What does Insurance Coverage REALLY cover?

If you learn now how to protect yourself and your family from the negligence of others, in the event there is an accident, you will reduce your risk of being a worst case statistic. You see, a seasoned veteran attorney, always reminded me and his clients that their case was "worth anywhere between zero and a million dollars. . . but, probably a lot closer to zero". Why is that?

• The coverage involved,
  
• the seriousness of the injury,
  
• the liability scenario (how much fault do you have in the accident),
  
• the witnesses to the incident and what they say,
  
• the County or Court the case would be brought,
  
• and last but not least, what the seasoned veteran liked to call "the shock factor" of the injury - then he would throw his hands up, do this little breakdown jump (kind of like playing defense in basketball), and yell this horrific frightening shriek.
  
• Then, of course, the lawyer representing you and the doctors who provide you medical care will also factor into the value of your case.
  

When a new client comes to the office and we sit and discuss the insurance coverage in their case and what insurances apply in certain situations, I invariably hear my client say, but "What The Heck Does My Car Insurance Have To Do With That Accident?".

In New York if you, or a member of your household, are involved in an accident while on a bus, the insurance for your car or your household member’s car is responsible to pay for the No Fault (medical bills and lost wages) and possibly for additional benefits, depending on the coverage situation and liability scenario.

• Bus, does that include my Kids on a school bus? Yes.
  
• Charter bus? You bet.
  
• Public transportation bus? Certainly.
  
• Minibus? Magic 8 Ball says yes!

Then there are a dozen or more other scenarios such as:

• hit and runs,
  
• the uninsured (there are plenty of those),
  
• the underinsured,
  
• the out of state license plates I see more and more of these days.
  

Your coverage at home may be required to be involved to cover you or a household member in any and all of these situations for one thing or another.

Going to the Jersey Shore this summer or Atlantic City for the weekend in a friend’s car, and you have an accident in New Jersey? Your insurance at home again very well could be the primary insurance for No Fault benefits and may also apply if your injuries demand additional compensation.

"But my car was not involved in any of these scenarios, it was parked safely in my garage with a cover", you say. Well the law in New York may be superseded by a State in which you are traveling through, depending on the insurance carrier, your car insurance at home may apply in an accident case.

Why am I bothering to tell you this and why I am trying to educate you? (Yes, of course I want you to call me and retain us to represent you after an accident.) But, more importantly, I have made it a personal mission to tell you what insurance coverage protects you and your family, learning about the worst cases and the lost cases that other attorney’s don’t or won’t talk about, and learning what to do after an accident that will help you make the right choices and be in a better position from the beginning to not be a worst case.

Let’s be clear, this does not mean you will have a recovery in your accident. You can have all the coverage in the world and the accident may not be your fault, and you may get the big zero, the eggster, nada, zip, for pain and suffering because you do not qualify as a serious injury under the law - a/k/a threshold. Which brings up another client quote "Why won’t the insurance pay, I was rear ended? Liability has nothing to do with threshold. They are two separate issues. One, for purposes of this discussion, has nothing to do with the other.

But isn’t the additional insurance you are teaching me about going to cost a lot more money? Well, there are two answers. No and Yes. I am not asking anyone here to put themselves in a financial hardship situation or take out a second mortgage. However, I see, all too often, people not maximizing the coverage they already have in place. The costs in these situations are so nominal that it is ridiculous, annoying, and frustrating, they don’t have it.

1) For example, assuming you carry more than the minimum coverage allowed in New York, it is an option to increase your Uninsured Motorist / Supplemental Underinsured Motorist (UM/SUM) protection to equal the bodily injury liability limits you offer in your policy. This option costs next to nothing when compared with the premium you are already paying and could quadruple your and your families coverage for less than the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

2) Drive with your spouse much? In New York a fairly new optional coverage , Supplemental Spousal Liability coverage, allows a claim to proceed against your spouse for their negligence in an accident, which previously was not allowed. The cost is nominal, virtually next to nothing when compared with your existing premium. In fact, I had insere to tell you will have the peace of mind to know what I have taught you, if applied, will place you and your family in a position to avoid the arch-enemies of the dreamteam, i.e. minimal insurance coverage, runners, fraud etc. . . If you know what happens after an accident you will be better prepared if you have an accident. I am here to help the public navigate the process following an injury. Whether your case settles out of court (before filing a lawsuit) before a trial (after filing a lawsuit) or your case goes to trial and verdict without settling during the trial process (that happens too) you need to appreciate and respect the process for what it can and can not do.