January 31, 2008
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
So far in this series of blog posts, I’ve offered tips to improve the protection included in your PA car insurance plan. Many of the tips I’ve offered, while costing a bit more upfront, actually end up providing better insurance coverage and potential savings down the line. People say to us here at my law firm, “You’ve showed me how I can save in the long run, but how can I save money on my Pennsylvania car insurance right away?” The good news is that auto insurance companies have many discounts available to drivers for things that they do everyday. To find out if you’re eligible, all you need to do is ask your insurance representative. Safety is a priority on the road, and your insurance company may recognize your efforts to be safe by knocking a few dollars offer your regular PA auto insurance bills. Ask your insurance rep if the company offers discounts for: vehicles with passive seat belts, vehicles with one or more air bags, vehicles with passive anti-theft devices, and drivers with good, safe driving records. Some insurance companies may even give you a discount based upon the type of car you drive. Ask you rep if your provider will offer a discount for: vehicles that are standard models instead of sports or high performance models, vehicles with anti-lock brakes, and vehicles with limited usage such as collector cars and classic cars. Insuring teen drivers can be costly. But your PA auto insurance plan may reward you if your son or daughter has passed an approved driver’s education class or if your child receives good grades in school. Taking a driver improvement course could lower your own insurance costs as well if you’re 55 years or older. There are many more ways to secure discounted rates with your insurance company. Make sure you shop around too – maybe another car insurance provider can offer better discounts and savings. I’ve only included a few of my law firm’s money-saving tips in this blog post. If you’d like to learn more, browse to towards the back of this Pennsylvania auto insurance brochure created for you by my law firm. Previous posts in this series: Introduction Limited Tort vs. Full Tort Underinsured & Uninsured Motorist Coverage Stacking Insurance Limits Medical Expense Benefits
January 29, 2008
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
Choosing to buy the minimum amount of medical expense benefits in Pennsylvania may appear to help save you money up front. But if you’re hurt in an accident, you could easily get stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills. When purchasing medical expense benefits, opting to go above and beyond the minimum PA limit may actually help you save money in the long run. That’s because Pennsylvania is a first-party benefits state, which means your car insurance policy is the first thing to pay for your medical bills if you’re injured in an auto accident. Your personal health insurance doesn’t kick in until you’ve run out of medical expense benefits from your PA auto insurance. Under law, you’re required to have at least $5,000 of medical coverage on your PA car insurance policy. But after hospital stays, treatment, surgery, physical therapy, and rehab, $5,000 can start to feel like $5.00 as more and more bills pile up. That’s why my law firm recommends you have at least $10,000 of medical expense benefits on your Pennsylvania car insurance policy. This is especially true for people who have no other form of medical insurance. If you’re only covered by your car insurance medical benefits, you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for any bills that go over your limit of coverage. While most car insurance goes towards protecting the other driver, medical expense benefits are for you. It may seem like purchasing the lowest legal amount of this medical coverage can save you money, but you’ll be wishing for more medical expense benefits when you’re hurt in an accident and you start to get hospital bills sent straight to your mailbox. Previous posts in this series: Introduction Limited Tort vs. Full Tort Underinsured & Uninsured Motorist Coverage Stacking Insurance Limits
January 25, 2008
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
In my previous post, I explained underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage in Pennsylvania. In this post, I’ll explain how stacking the limits on your underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage can greatly benefit households with more than one car. Just like limited tort and full tort, stacking insurance limits sounds like a confusing term. But what stacking does is actually quite simple – when you “stack” coverage you combine the insurance benefits of each vehicle on your plan. That results in available coverage that equals the total of all your benefits. Still confused? Let me explain exactly how it works. Let’s say that your household has three cars on your PA auto insurance plan. You decide to purchase underinsured motorist coverage worth $100,000 per person for Vehicles 1, 2, and 3. If you choose to stack the limits on this coverage, then any member of your plan is now eligible to receive up to $300,000 of compensation if they become injured by another driver. The cost of stacking is relatively inexpensive compared to the value it provides if you or a loved one is in a serious car accident. Hospital bills and lost wages add up fast. Before you know it, you may owe thousands of dollars just because you were struck by a driver that wasn’t paying attention to the road. Stacking is just another example of coverage that benefits you and not the other driver. Though stacking is not required in Pennsylvania, my law firm recommends that you stack both your underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage to ensure protection for you and the other people on your PA auto insurance plan. Previous posts in this series: Introduction Limited Tort vs. Full Tort Underinsured & Uninsured Motorist Coverage
January 23, 2008
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
There are two important parts of Pennsylvania car insurance that require no minimum coverage under PA law. Underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage ensure that you receive compensation for an accident even if the driver responsible for the crash doesn’t have enough insurance or, even worse, no insurance at all. If you’re hurt in a car accident by a driver that doesn’t own enough auto insurance to pay you for all your injuries and damages, underinsured motorist coverage kicks in and compensates for the rest. If you’re hurt in a car crash and the at-fault driver has no insurance at all, having uninsured motorist coverage means that your provider will step in and pay money for damages and injuries. Even though drivers are required by law to have car insurance, you would be surprised by how many drivers on the road don’t have insurance. At my law firm, we recommend you get at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for both underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. Those numbers may look awfully big right now, but when you’re injured in a car accident bills can build up fast. Remember, most other car insurance you buy is to cover the other driver in the event of an accident – underinsured and uninsured coverage is for YOU. Both underinsured coverage and uninsured coverage apply to drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and hit-and-run victims. Although you may save a few bucks by choosing not to purchase these two options, you’ll be glad you have them when you’re in a serious accident. Previous posts in this series: Introduction Limited Tort vs. Full Tort
January 18, 2008
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
The most common Pennsylvania car insurance question we get at my law firm is about the difference between limited tort and full tort. Selecting the right tort option is just one of the things that can make purchasing PA auto insurance coverage so frustrating. Many insurance company representatives don't even know how to properly explain the difference between these two important choices. Limited tort means that, for the most part, you forfeit your right to compensation when you're hurt in a car accident. Full tort means that you can seek compensation for injuries from a car crash if someone else is at fault for the accident. Unwittingly, by purchasing limited tort coverage you reduce your options for compensation. Due to Pennsylvania law, our hands are often tied – there are many occasions where my law firm can't help someone because they have limited tort instead of full tort. With limited tort car insurance, you end up protecting the other person in an accident – not yourself. There are a few exceptions to limited tort that do reserve your right to compensation, including: if you were injured in a commercial vehicle, if the at-fault driver is convicted of drunk driving, if the at-fault driver's vehicle is registered in another state, and if your injuries are deemed "serious." Proving that your injuries are "serious" can be more difficult than it sounds. That's why my law firm recommends that you purchase full tort auto insurance coverage in Pennsylvania. You may save a few bucks with limited tort, but the value of having full tort protection for you and your family is priceless. Previous posts in this series: Introduction
January 15, 2008
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
Pennsylvania has one of the most confusing and complex auto insurance laws in the country. At our law firm, people ask us all the time, "What's the difference between limited tort and full tort?" Along with the question of tort, people want to know about first party benefits, uninsured motorist coverage, stacking, and much more. And of course, everyone wants to know how they can save money on car insurance without sacrificing the coverage you need. Over the next month, I'll be writing a series of posts to help you understand PA car insurance and answer questions just like the ones above. I hope you'll make it a New Year's Resolution to reevaluate your car insurance to protect you and your family.
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