CLIENTS OFTEN ASK US, ‘HOW MUCH INSURANCE COVERAGE SHOULD I HAVE TO PROTECT MYSELF IN THE EVENT OF INJURY?’.
excellent question and a wise one to ask before that coverage is needed.
the best answer is:
Reading: How much pip insurance do i need
You must have enough insurance coverage to cover your assets, your medical expenses, damage to your vehicle, damage to the other driver’s vehicle, and the other driver’s medical expenses.
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Have I lost you? The amount of coverage required will vary depending on individual circumstances, but it is never a good idea to purchase the minimum amount of coverage required by law.
If it appears that our business is owned by an insurance company, rest assured that the opposite is true. As attorneys in Hagerstown and Frederick, MD, who represent personal injury victims, our interests are often directly adverse to the interests of the insurance company. however, both sides agree that people should buy more insurance. we want you to have better coverage, and insurance agencies want to charge you slightly higher premiums (“slightly” is highlighted because you can often double the amount of coverage for less than fifty dollars of increased rates).
how a personal injury attorney views auto policy coverage
With the posts in this blog and the two to follow in this series, we want to explain how an attorney views auto policy coverage. in reality, he probably doesn’t care how much coverage he has until he’s involved in an accident. he should think about how much coverage he has long before he has an accident. So, let’s go over the various parts of an auto policy, piece by piece. this post will cover pip (personal injury protection); the next two will cover liability and um/uim (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage).
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Disclaimer: As hagerstown and frederick personal injury attorneys, we focus on your person’s injuries in maryland. It really is as simple as it sounds. this means that we will negotiate the value of your vehicle with the insurance company, but it is a very small part of what we do and therefore these posts will not discuss collision compensation/coverage for your vehicle.
what is personal injury protection (pip)?
- Standard minimum personal injury protection coverage is $2,500.00.
- Your auto insurance company will pay this amount for your medical bills (and, depending on your policy, even lost wages) regardless of who was at fault for the accident.
- This is why pip is sometimes referred to as “no-fault” insurance.
- Your premiums will not increase if you file a personal injury protection claim.
- Furthermore, your insurance company will not seek any reimbursement from you by paying this money on your behalf. Usually, every time an insurance company (health or auto insurance company) pays your medical bills, they expect to be reimbursed for those payments if you receive money in the form of a settlement or judgment against the defendant or the insurance company of the defendant.
- So, with personal injury protection, you really get a double recovery. your insurance company pays your medical bills, and the defendant’s insurance company pays your medical bills, but your insurance company is not asking for the money it paid for you.
Our hagerstown and frederick, md personal injury attorneys have seen policies that have pip coverage of $5,000 or $10,000. We suggest that anyone buying an auto policy try to secure $10,000 of pip coverage. This way, he’ll know he’ll have at least the first $10,000 of your medical bills covered (and possibly lost wages) no questions asked.
As always, if you can afford even more personal injury protection coverage, you should buy it.
[next: part 2 of 3: liability coverage]
See also: Insurance Information – Atlanta, GA – Emory Healthcare
