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Why This Lawyer Says You Should Buy Car Insurance From An Independent Broker
By: Philip L. Franckel, Esq.
I don't sell car insurance, but as a lawyer practicing in the field of personal
injury I frequently see people suffer because they have the wrong insurance
coverage. Often, this happens because they purchased directly from an insurance
company instead of an independent broker.
Many of my clients who have been seriously hurt in a car accident were struck by
someone who had no insurance or only the minimum liability insurance coverage,
which is $25,000 in New York and much less in many other states. Unfortunately,
many of my clients were sold insurance policies with liability limits of
$100,000 or $300,000, but were not sold matching uninsured and underinsured
coverage.
Just this week, yet another new client had this problem. My client was a
pedestrian crossing the street when she was struck by a car which fled the
scene. The driver was caught shortly after leaving the accident, but the owner
of the car only has the New York State minimum liability insurance of $25,000
and my client has serious injuries consisting of many broken bones including a
fractured arm, leg and skull.
My client owns a car with liability insurance limits of $300,000, but she
purchased the insurance from GEICO whose salesperson didn't sell her
underinsured coverage. GEICO does not use independent insurance brokers, but
sells insurance directly to consumers through in-house sales agents.
For a small fee, my client could have purchased underinsured coverage of
$300,000 which would have allowed her to recover $300,000 for her injuries
instead of $25,000. Ironically, she did not need the $300,000 liability coverage
to protect her assets. However, since you cannot buy underinsured coverage
higher than your liability coverage, I would have advised her to purchase
$300,000 liability coverage for the sole purpose of being able to purchase
$300,000 underinsured coverage.
I have had many clients in this situation who lost their jobs because of serious
injuries and incurred substantial debt. If they had matching underinsured
coverage, the additional money available to pay their claim would would be a big
help to pay their bills and get their life back together.
Underinsured motorist coverage will pay you money from your own automobile
insurance policy if you have been hurt in a car accident by someone who was
negligent for causing your injury and who had less liability insurance coverage
than you did. Uninsured motorist coverage will pay you when the other car did
not have any insurance coverage or the identity of the other car is unknown.
Underinsured and uninsured coverage is inexpensive and usually available in
limits that match your liability insurance coverage. It is not available in
amounts greater than your liability insurance coverage.
Underinsured and uninsured coverage is so important that a couple of states now
require coverage limits matching your liability insurance limits, unless you
decline the coverage in writing. Several years ago, I suggested to several New
York State senators that they enact a similar law in New York.
I have also seen many clients who were not sold the maximum medical payments
insurance, which costs me only $2.01 per month on my car insurance policy. This
is particularly important for people who do not have a good health insurance
policy. It is also beneficial for passengers who do not have health insurance.
Why should you buy car insurance through an independent insurance broker? The
courts have defined the reason. There have been several "malpractice" lawsuits
against insurance companies for failure to offer underinsured and uninsured
motorists coverage limits matching the liability limits. However, when the
insurance company sells directly to consumers, these cases have gone in favor of
the insurance companies. The courts found that when a consumer buys insurance
directly from an insurance company, rather than an insurance broker, the
consumer is only buying insurance and is not paying for advice.
When you buy auto insurance from an independent insurance broker who represents
several different insurance companies, you get the advantage of an insurance
professional who can evaluate your needs and advise you accordingly.
Additionally, only an independent insurance broker can provide you with a choice
of insurance companies and premiums, so you get the best coverage at the lowest
price.
Whether you buy your car insurance directly from an insurance company or through
an independent insurance broker, always make sure that you purchase matching
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and the maximum medical payment
benefits.
About the Author:
Philip L. Franckel, Esq., is the founder of http://www.HURT911.org an accident
and injury research web site for people hurt in an accident and personal injury
lawyers. Mr. Franckel also publishes articles on Lawyer Advertising at http://www.Lawyer-Advertising-Blog.com
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