Auto accidents are expensive for everyone. For people who are underinsured being involved in car crash can be financially devastating.
Even if you didn’t cause the car accident you could be ruled to partially at blame and face the prospect of paying out 50 or even 100 thousand dollars or more on an insurance settlement.
According to the National Highway Traffic Administration each year, more than 43,000 people in the United States die due to vehicular accidents. About 2.9 million people end up suffering light or severe injuries.
Many people don’t think about their insurance until they need to use it. By then it’s too late.
They thought their car insurance would take care of everything. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
For the under insured it will be the biggest financial mistake they’ve ever made. They selected a lower rate of liability coverage to save money on auto insurance and they’ve left themselves exposed in a big way.
All of us know how expensive hospitals are. Even minor injuries sustained from a car accident can result in a trip to hospital that can cost as much as 10,000 dollars or more.
If multiple passengers and vehicles are involved in the crash, even in a minor way, you could be looking at being liable for 50k.
How much do you think this car accident cost the responsible driver?
Minimum liability car insurance isn’t enough. Take a look at what the state of California requires at a minimum –
Bodily Injury Liability Coverage – $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident minimum
Property Damage Liability Coverage – $5,000 minimum
Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Coverage – $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident minimum
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage Coverage – $3,500 minimum
It’s easy to see how this type of coverage will leave a person vulnerable in the event of a car accident.
The news only gets worse. In addition to medical bills you also have legal bills to pay for. Sometimes even you’ll be liable to pay the legal bills for your own insurance company if you don’t have enough coverage to cover the cost of the lawsuit.
Every accident is different. There isn’t a typical amount of insurance settlement, everyone agrees that the settlement amounts can be shocking – especially if you’re the one who has to pay the settlement.
It pays to know the extent of your insurance coverage.