June 25, 2010
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
A new survey has rated car insurance affordability in different states, and Pennsylvania ranked 22nd. This isn't the worst ranking, but it's certainly not the best, and because car insurance is required in our state, people often try to save money by purchasing the minimum coverage allowed by law. My firm strongly recommends against doing this. Though you may save a few dollars a month on premiums, it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run if you're involved in an accident. If you want to save money on car insurance, please read over the list below before reducing your coverage. Your carrier may provide discounts if: - Your vehicle has passive seat belts
- Your vehicle has a passive anti-theft device
- Your vehicle has an anti-lock braking system
- You have an excellent or superior insurance score/credit rating
- You're a teenager who passes an approved driver's education course
- You're 55 years or older and take a driver improvement course
- You have low-mileage vehicles used for limited miles during the year
- You maintain higher deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverage
- You have automobile and homeowner's insurance through the same carrier
- You're a low-mileage driver
- You're a student with good grades
Always comparison shop for insurance because coverage between companies can vary by hundreds of dollars. You should also review your policy at least once a year or whenever your family undergoes a significant change in driving habits to see if there are any opportunities for savings. You can download my firm's Auto Insurance Guide to get more money-saving tips and to learn which coverage options we recommend.
April 20, 2009
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
Here's an interesting post from Autopia on a new monitoring system that may make it difficult for people to drive without car insurance. The database would give 35,000 law enforcement agencies the ability to instantly identify uninsured drivers. I know it's something I've mentioned before, but I really think it's worth talking about again – please think twice before you cut or eliminate your car insurance. If you're involved in a car accident, the few dollars you might have saved by not having things like underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage will be worthless. You could end up losing hundreds and thousands of dollars if you're in an accident and don't have adequate coverage. Furthermore, not having insurance at all is illegal in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and this new system might make those laws much harder to evade.
February 17, 2009
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
If you've ever been in a car accident, you know that it's overwhelming. People can get seriously injured, cars can get damaged, and there can be numerous legal and medical issues to deal with. In a previous post, I talked a bit about a growing trend that may make an accident even more complicated – people driving without insurance. A new study has made it clear just how fast this trend is growing. The Insurance Research Council estimates that by next year nearly one in six drivers may be uninsured, meaning there will be 3 million more uninsured motorists than there were five years ago. In some states, like Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, the numbers are even scarier – nearly one-fourth of the drivers had no insurance in 2007. This rise seems to be connected to unemployment – for every one percent increase in the unemployment rate, the uninsured motorist rate increases by three-fourths of a percentage point. Driving without insurance has serious consequences – it's illegal in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and violators can face fines, devastating financial loss, revoked licenses, and sometimes jail time. On the other hand, if you're hit by someone without insurance, you might not be able to recover any damages. You can check out one of my previous posts for more information on ways to protect yourself from uninsured drivers, including uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Please realize that the money you think you're saving by reducing or eliminating your car insurance isn't worth the risk. A premium is nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars you can lose if you're involved in an accident and have inadequate coverage. I encourage you to review the information I've posted on cutting your insurance costs without cutting coverage.
January 07, 2009
Posted by: Attorney Edgar Snyder
As the New Year begins, I think it's a good time to remind people of a resolution everyone should make: to renew and review their car insurance. The Insurance Research Council has found that hundreds of thousands of drivers have dropped their insurance in the past year, mostly due to rising unemployment. I know that this may seem like a reasonable way to save money, but I have seen first-hand the problems that arise when a driver doesn't have coverage or doesn't have adequate coverage. If you are driving without car insurance and you cause an accident, you can be sued for any of your assets. In addition, not having insurance coverage is illegal in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Finally, if you let your insurance lapse and try to restart your coverage, you will probably incur an initial 25 to 50 percent surcharge from the insurance company. On the flipside, if you are hit by someone who doesn't have coverage, you may have to sue them for damages, and they might not have many assets. If you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, however, you will be protected in this situation. These coverage options compensate policy holders and their families for injuries that occur in hit-and-run accidents and by drivers without insurance. In about 20 states this coverage is mandatory, and in the rest, like Pennsylvania, it is optional. Another car insurance option you should examine is Full Tort coverage. My law firm's website offers a detailed explanation of the difference between Limited and Full Tort coverage, but essentially, if you choose Limited Tort, you give up your right to sue for pain and suffering if you are injured in a car accident. And in many cases, adding Full Tort coverage will only increase your premium by a few dollars a month. I can't stress enough how important car insurance is. While you may think you're saving money by reducing or eliminating your premium, having good coverage can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you are involved in an accident. You can check out this blog post on ways to save money on your car insurance without affecting the quality of your coverage.
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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