After years of making insurance payments and watching insurance commercials, people often expect insurance to help them after car crashes. What people often forget in the moments immediately after a crash occurs is that the insurance they carry protects them from liability in most cases.
Some people have comprehensive coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. Many others rely primarily on the policy of the driver who caused the crash. In some situations, people learn early after a wreck that insurance can’t cover their expenses. They may need to look at different alternative sources of compensation, such as a personal injury lawsuit.
When do people need to consider alternative options for covering crash costs?
1. When someone sustains catastrophic injuries
Most traumatic injuries are treatable. Adults eventually regain lost function after a simple fracture in most cases, for example.
While some car crash injuries are mild to moderate, others are catastrophic. They cause permanent symptoms and functional limitations. Insurance may not be enough to pay for care costs and lost wages in such cases.
The state requires property damage and bodily injury liability. Drivers generally need at least $25,000 of each type of coverage. Bodily injury coverage has two minimums that apply.
There’s $25,000 of coverage required if a crash leads to one person sustaining injuries and $50,000 required in crashes involving two or more injured parties. Catastrophic injuries often cost far more than the limited amount of coverage required by law.
2. When someone dies
If car crashes cause fatal injuries, then the chances are good that the expenses generated could go beyond the available coverage. Even more robust policies may fall short of covering decades of lost earning potential and emergency trauma care costs. In situations where car crashes cause premature mortality, the total financial impact of that tragedy often greatly exceeds insurance coverage.
3. When a driver is uninsured
The law clearly requires that drivers maintain liability coverage, but not everyone follows the law. Missed payments and intentionally canceled policies can create scenarios in which there is no liability coverage available to pay for collision expenses. Uninsured drivers may face legal consequences after they get caught. They may also face financial liability if their actions cause injury to others.
People trying to recoup the expenses generated by a motor vehicle collision may need help quantifying the long-term financial consequences of the wreck. They may also need support as they look into options for covering their expenses. Seeking support soon after a crash may help people protect themselves and their loved ones.