INDUSTRY INSIGHT
AUTO INSURANCE
SPONSORED CONTENT
MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES:
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
M
aking the Right
Choices: Automobile
Insurance Consumers
in Pennsylvania have
a wide range of choices when
it comes to purchasing auto
insurance. If you do not make the
right choices in selecting your
coverage, you may substantially
limit your right to collect damages
if you sustain injuries in a car
crash. At ConboyLaw, we review
our clients’ insurance policies
each time the client comes to us
following a motor vehicle collision.
Unfortunately, we frequently find
that our clients’ rights have been
restricted or eliminated because
they have been provided with poor
advice when choosing coverage.
Too often, consumers make their
choice based solely on price, with
little or no understanding of the
consequences of their choices.
ConboyLaw has prepared a Guide
to assist you in making choices when selecting
your auto insurance coverages. In this article,
we hope to assist you in making the right
choice when buying auto insurance.
1. Always Select Full Tort Coverage.
Probably the most important choice a
consumer must make when purchasing
auto insurance, is choosing between Full
Tort Coverage or Limited Tort Coverage. As a
consumer, while you have the right to request
Limited Tort Coverage, it will only give you
a slight reduction in your insurance cost.
However, selecting Limited Tort Coverage can
significantly limit your right to bring a claim for
personal injuries in a motor vehicle collision.
Under Limited Tort Coverage, you can only
bring a claim for pain and suffering damages if
you sustain what is defined as a serious bodily
injury. For example, someone who sustains
a fracture, but recovers well within several
months, could be found to have not sustained
a serious bodily injury. An injured person who
has Limited Tort Coverage can only make a
request for economic damages. Economic
damages consist of unpaid wage loss and any
unpaid or out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Individuals who select Full Tort Coverage, have
no restriction on their ability to bring a claim for
damages when they sustain personal injuries
in a motor vehicle collision. ALWAYS CHOOSE
FULL TORT COVERAGE ON YOUR AUTOMOBILE
INSURANCE.
insurance coverage if the other driver’s
insurance is inadequate to cover
all of your damages. For example, if
the other driver only has $15,000 of
liability coverage and your damages
have been determined to be $50,000,
with adequate Underinsurance
Coverage, you could make a claim
for the additional $35,000 against
your own auto insurance. You have
the option to purchase uninsured and
underinsured motorist coverage up to
the amount of liability coverage you
have on your policy. WE RECOMMEND
THAT YOU SELECT UNINSURED AND
UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGES
ON YOUR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
POLICY UP TO THE AMOUNT OF YOUR
LIABILITY COVERAGE.
2. Always Select Underinsured/Uninsured
Motorist Coverage
Pennsylvania has some of the lowest
mandatory liability coverage for bodily injury
in the country. In Pennsylvania, drivers are
only required to have a minimum of $15,000
of bodily injury liability coverage for injury
to one person. The minimum coverage
required if two or more persons are injured
in an automobile accident is only $30,000. In
addition to low cov erages, it is estimated that
as many as 13% of drivers have no insurance
whatsoever and are uninsured. Therefore,
taking into account the number of drivers that
carry the Pennsylvania minimum insurance
requirements, along with the percentage of
drivers that are uninsured, there is a 1-in-4
chance that any driver that causes a collision
is either underinsured or uninsured. To
protect yourself against the other driver being
uninsured or underinsured, you have the
option under your auto insurance policy to
select coverage for Uninsured Motorist Benefit
Coverage and Underinsured Motorist Benefit
Coverage. Uninsured Motorist Coverage
allows you to make a claim against your own
insurance company, like you are making a
claim against an uninsured driver. Making
this type of claim causes no increase in your
insurance premiums. Likewise, Underinsured
Motorist Coverage provides you with additional
3. Always Stack Coverage
If you insure multiple vehicles under
the same insurance policy, you have
a right to request Stacked Coverage.
Stacked coverage allows you to take
the coverage you have for Uninsured
or Underinsured benefits and multiply that by
the number of cars on the policy. For example,
if you have $100,000 of Uninsured and
Underinsured coverage with three vehicles on
your policy, stacking will give you $300,000
of coverage in the event the other driver
is Uninsured or Underinsured. The cost for
stacking typically causes only a slight increase
in your insurance premium. WE RECOMMEND
YOU SELECT STACKING ON YOUR COVERAGE.
For more detailed information regarding
the various insurance coverages available in
Pennsylvania, email us at [email protected]
to request a copy of our Guide to Buying
Automobile Insurance in Pennsylvania.
Alternatively, call us at 412.343.9060, ext. 5,
and request a copy of our guide to be mailed
to you.
If you have sustained an injury in a motor
vehicle collision, at work or any other type
of personal injury, contact our law firm at
412.343.9060 to schedule a free consultation
regarding your rights. ConboyLaw, LLC,
733 Washington Road, Suite 201,
Pittsburgh, PA 15228.
LET US BE YOUR VOICE TO OBTAIN ALL
OF THE BENEFITS YOU ARE ENTITLED
TO RECEIVE.
UPPER ST. CLAIR
❘
SUMMER 2018
31