In California, drivers are required to have automobile
insurance. If a driver causes an
accident, he or she should have insurance to cover your bodily injuries. However, the policy limit requirements are
very low: $15,000.00 to cover you and
$30,000.00 total if you have other people in the vehicle. And that is only if the other driver even
bothers to follow the law and carry insurance.
Many drivers do not.
What can you do to protect yourself? Automobile insurance companies are required
to offer uninsured motorist coverage. If
a driver without insurance hits you, you can make a claim to your own insurance
company for your damages. Or if the other driver has a low policy like the $15,000.00 policy, if you collect that
amount, your own policy becomes “underinsured motorist coverage” and it
allows you to claim against the uninsured coverage under certain
circumstances.
Uninsured motorist coverage usually starts at $50,000.00 to
cover your own injuries and $100,000.00 total to cover other people in your
car. This
may not be enough to cover your injuries and damages. Therefore, I strongly recommend you look into
raising your uninsured motorist coverage limits, at least to the limits you are willing to pay to cover other people, if not more. You are paying to cover injuries to other
people if you cause an accident. What
about you and your family? Make sure the
amount of a potential recovery you can get for your injuries is not just based
on whether other drivers care to buy proper insurance.
If you have any questions about the above information, please contact me.
