than what the car is actually worth during those first few years of ownership. It’s called being upside down.
When you are upside down in a car and you try to sell it, you have to come up with the difference owed versus the difference you received at the time of sale. This same concept applies to a car accident. If you owe more on the car than what it is worth at the time of the car crash, you have to come up with the difference. This could be a few hundred dollars, but all too often with newer cars, it could mean thousands of dollars. So how do you protect yourself from paying thousands of dollars out of your own pocket for an accident that wasn’t your fault? GAP insurance.
Telling yourself you’re covered isn’t enough. You must buy the correct amount insurance to protect yourself in case of an accident.
Even though it’s the law to have auto insurance, some people choose to ignore the law and not carry any insurance. Even if they do have insurance, that does not mean they have enough insurance to cover all your medical bills if you are severely injured in an accident. When purchasing insurance it’s important to protect your assets and yourself.
When trying to protect your assets, you want to make sure to carry enough liability insurance. This is the money your insurance company pays if you are at fault for the accident. Most states set the minimum at $25,000. Even if you have less than $25,000 in assets, its always wise to purchase more than the state minimum in liability coverage. A good rule of thumb is carry at least $100,000 per individual, $300,000 per accident in liability insurance (often referred as a 100/300 policy). This should be enough to cover 99% of all accidents you may be involved in.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this website is intended for general use and should not be considered legal advice. Discretion is advised.
