Do you Have Sufficient Insurance Coverage if You have an Automobile Accident

We would never depend on some stranger to protect us and our families, would we?  Well, that is exactly what you are doing if you do not have enough automobile insurance coverage.  If you look at your policy, and specifically, what is called a Declaration Page, it will tell you the amount of your coverage for uninsured and under insured claim.  This type of coverage is the most important coverage that you have on your policy.  This coverage will cover you if the person who hits you and causes your personal injury has either no insurance coverage or has insufficient coverage to pay for your damages.  I have never met a client who says that their auto insurance agent explained what these types of coverages are and their significances to his or her financial health and well-being.
Virginia requires only a minimum auto coverage of $25,000.00.  Virginia has not changed this amount since the early 1970′s!!  This really, in and of itself,  is outrageous, and Virginia miserably fails to adequately address the needs of its citizens.  But that is the system that we have, until we change it.  So you have thousand’s of drivers driving with only minimum coverage and you, through your own pocket and/or through your own auto insurance insurance coverage, must pick up the balance of the debts and damages created by a moderate to severe auto wreck.  Again, this is outrageous, and we all should get up in arms about this but insurance company lobbyists are powerful — the insurance companies have their way in keeping the minimum limits very low so that they can sell policies at a premium but can keep their company’s exposure to a minimum.  Again, we, as VA. citizens, are not considered in this determination.
Additionally, I will report to you that we have so many drivers who have no insurance at all, and its on the increase.  Driving without auto insurance is illegal, but our society does not punish these folks enough.  They may get a ticket, may pay a fine,  and then off they go, driving again.  And many times, they don’t even have a driver’s license.
So what do you do?  You have to protect yourself.  Go to your insurance agent and request that your coverage be increased.  It is surprising how little extra money that it costs to have medium to excellent coverage.  These days, if you can afford it of course, I would have no less than $500,000.00 coverage — not only for the bodily injury side of things but also for the uninsured and under insured coverages.  And that’s at minimum.  But buy as much as your family can afford as this potentially will save you and your family from great heartache that I see daily because an individual seriously hurt in an auto wreck does not have enough insurance available.
If you have any questions at all, please call Bettina at (540)345-2000 or you can email me at baltizer@altizerlaw.com.  At Altizer & Altizer, we want you to be safe, and well-insured in case something does happen to you and/or your family member.