Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Uninsured motorist

UM Coverage, …. “Stack” it up and save!

Jeffrey Meldon — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:26:33 GMT

Florida has some of the worst laws in the country when it comes to protecting the innocent person injured in a crash. As an accident attorney, it is heartbreaking for me to see legitimately injured people, who thought they had “full coverage” insurance, find out that what they had purchased does not come close to meeting the needs of their injuries.

Florida’s required insurance is minimal and offers only very little protection if you are injured in an accident, even if the accident was not your fault! Florida Law requires drivers to carry these two insurances:

1. $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) which covers 80% of your medical expenses and 60% of lost wages, up to $10,000 total, if you are injured in a car accident, no matter who was “at-fault” for the accident (Florida is a “no-fault” state).

2. $10,000 of Property Damage to cover the other person’s vehicle if you cause the accident.

Here is an example of why this amount of insurance will not protect you, and if you only have this amount of insurance why you are “Under-Insured”:

Let’s say you are sitting at a stop light and a distracted texting driver rear-ends you and both you and the at-fault driver only have the required minimum Florida insurance. You are seriously injured in the wreck and are taken to the ER, chances are that just your hospital bill alone will use up most or all of your PIP limit of $10,000 (and could easily exceed it) and the money for further medical treatments, prescriptions or any needed rehab will come out of your pocket, in addition, you will be out of luck for your lost wages. If your car’s damages are more than $10,000, that money as well will come out of your pocket unless you have collision and comprehensive insurance.

The solution: In addition to my other insurance recommendations, Florida drivers should always purchase Un-insured or Under-insured Motorist Coverage (UM or UIM) to protect themselves and their passengers from drivers who have no coverage or just the minimal required insurance or are under-insured in other ways. With the purchase of UM or UIM coverage, claims that exceed the insurance coverage of the at-fault person will be covered by your UM insurance policy. Here is an example:

Let’s say your accident claim, in the example given above, adds up to $100,000: Your PIP will cover $10,000, which leaves you with a balance of $90,000 to pay. If you had purchased UM coverage in the amount of $100,000, you will be able to collect the balance due from your own insurance company.

In addition: An important option available with UM/UIM coverage is the ability to "stack" coverage. If you insure more than one car, “stacking” will give you a lot more insurance coverage at a low cost. Here is how “stacking” works:

Assume that you have UM/UIM coverage in the amount of 50/100, meaning that it covers up to $50,000 per person and $100,000 total per accident. If you insure three cars, with stacked coverage your limits would increase three times to $150,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence, and the cost is less than it would be if you had $100,000/$300,000 on each car separately.

So… “stack” it up and save!

UM/UIM coverage has become even more important to have in light of recent studies that show that nearly one in four drivers on the road today is driving illegally, without any insurance at all, and also many drivers are dropping coverage that is not required and just going with the basic required Fl insurance and are underinsured. In fact, we estimate that at least 70% of drivers on the road today are either un-insured or under-insured.

With this in mind, it is important to revaluate your auto insurance policy today. I suggest a minimum UM coverage in the amount of $100,000/$300,000 and to “stack” it up to save money if you have more than one car.

(Finally, remember that Bodily Injury Insurance protects the other person if you were at fault for an accident and does not offer you or your passengers any protection at all!)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Motorcycle riders need to protect themselves NOW more than EVER!

Jeffrey Meldon — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:40:00 GMT

There has been a recent news buzz regarding the Insurance Research Counsel’s (IRC) release of findings last month of a nationwide study that showed that 23%, (nearly one in four!), of motor vehicle drivers on the road today in Florida are driving illegally without the required insurance; a number that is projected to increase due declining economic conditions. Florida actually ranks number 5 in the country for having the highest percentage of non-insured drivers.

As an accident attorney that has handled many serious motorcycle accident cases over the last 37 years in Florida, including Daytona Beach, I see another dangerous consequence of the increase in uninsured drivers and the economic situation. In 2002, Florida repealed its Universal Helmet Law for motorcycles. Since its repeal, the only protection legally required to ride a motorcycle in Florida is a helmet with a face shield if a person is under 21 years of age, or $10,000 of medical payment insurance, to cover the cost of their injuries, and some type of eye protection if they are over 21 and choose to “ride free”, or without a helmet. In short, if you ride a motorcycle without a helmet and are over 21 years of age, all you need is a pair of glasses and $10,000 of medical payment coverage. I have not seen any official studies that have shown the percentage of motorcycle riders that ride free with the required insurance. I do know from my experience that if a rider is seriously injured in an accident, (with or without a helmet), even if they had the $10,000 required insurance, this money was used up just in the emergency room.

A "lucky" motorcycle accident victim is one that is fortunate enough to be hit by a fully insured vehicle driver. An average hospital bill for a motorcycle crash victim can be $25,000 to $50,000, and goes up with the seriousness of the injuries. For a rider not wearing a helmet that survives a serious accident with severe head trauma, the bill could be in the millions!

