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Do You Have Enough Insurance?

Roberts Wilson, P.A. | June 4, 2011

Unfortunately, most of us don’t really find out the answer to this important question until it is too late.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had clients come into my office with very serious injuries, huge medical bills and little to no insurance to cover the situation.  What’s worse, many hospitals in Mississippi refuse to honor Health Insurance in auto crash cases and insist on billing the motor vehicle insurance carrier or the injured client.  This sometimes leaves nothing to compensate lost wages or other harms and losses sustained due to an injury.

Below is a hypothetical, but very typical, situation where an injured party is underinsured:

Hypothetical #1

Injured Client has a State Minimum Auto Insurance Policy with no Uninsured Motorist Coverage.

Defendant Driver, who caused the wreck, also has a State Minimum Auto Liability Insurance Policy.

Injured Client has $40,000.00 in Medical Bills and no health insurance.

In this case, the Client is terribly underinsured because he has no Uninsured Motorist Coverage and the amount of insurance the careless driver has is not enough to even cover the medical bills much less our client’s other harms and losses.

Solution #1

If our client in Hypothetical #1 had elected to upgrade his State Minimum Liabilty Policy to the next level and secured Uninsured Motorist Coverage, he would have at least $10,000.00 available after all medical bills had been paid.  This would help this Client be compensated for other harms and losses like lost wages.  (Often times, a lawyer is able to negotiate reductions in your medical bills after a motor vehicle crash to maximize a client’s recovery.   Our office works hard to reduce medical bills for all clients whenever possible.)

I understand that it is not always easy to get better insurance because of strains on our pocket books but you might be surprised how little it costs to add some very vital Uninsured Motorist Coverage to your policy.  Always get at least $50,000 in Uninsured Motorist Coverage to avoid a situation like the one outlined in Hypothetical #1. You have to have more Uninsured Motorist Coverage than the “At Fault Driver” in order for your Uninsured Motorist Insurance to kick in.

DISCLAIMER

This blog post is not legal advice. If you have questions about your  insurance policy,  feel free to contact Roberts Wilson, P.A. at (662) 533-9111 and someone will be happy to visit with you further about your own unique situation.  Everyone’s circumstances, facts and situations are different. You can also contact your local insurance agent and ask whether or not you are appropriately insured.