In California, like most states, you are required to carry liability

insurance on your vehicle if you plan on operating it on public

thoroughfares. At present, the minimum liability coverage permitted by

law is $15,000/$30,000. The $15,000 figure is a per injured party sum

while the $30,000 figure is an aggregate sum meant to provide coverage

to two or more injured persons. Liability insurance is available in

higher amounts such as $30,000/$60,000, $100,000/$300,000 and

$250,000/$500,000. The cost of increasing your limits from

$100,000/$300,000 to $250,000/$500,000, for example, is relatively

slight compared with the added protection it affords you in the event

of a loss. This is especially true given the skyrocketing cost of

health care.

Liability insurance is coverage you are required to obtain to protect

others on the road from any act of by you. It DOES NOT

afford you, as the operator of the vehicle, any coverage whatsoever in

the event you are at fault for the accident in which you are injured.

Only medical payments coverage (often available in limits of $1000 and

$5000) will provide you protection in the event your injuries stem from

your own negligence. What happens however, if you are not at fault for

an accident in which you are injured, perhaps seriously, and the

responsible party is either uninsured or under-insured? The answer is

simple, hope and pray you have enough UM/UIM coverage.

Most never appreciate the significance of UM/UIM coverage, the benefits

it affords them or the import of maintaining high UM/UIM limits until

after becoming involved in an accident. Why is it you would feel

compelled to carry liability coverage with $250,000/$500,000 limits to

protect others, yet feel it appropriate to maintain UM/UIM limits of

only $15,000/$30,000 to protect yourself? While high liability limits

may insure that your personal assets are sufficiently protected in the

event you are at fault in injuring another in an accident, what happens

to your assets when you are seriously injured as a result of an

uninsured or under-insured and either do not have

health insurance, have insufficient health insurance, and no long-term

care coverage? Stated simply, your assets are exposed!

If you are injured as a result of the actions of an uninsured or

under-insured driver, your UM/UIM coverage will cover you. In instances

where the at-fault driver was uninsured, your UM coverage kicks in

immediately. In instances where the at-fault driver was under-insured

(with liability coverage insufficient to compensate you for your

injuries), your UIM coverage kicks in after his payment of policy

limits and only to the extent your UIM limits exceed his liability

limits. For example, if the under-insured at-fault driver maintained a

policy of insurance with $15,000/$30,000 in liability coverage and your

injuries had a value of $100,000, undoubtedly, his carrier would tender

his policy limits to you. If you have UIM coverage with limits of

$100,000/$300,000, the $15,000 you received from the at-fault

under-insured driver is deducted from the $100,000 leaving you $85,000

in UIM coverage; an amount sufficient, with the $15,000 already

received, to fully compensate you for your injuries. If however, you

have UIM coverage with limits of $15,000/$30,000 and already received

$15,000 from the at-fault uninsured driver, YOU HAVE NO UIM coverage

available.

The example in the preceding paragraph illustrates the importance of

maintaining high UM/UIM limits. Often times, we see accident victims

who have only catastrophic health insurance policies (policies with

huge deductibles) or policies with benefit limitations. Rarely do we

see accident victims who had the foresight to secure long-term care

coverage. The absence of healthcare insurance, insurance limitations

and no long-term care coverage could prove financially disastrous to

anyone with insufficient levels of UM/UIM coverage.

At EISENBERG LAW GROUP, we advise all our clients to maintain the

highest level of UM/UIM coverage possible. The cost of UM/UIM coverage

is considerably less than liability insurance but as important, if not

more important, to you. We would encourage you to review your

automobile policies to determine your UM/UIM coverage and increase your

limits if you believe them too low. We would also encourage you to

obtain and/or increase you med-pay coverage as well. Like UM/UIM

coverage, med-pay coverage is considerably less costly than other forms

of coverage available to you. Finally, to the extent you are a

homeowner and/or financially able, we would encourage you to maintain a

liability umbrella (especially if you have young driver's in your

family operating vehicles on your policy), to protect your home and

other assets in the event of an at-fault loss.

EISENBERG LAW GROUP is not an insurance agency, insurance broker or

insurance company and does not offer insurance advice. Please consult

your insurance specialist for advice on all your insurance needs and

any concerns you may have with any policies of insurance you maintain

at this time.