When you bought your car insurance, you probably searched the internet or called several insurance agents and chose to buy the insurance that was offered at the lowest price. This is what most people do. Money is tight, so we look for a good deal. But, low cost insurance may not be a good deal if you don’t have enough coverage in the event of a West Palm Beach auto accident. How much insurance is enough insurance?
First, why do you need insurance?
If you are like most people, you bought car insurance because it is required by Florida law. The main reason for insurance is to protect you from having to pay damages out of your own pocket if you cause an accident.
Florida law requires that the driver responsible for a Florida car crash pay the damages associated with that accident.
Can you imagine having to pay your own medical bills and repairs to your car out of your own pocket? It would certainly make a dent in your budget. What if you also had to pay another person’s medical bills and property damage and had to compensate them for time missed from work and other possible expenses? You may end up having to re-mortgage your house or worse. Purchasing insurance protects you from the financial obligations of an accident. When you have insurance, the insurance company assumes responsibility for paying damages up to the limits of your coverage. If damages exceed the limits of your coverage, the injured person can hire a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney to sue you in civil court for any damages you cause above your insurance limits. Those damages may come out of your personal assets.
If you are injured in a car accident and another driver is at fault, that driver is responsible for paying your medical bills, car repair expenses, and reimbursing you for time lost from work. Usually, the driver’s car insurance company pays these expenses up to the limits of their coverage. But, what if they don’t have insurance?
You can hire an auto accident attorney in West Palm Beach to sue that driver for damages. But if the driver has no money or no assets, you will not be paid.
Auto accident attorney Craig Goldenfarb suggests that you review your insurance policy and check that you are covered regardless of who causes the accident.