The Most Important Insurance You Can Have
By Attorney Martin Zevin
Most people who own a car believe they have “full coverage” for
their car insurance; however as a lawyer who handles personal injury
claims, “full coverage” means something very different to me than it
may mean to you.
Under Florida law, only two types of coverage are required: personal
injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability. It is
estimated that approximately one out of three drivers on Florida
roads only have the minimum required coverage. It is important that
you be fully protected in the event one of those drivers injures you
due to a rear-end collision or any other accident which is not your
fault.
If you are seriously injured, you have the right to pursue a claim
against the other driver and his insurance company for your pain and
suffering. However, if the other driver does not carry the elective
coverage of bodily injury liability, you will not be able to obtain
any settlement from his company. If he does carry bodily injury
liability, it is likely that it will only be a minimum coverage of
$10,000.00 per person and $20,000.00 per occurrence. If the value of
your claim for your injuries is greater than $10,000.00, you will
still only be able to obtain his maximum $10,000.00 coverage.
Therefore, it is extremely important that you properly protect
yourself by carrying a maximum amount of uninsured motorist
coverage. This is often abbreviated as U.M. on the declaration sheet
of your policy. I recommend at least $100,000.00 per
person/$300,000.00 per occurrence for each vehicle in your
household. If you have more than one vehicle, I strongly recommend,
“stacking” which allows you to combine your coverage to your maximum
benefit. In other words, if you have three vehicles in the household
and each of them is insured with U.M. of $100/$300, stacking will
allow you to actually have a total of $300,000.00 per person and
$900,000.00 per occurrence. Stacking is well worth the small
additional premium which insurance companies charge.
Your U.M. coverage also stands for underinsured motorist coverage.
This means that you can make a claim against the other driver’s
insurance and get the total amount available under that policy and
still make an additional claim under your U.M. coverage if your
injury justifies it.
During my over thirty seven years of handling personal injury cases,
I have often had to turn people away who were seriously injured
through no fault of their own but did not have U.M. coverage and
where the negligent party did not have bodily injury liability
coverage. Trying to go after an individual driver in Florida is an
exercise in futility since it will be virtually impossible to
collect even if you go to trial and get judgment against that
person. If you do make an uninsured motorist claim with your
company, this should not affect your premium since you were not at
fault.
Your uninsured motorist coverage follows you wherever you go, and
whatever circumstance may result in injury to you involving a motor
vehicle. For example, you can make an uninsured motorist claim if
you are driving a rental car, driving someone else’s car, a
passenger in someone else’s car, a pedestrian, a bicyclist, or
driving your own vehicle in another state. This coverage provides
you the maximum protection to insure that you will be compensated
fully for your injuries if someone else is at fault.
I offer all clients a free consultation to discuss any personal
injury claim. I am also pleased to review your car insurance policy
with you to explain coverage that you have and make any
recommendations for change. I am not an insurance agent; however, I
encourage all of my clients to have the best possible car insurance
coverage to protect them. I agree with that famous philosopher, Yogi
Berra: “That’s the insurance when you don’t have it, that’s when you
need it.”
Please feel free to call me for a free personal or phone
consultation regarding any issues pertaining to personal injury
claims or car insurance coverage. I am also available for free
consultation regarding Wills, Trusts, Estates and Probate. Call me
at 954-569-4878. My address is 3275 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Suite 204,
Deerfield Beach, Florida
My website is
www.martinzevinpa.com and my e-mail address is
martinzevin@netzero.com.