QUESTION:
Can your auto insurance protect you and your family?

ANSWER:
Yes.

In Pennsylvania, the law requires that you buy minimal insurance coverage in the form of liability coverage and minimal medical coverage in order to register your automobile.  Proof of this insurance must be provided along with your registration fee.

However, the minimum insurance required to register your car is just that.  Minimum insurance.  The minimum required liability insurance is in the amount of $15,000.  The minimum amount of medical insurance is in the amount of $5,000.  Liability insurance protects you should your driving cause injury to another.  The medical insurance is the no-fault part of the insurance policy and would pay for your medical bills of up to $5,000 if you are hurt in an accident and regardless of how the accident happened.

Too often we have seen clients that have this minimal insurance and no protection at all for loss of wages; catastrophic medical expenses from a motor vehicle accident; and protection for you and your family if you are seriously injured by another driver who has minimal or no insurance.

Our experience tells us that there are drivers on the road today who will obtain insurance simply to get their vehicle legally registered, pay two months of insurance premiums and then stop paying.  After that, they have no insurance and if they hit you and injure you or a family member, in most cases, your claim against them would be worthless.

There is a way to protect yourself and your family from being hit by what we call a “deadbeat driver”.  You can do this by purchasing insurance for your own automobile that includes uninsured motorist protection and underinsured motorist protection.  If that same “deadbeat driver” hits you and they have minimal or no insurance, you can make a claim for your injuries against your own insurance company.  Such claim is a contractual based claim because you purchased through your premium, additional coverage to protect you from such an event.

At the Falvello Law Firm, when we speak to our clients, we always recommend that this protection is purchased.  It is a small price to pay in order to protect you and your family should you be injured through no fault of your own by another driver with no or little insurance.