|
|
|
Health Insurance - It's Important To Know What's Not Insured!
Around 7 million people in the UK are covered by health
insurance, the majority being covered through their employers.
The problem is that few have really studied their policy
documents and many misunderstand what is covered. And perhaps
just as...
Home-Based Business Owners, You Need Insurance Coverage
When you start a home-based business, buying insurance may not
be your first priority, but you cannot afford to ignore it
either. When the unexpected happens -- and it will -- having
insurance coverage may mean the difference between the...
How To Lower Auto Insurance Costs
It seems these days that it costs more and more to keep your car. With most new cars in the $22,000 + range, the monthly payments can be high. The cost of gas is now over $3.00 a gallon for regular and we're in a time where a lot of people drive...
Is Your Insurance Agent Really Working for You?
Or is he only interested in one company? There’s a relatively unknown market in the insurance industry that consumers need to know about. This is a market where a single agent can offer you multiple choices from multiple companies. This is the...
Why Does Health Insurance Cost So Much?
Why does health insurance cost so much? Year after year, many of the articles that appear in print detail the specific factors driving the cost of healthcare. These factors include: general inflation, advances in drugs and other medical devices,...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Buying Auto Insurance (part 4 of 4)
Continued from part 3.
Think About it: You Need to Buy Insurance to Protect Yourself, Passengers, and Family Members by Purchasing Underinsured Motorist Coverage (part 4 of 4)
One serious mistake is to decline UIM coverage. Some companies require that you purchase UIM in the same amounts as the liability insurance. However, many companies, depending upon state law, are authorized to sell denominations of UIM coverage less than the liability limits. The insured thinks that he is providing some satisfactory minimal coverage for his family and decides to save some money with lower UIM limits. However, UIM is probably the most important place to spend money.
You are not as likely to cause an accident, as you are to be a victim of an accident. At least if you are taking the time to read this article, you are probably a person who will exercise more care and judgment in your driving than the ordinary person. Therefore, it is more likely that you will be making a claim against another person for injuries sustained by you at the hand of the third party tortfeasor. In this instance, the tortfeasor may (but likely will not) have sufficient insurance to cover you and your passengers for all of your medical expenses, wages loss, and general damages. If not, then the tortfeasor is said to be “underinsured”. In that instance, the balance of the value of your claim, above the bodily injury policy limits of the tortfeasor, is the responsibility of your own company’s UIM coverage.
A third possibility is if the tortfeasor is uninsured. This is a distinct likelihood if someone who is reckless, or who has a drinking problem or who is driving with a suspended license involves you in their traffic habits. They caused you and your passengers harm, but they have no insurance. You will be making your entire claim under your UIM polity limits.
All too often, we have seen serious injuries to individuals and their families receive little or partial compensation because the insured elected to “save money” by not purchasing the maximum UIM coverage available to him. Purchase as much UIM coverage as you can.
Be Honest
A word of caution in dealing with your insurance company: don’t try to fool them on any of the information requested, or by insuring only one driver for each of the family vehicles. We have numerous cases holding that one family member is not covered because he or she was not named as a driver of another family vehicle. Questions of whether the vehicle was “available for the regular use” of any individual are complex issues, and history tells that you will lose. Disclose the full number of drivers and you will have the knowledge that you and family members are covered.
The same thing pertains to marital status and student status of children. Our recommendation is to be honest in your application and in your relationship with your company. The few dollars you “save” otherwise will never be a bargain should you loose out in the long run. A contract entered into with materially fraudulent representations can be voidable by the company under some circumstances.
Table of Insurance Coverage Requirements, by State
Most states require that you have liability insurance. This covers you when you're at fault in an accident. If you live in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee or Wisconsin, you aren't required by law (yet) to have liability coverage. For the rest of us, the mandatory coverage varies according to state. In the chart below, minimum liability limits are read as follows (in thousands of dollars): bodily injury liability for one person in an accident/bodily injury liability for all people injured in an accident/property damage liability for one accident.
So, for Alabama, the minimum requirements are $20,000 of bodily injury liability for one person, $40,000 bodily injury liability for all people and $10,000 property damage liability.
StateRequired coverage typesUninsured/Under-insured Motorist Coverage Required?Minimum liability limitsNo fault?
