Legal Trends

Legal Trends

Uninsured Motorist

Avoid Adding Insult to Injury

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Bad News:          Being involved in an accident.

Worse News:     Being involved in an accident and getting hurt. 

Worst News:      Being involved in an accident, getting hurt and then failing to recover anything because the other driver and/or you have little or no insurance.

Sadly, a large number of motorists in the State of Arizona drive on the streets and highways with little or minimal insurance coverage.  Arizona law only requires a person to carry auto insurance that has liability limits of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.  In a situation involving injury, that is not much.

Dealing with insurance issues is a major pain.  And most people don’t care to take the time to understand the coverage that they pay for every year through insurance premiums.  Completely understandable.  However, unfortunately, insurance is a “necessary evil.”  And, if you take some brief time to make sure you have the best coverage you can afford, you will sleep better at night knowing that you and your family are protected if something bad happens on the road.

Here’s what you need to do (ASAP):

  1. Pull out a copy of your auto insurance Declarations Page so you can review your coverage.  (If you do not have it handy, you can get a copy from your agent or the insurance company website.)
  2. Make sure that you have satisfactory coverage.  I would suggest that law enforcement officers carry $100,000/$300,000 in coverage AT A MINIMUM.
  3. Make sure that you have Uninsured Motorist coverage AND Underinsured Motorist Coverage.  And those coverages should match the liability coverage dollar for dollar.

If you are concerned that your coverage is too low, contact your agent or consult the insurance company website to see how much higher levels of coverage will cost annually.  YOU WILL BE SHOCKED AT HOW LITTLE YOUR PREMIUM WILL INCREASE FOR BETTER COVERAGE.  

So…

Good News:       Figuring out your insurance coverage is not that hard.

Better News:     Increasing your coverages is easy and does not cost that much money. 

Best News:         If you feel like you need help making sure your coverage is as good as it can be, the attorneys at Napier Baillie Wilson Bacon & Tallone, P.C. will assist you with a free consultation.  Just call 602-248-9107 to schedule an appointment.

Be safe.  And be smart.

The importance of beefing up your Personal Uninsured & Uninsured Motorist coverage

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I’m fully insured.

It is amazing how many of our personal injury clients make this statement during their initial consultation with our office after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. Then, after further investigation, it turns out that, in reality, “fully” means “minimally.”

Many drivers on Arizona streets have no insurance at all. In fact, current statistics demonstrate that the number of auto policy cancellations is increasing, likely due to the slow economy – people are being forced to choose which bills to pay, and oftentimes, auto insurance gets cut loose.

  • Hypothetical #1: Driver A injures Driver B in an accident. Driver A has no insurance. Driver B has no Uninsured Motorist coverage. Driver B receives nothing for his/her injuries. Arizona state law requires all drivers to have an insurance policy that provides for $15,000/$30,000 of liability coverage. Many people buy only the minimum amount of insurance required by law.
  • Hypothetical #2: Driver A is responsible for an accident in which Driver B is injured. Driver A has the legal minimum, $15,000, in liability coverage. The maximum that Driver B can recover for his injuries is $15,000, regardless of the extent and severity of his/her damages. So, even if Driver B’s medical bills equal $100,000, the most he/she can recover from Driver A’s insurance company is $15,000.

Seems screwed up, huh? That’s where the safety net of Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage comes into play. Here are (some of) the benefits you can receive from having sufficient Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage:

  • If you are injured by a driver who has no insurance, you can still make a claim and get a recovery.
  • If you are injured by a driver who has minimal insurance, or less than the full value of your claim, you can potentially receive a total settlement amount to cover your claim.
  • Settlement proceeds received from the Uninsured and/or Underinsured coverage in your auto policy are free from liens (including worker’s compensation liens).
  • Proper levels of coverage can provide you peace of mind, especially since you spend many hours on the road.
  1. Call your insurance agent and make an appointment.
  2. When you meet, ask about your current levels of both Uninsured Motorist AND Underinsured Motorist coverage.
  3. Ask about the cost of increases to higher levels of coverage. You will be surprised how small increases to your premium will get you much better coverage.
  4. Push your coverage as high as you can afford. We recommend that officers carry UM/UIM coverage of $100,000/$300,000 AT A MINIMUM.
  5. Follow these steps IMMEDIATELY – every day on the road creates risk of getting hurt with insufficient coverage.

As always, the attorneys at our firm are available to provide guidance and to answer any questions you have regarding Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist coverage. We hope you all take immediate steps to make sure that you are “fully insured” with plenty of coverage.