Having your vehicle insured, whether a vehicle, car or truck, is legally required to operate your vehicle on public streets. Another reason to have insurance is your insurance company has a duty to defend you. They must provide you with an attorney to defend any cases brought against you under the policy.
Another good aspect of insurance is "medical-pay." States are very different when it comes to payment for medical bills incurred for injuries. Some states will pay for unlimited medical as long as it is reasonable and related to a motor vehicle accident. Other states make the insured purchase certain increments of medical-pay insurance. You must check with your agent as to how medical pay is handled in your state.
When there is a loss, as an insured you have certain duties to the insurance company. For example, you must notify them promptly, you may be required to cooperate with the company in its investigation and adjustment of the claim, you must promptly submit many medical bills, they may have a right to examine you under oath (this should be done with your attorney present), and they may have a right to ask you to sign authorizations for medical records.
Many states have adopted a No-Fault law that covers motor vehicle accidents. A No-Fault law is just that, it mandates certain bills and damages to be paid by your own insurance company no matter who is at fault in the accident.
Prior to No-Fault, the courts were clogged with all types of cases where individuals were suing the other driver for damage done to the vehicle, medical bills, wage loss, etc. Many No-Fault states have your own insurance company pay for such things like medical bills not covered by health insurance, damage to the vehicle, and wage loss. These states normally still preserve the right to sue the at fault driver for your pain and suffering.
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This information is not meant to be a complete discussion of all the technical points relating to auto/cycle insurance. It is written in the sincere hope of giving you a better understanding of the law in order to change your insurance, if necessary, and to provide the knowledge to protect you and your family. Contact your local insurance agent to review your coverage and learn how your state's law affects your insurance. |
| Jason Waechter, focuses on handling cases involving vehicle injury accidents. He is affiliated with the best injury attorneys across the country - including your state. Call or e-mail for a free consultation. There is no fee unless compensation is collected. Call: 1-800-708-LIFE |
You should have an attorney review the facts of your vehicle accident case and all insurance policies involved:
Certain facts or the failure to follow-up on certain insurance coverages could cheat you out of thousands of dollars or even $1,000,000;
Call Jason Waechter:
1-800-708-5433
Many vehicle accident and motor vehicle accident victims across the country lose thousands of dollars because they did not understand vehicle insurance policies.
Many individuals BELIEVE THEY HAVE FULL COVERAGE WHEN THEY DO NOT, and others do not realize the major differences in various insurance coverage available to them.
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STATISTICALLY, YOU WILL HAVE AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT EVERY FIVE YEARS. |
Most bikes are not insured adequately. Many individuals believe they have full coverage when they do not! Therefore, I strongly recommend you review your insurance policy now; it's easy and it only takes a call to your insurance agent.
The following provisions are ones you need to check:
UNINSURED MOTORIST PROTECTION
There are hundreds of thousands of vehicles on the road that do not carry any vehicle insurance. Therefore, if you are injured in an accident with an uninsured motorist, or involved in a "hit & run", you collect for your injuries from your "Uninsured Motorist" coverage in your policy. This pays for most damages and comes for your protection in amounts of at least $20,000 for one person in your car and $40,000 in total coverage for all occupants in your vehicle.
Some states require that your bike actually come into contact with another vehicle for you to be able to recover from an Uninsured Policy. The following examples illustrate the ability to collect compensation under different fact scenarios with this contact requirement.
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Example #1 |
A car cuts you off, you swerve to avoid it, hit a pole and the car takes off. Result: no money for your injury, even if you have an Uninsured Policy, because there was no contact. |
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Example #2 |
A car cuts you off just brushing your front tire, you swerve, hit a pole and the car takes off.
Result: you can recover against your own Uninsured Policy assuming you have one. |
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Lesson |
If you are injured in an accident, when you call your insurance company they are trained to document that there was no contact between you and the other vehicle... no contact to the insurance companies means saving them tens of thousands of dollars.
Don't let them record you. Don't give a statement. Call me first. If it is the truth, the insurance company needs to know that the car that took off or caused the accident actually came in contact with your bike. If you do not convey that to the insurance company, you will not be able to recover for your pain & suffering.
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If you do not have this coverage, then you and your family could lose up thousands of dollars which might be desperately needed. YOU SHOULD CARRY AT LEAST $100,000 TO $250,000 IN THE UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE. The more the better and it's cheap.
Unfortunately, most wrongdoers who have insurance carry only a $20,000 policy limit. This means that if you or a member of your family are seriously injured and the value of the claim would actually be $50,000 or $100,000, the wrongdoer insurance company would only have to pay you the $20,000 policy limit carried by the wrongdoer.
Some insurance companies are now beginning to offer the Underinsurance Motorist Coverage. Some insurance companies do not offer this coverage. Ask, and if yours does not, switch to a company that has it. This policy means that your own insurance company will pay you the true value of your injuries, if there is not enough insurance carried by the wrongdoer. THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD CARRY AT LEAST $100,000 to $250,000 IN THE UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE.
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This information is not meant to be a complete discussion of all the technical points relating to auto/cycle insurance. It is written in the sincere hope of giving you a better understanding of the law in order to change your insurance, if necessary, and to provide the knowledge to protect you and your family. Contact your local insurance agent to review your coverage and learn how your state's law affects your insurance. |
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