Protect Yourself With Underinsured Motorist Coverage
We fight for the rights of consumers, most often against insurance companies and their legions. Isn’t it ironic that we are suggesting that you protect yourself and your loved ones by buying more insurance?
Ironic or not, unfortunately California has a high number of uninsured automobile drivers. Some estimate it to be 25%! Even if a driver is insured, most people have the minimum coverage, which pays no more than $15,000 to an injured person. That’s often not enough to cover the medical bills and wages lost due to an accident. Sadly, we are often faced with the situation where an injured person is not adequately compensated because the driver at fault had no insurance or the minimum insurance.
You can protect yourself and your loved ones by making sure your automobile policy contains adequate uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The coverage will pay if you suffer injuries worth more than the policy of the driver at fault.
How Underinsured Motorist Coverage and Uninsured Motorist Coverage Work
Your underinsured coverage only pays if you have coverage greater than the at-fault driver. Let us explain by example:
Example 1:
Driver at fault has $15,000 of liability coverage.
Injured, innocent victim has $15,000 of uninsured/underinsured coverage.
Victim collects $15,000 from at-fault driver. He can collect nothing from his own insurer, because he has the same limits as the driver at fault.
Example 2:
Driver at fault has $15,000 of liability coverage.
Injured, innocent victim has $100,000 of uninsured/underinsured coverage.
If injured, innocent victim collects $15,000 from at-fault driver, and he can collect up to $85,000 from his own insurer.
Protect Yourself
Protect yourself and your loved ones! Make sure you have adequate uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and, if you can afford it, make sure the limits will provide real protection to you and your family. The added protection is relatively cheap.
To see what you have now, look for “UM” or “UIM” on your declarations page, and the amount next to it, such as $15,000/$30,000 or $100,000/$300,000. The first dollar amount is the per person limit of your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
If you are not sure how to read it, you can ask your agent or come in and ask us. We would be happy to see you.
Ficus Trees: Roots of Dangerous Sidewalks
Ficus trees’ roots destroy sidewalks dozens of years after the trees are planted. Brown, Brown & Brown has helped many people who were injured because they tripped and fell due to sidewalk damage from ficus roots.
People walking down the street in the evening can’t see sidewalk damage. Sometimes people are forced to choose between walking in the street or walking over a broken sidewalk. Other times, people do not notice sidewalk damage until they have tripped. A city may be liable for a injuries due to a damaged sidewalk.
A person with a claim against a public entity has a limited time to file. If you or anyone else has a claim against a public entity, you should contact a personal injury lawyer right away.
Horror On The Horse Trail
Brown, Brown & Brown recovered $110,000 for a woman trampled by her spooked horse. The defendant was filming a low budget horror movie without a permit on a narrow, isolated horse trail. Our client asked the defendant to stop filming long enough to let her horse pass, because the horse was agitated by monster costumes, screaming, and film equipment. The defendant refused, and continued filming. The horse spooked, tossed our client to the ground, and trampled her, which resulted in serious injuries.