What the IRC’s study does not give statistics for is the numbers of drivers on the road in Florida that only carry the minimum required insurance ($10,000 of property damage, and $10,000 of PIP). In my experience this percentage is around 30% of drivers in Florida. So, 30% of vehicle drivers will be able to pay for some of the motorcyclist’s cycle repairs, but nothing to repair the victim’s body or head. On top of this there is another 20% of drivers that are underinsured and carry only $10,000 worth of Bodily Injury Liability insurance.

If a motorcyclist riding with or without a helmet and without adequate insurance, has the unfortunate experience of being hit by the one in four drivers on the road without any insurance or the other approximately 50% of drivers that are underinsured, who will pay for the medical bills, and any loss of income?

Motorcyclists, now more than ever, it is very important for you to carry full insurance coverage, with Uninsured Motorist coverage being of vital importance. Uninsured Motorist coverage will not only cover your outstanding medical bills but loss of income as well. The odds are not on your side; protect yourself! You will have a much better ride knowing that you are protected in the event of a bonehead move by someone driving a car or truck.

Here is more information that you may find helpful regarding motorcycle accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

If these are "good neighbors" I'm changing neighborhoods!

Tom Copeland — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:25:45 GMT

Every day we emphasize to clients and others we come into contact with the importance of having the proper automobile insurance. Florida's "no fault" system does not require a car owner to carry bodily injury liability coverage to pay for personal injury damages to a person injured by the negligence of the car owner or anyone they may allow to drive their car. As a consequence, it is important for everyone who has financial and family obligations to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to protect yourself in the event you are injured by the negligence of another driver. This type coverage protects you if the driver/owner who caused the accident either does not have insurance or has inadequate insurance (i.e. limits that are too low to fully compensate you for your injuries/damages). You have to pay for your own uninsured motorist coverage. While this does not seem fair, it is nonetheless necessary if you have financial obligations to creditors (as we all do) who do not care why you are unable to pay your bills. So far this sounds simple. Just get the uninsured motorist coverage and you have nothing to worry about, right?. Wrong. Most people who purchase car insurance rely on their insurance agent and never read their policy when it is received. This can be a big mistake as one of our clients recently found out. Our client was a resident of Georgia who decided to move back to Florida to be closer to her aging mother. The plan was for her to move in with her mom for a period of time until she found a job and got a place of her own. Her Georgia car insurer did not sell insurance in Florida. Upon moving in with mom, she started to look for a car nsurance company. Client's mom suggested that she call the local "good neighbor" insurance company that insured mom's car. When the client called, she told the "good neighbor" insurance company agent that she wanted "full coverage" just like she had in Georgia. In the discussion, the subject of uninsured motorist coverage came up. The agent advised the client that because she lived at home with her mom, who had uninsured motorist coverage on her (mom's) vehicles, client did not need to purchase separate uninsured motorist coverage as it would duplicate coverage she already had through her mom's policy. It was represented that when client moved out of mom's house, she would need to purchase her own uninsured motorist coverage. (note: the insurance agent has not denied the client's version of the transaction) Client purchased "good neighbors" insurance policy and paid her premiums by automatic bank withdrawal. If there had never been a car accident, client would have continued to pay, insurance company would have continued to collect, and that would be the end of the story. Natrually, things didn't work out that way. One afternoon a few months after the policy was purchased, the client was driving down the road minding her own business when a vehicle made an illegal left turn in front of her. She had no time to stop and struck the vehicle broadside. The impact caused client's car to roll several times and despite the use of a seatbelt, client was ejected from the car suffering siginificant injuries requiring emergency surgery to repair a severely fractured pelvis/hip and a lacerated arm. The client is still undergoing intensive physical therapy to regain the strength to walk without the assistance of a walker and has had several surgeries on her arm due to on-going problems with infection. Following the accident, client applied for Personal Injury Protection benefits through her own policy and Uninsured Motorist benefits through her mother's policy (the at fault driver of the other car had no insurance and the owner only had minimal bodily injury liability coverage). Uon receipt of the uninsured motorist claim from client, "good neighbor" insurance company quickly denied coverage because while daughter was a "resident relative" in mom's household for uninsured motorist coverage purposes, mom's policy specifically excluded coverage for a household resident who was driving a vehicle not listed on the policy. Since client was driving her own car, this provision of mom's policy excluded the client for uninsured motorist coverage! While the "good neighbor" agent may have overlooked this issue when advising our client about the coverage she needed, they didn't miss the issue for a second when a claim was filed. Now our client is forced to pursue an "errors and omissions" lawsuit against the "good neighbor" insurance agent rather than simply filing a claim and receiving payment of the benefits she was told she would have if she was injured by an uninsured/underinsured motorist. The moral to the story is never rely completely on the "insurance professional" regarding what your policy covers. When you receive the written policy, read through it, at least the coverage and exclusion sections. Then, if there is anything you don't understand, ask the insurance company for clarification in writing. If that doesn't clear up the issue for you or if they refuse to give you a written explanation, it's worth your time and a few dollars to consult an attorney before you find yourself in the same boat as our client and many others who depend on the expertise and the integrity of their "good neighbor" insurance agent/company. As I said, if this is a "good neighbor", I'm changing neighborhoods!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Tom Copeland