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Protect yourself with higher liability insurance in order to protect yourself if you are involved in an automobile accident

In every state, a motor vehicle owner is required to carry liability insurance. Each state has its own “state minimum” limits and each driver is required to carry liability insurance in an amount at least equal to that amount. For instance, in Virginia a driver must carry at least $25,000.00 per person $50,000 aggregate per accident in liability bodily injury coverage and at least $20,000.00 in property damage.

So you may think that this solves the problem, right? Think again. What this means, practically speaking, is that an insurance company will only pay up to limits of the vehicle owner’s policy. Anything more, and the defendant driver is personally liable for the difference. For example: if a jury returns a verdict for an injured person of $65,000.00. The vehicle that the defendant was driving in the accident only has a minimum limits 25/50 policy. The vehicle’s insurer will only pay $25,000 of the judgment and tell the defendant driver, “Too bad, so sad, but we’ve paid what we have to pay. Now you have to pay $40,000.00 plus the interest on the judgment. Good luck to you, buddy.” The injured driver can garnish the defendant driver’s wages, put a lien on any real estate, attach personal property, and even have DMV suspend a defendant’s driving license until the judgment/debt is paid in full.

But what about the injured party? If the person injured in the auto accident has only a minimum limits policy covering him, then he has to try and collect the difference of the judgment from the defendant personally. If the driver who suffered the personal injury was smart and had more than a minimum limits policy, then he can collect the difference up to his policy limits from his insurance carrier or until the judgment is paid in full. This underinsured motorist coverage is built into Virginia and North Carolina policies and is a safeguard to all drivers, unless a vehicle owner waives it. The UM/UIM coverage also provides a recovery against a defendant driver who doesn’t have automobile insurance for one excuse or another.

Have you checked your personal auto policy lately? Are you running the risk by having only the state minimum liability limits? When are you going to call your carrier and raise your limits?

If you are in an automobile accident and suffer personal injuries, these are questions you might wish you had thought about. Auto accidents can be a financial burden to those without proper insurance. Protect yourself with higher liability insurance in order to protect yourself if you are involved in an automobile accident.

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