Alabama
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo20/40/10no
Alaska
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo50/100/25no
Arizona
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo15/30/10no
Arkansas
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/25no
California
bodily injury and property damage
liabilityNo15/30/5no
Colorado
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/15yes
Connecticut
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes20/40/10no
Delaware
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protectionNo15/30/10no
DC
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes25/50/10yes
Florida
BI liability not required, only property damage liability, personal injury protectionNo10/20/10yes
Georgia
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/25no
Hawaii
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protectionNo20/40/10yes
Idaho
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/15no
Illinois
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes20/40/15no
Indiana
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/10no
Iowa
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo20/40/15no
Kansas
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protectionYes25/50/10yes
Kentucky
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protectionNo25/50/10yes
Louisiana
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo10/20/10no
Maine
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes50/100/25no
Maryland
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured and underinsured motoristYes20/40/15no
Massachusetts
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured motoristYes20/40/5yes
Michigan
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protectionNo20/40/10yes
Minnesota
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motoristYes30/60/10yes
Mississippi
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo10/20/5no
Missouri
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes25/50/10no
Montana
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/10no
Nebraska
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured and underinsured motoristNo25/50/25no
Nevada
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo15/30/10no
New Hampshire
Insurance not required; proof of financial responsibility, medical payments, uninsured motoristYes25/50/25no
New Jersey
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured motoristNo15/30/5yes
New Mexico
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/10no
New York
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motorist, personal injury protectionYes25/50/10yes
North Carolina
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo30/60/25no
North Dakota
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motoristYes25/50/25yes
Ohio
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo12.5/25/7.5no
Oklahoma
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo10/20/10no
Oregon
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motoristYes25/50/10no
Pennsylvania
bodily injury and property damage liability, medical paymentsNo15/30/5yes
Rhode Island
bodily injury and property damage liabilityYes25/50/25no
South Carolina
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes15/30/10no
South Dakota
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes25/50/25no
Tennessee
Insurance not required; proof of financial responsibilityNo25/50/10no
Texas
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo20/40/15no
Utah
bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motoristNo25/50/15yes
Vermont
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes25/50/10no
Virginia
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured and underinsured motoristYes25/50/20no
Washington
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/10no
West Virginia
bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motoristYes20/40/10no
Wisconsin
Insurance not required; proof of financial responsibility, uninsured motoristYes25/50/10no
Wyoming
bodily injury and property damage liabilityNo25/50/20no
About the Author
Jeanine Steele is an editor with SettlementCentral.Com, the online resource for self-help do-it-yourself personal injury claims.
|
|
|
|
|
| Insure.com Car Insurance Quotes, Term Life Insurance Quotes, Auto ... |
| Insure.com provides instant online car insurance quotes, term life insurance quotes, auto insurance quotes, health insurance quotes, home insurance quotes, ... |
| www.insure.com |
|
| Insurance Information Institute (III) |
| Attempts to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does and how it works. The site is subdivided into sections for "Individuals" (consumer ... |
| www.iii.org |
|
| State Farm Insurance Companies |
| Provider of auto, health, home and life insurance. Get quotes and agents listings. National headquarters. |
| www.statefarm.com |
|
| Allstate - Official Site - Auto Insurance, Home Insurance ... |
| Offers insurance for autos, homes, property, life, mortgage protection, and business. Site includes many useful calculators and tools, an agent locator, ... |
| www.allstate.com |
|
| Progressive Auto Insurance - Car Insurance Quotes Plus Boat, RV ... |
| Provides instant online auto insurance quotes, insurance rate comparisons. Offers motorcycle, RV, boat, or car insurance. Purchase insurance online. |
| www.progressive.com |
|
| Insurance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| It cannot put the insurance company in financial jeopardy. ... If the insured does not perform then the insurance company does not have to perform. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Cheap annual travel insurance | single trip holiday insurance quotes |
| Cheap quotes for annual travel insurance and single trip holiday insurance online with moneysupermarket.com. Over 450 policies compared in seconds... |
| www.moneysupermarket.com |
|
| California Department of Insurance |
| Works to foster an insurance market that is fair, competitive and accessible to all Californians. Site designed to assist consumers, aid in the licensing of ... |
| www.insurance.ca.gov |
|
| Insurance: Car, Auto, Life, Home, Business and Investment Services ... |
| Nationwide offers insurance and services including: car insurance, auto insurance home owner insurance, business insurance as well as investment services. |
| www.nationwide.com |
|
| GEICO Car Insurance. Get an auto insurance quote and save today ... |
| Offers auto and motorcycle insurance. Request quotes online or by phone. File claims online. |
| www.geico.com |
|
| Insurance Center - Yahoo! Finance - Find the Right Insurance for ... |
| Insurance Center - Protect and insure your assets with comprehensive resources about auto, home, health and life insurance. |
| insurance.yahoo.com |
|
| Compare Auto Insurance Quotes from Top Auto Insurance Companies |
| America's #1 online insurance agency. Compare instant auto insurance quotes, car insurance quotes, life insurance quotes, home insurance quotes, ... |
| www.insurance.com |
|
| Car Insurance, Home Insurance, Travel Insurance, Life Insurance UK |
| Provide travel, home contents and car insurance for professionals, graduates and students. |
| www.endsleigh.co.uk |
|
| Home Insurance Quotes, Car Insurance Quotes - Lloyds TSB Insurance |
| Home Insurance Quote, Car Insurance Quotes, cheap Travel Insurance, Pet Insurance, Business Insurance. Up to 15% discount for buying insurance online. |
| www.insurance.co.uk |
|
| Car insurance, Home insurance, Life insurance & more - Direct Line |
| Direct Line offer car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, mortgages, personal loans,breakdown cover and much more! |
| www.directline.com |
|
| PA Department of Insurance |
| State regulatory authority. Site provides information for consumers, producers, and the insurance companies themselves. |
| www.ins.state.pa.us |
|
| Texas Department of Insurance |
| Regulates the state's insurance industry, encouraging competition to make insurance available and affordable. [some content available in Spanish] |
| www.tdi.state.tx.us |
|
| Life Insurance (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) |
| Informationa about all Life Insurance programs administered and supervised by VA. |
| www.insurance.va.gov |
|
| Insurance for Canada and the United States by RBC Insurance |
| Specializes in life, health, travel insurance, and annuities for middle income families in Canada and the United States. Site offers individual, family, ... |
| www.rbcinsurance.com |
|
| Free Auto, Health, Life and Homeowners Insurance Quotes - MSN Money |
| Get free auto, health, life and homeowners insurance quotes from top insurance companies in the country. Find the latest news and information related to ... |
| moneycentral.msn.com |
|
|