Do I Have Enough Automobile Insurance?
By Philip J. Cohen, Esquire

There is no blanket answer to whether someone has sufficient automobile insurance coverage. The amount and type of coverage that is best suited for you depends on your financial exposure. And, there are different areas of coverage that need to be considered independently. For instance, in the case of insuring against your liability (liability insurance protects you when you are determined as the person responsible for the accident), we recommend our clients, friends and family to have no less than $100,000/$300,000 in "bodily injury" coverage. This means that if you are at fault for causing a motor vehicle accident that results in bodily injury to another, each injured person can collect up to $100,000 from your insurance provider with the cumulative total of coverage being $300,000 per accident. If you have assets-a home, retirement account, stock, bonds, pension, bank accounts, etc.-you are advised to consider higher limits of $300,000, $500,000 and/or possibly $1,000,000. The reason being that if your coverage through insurance does not completely cover the damages, your assets may be used to pay for anything above what your insurance policy provides. While this only comes into play in an auto accident that result in catastrophic injuries to another party, if you have many assets, the cost of protecting them with additional liability coverage is probably well worth it and often not as costly as you may think.

In addition to maintaining sufficient liability coverage, it is advisable to maintain the same amount in Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverages. This is commonly referred to as UM/UIM and provides protection coverage for you and your family members in case of injury when the other party is responsible for the accident. Often people insure heavily to protect their assets in case they are the responsible party thinking that others will do the same. Often, this is not the case! Uninsured motorist insurance (UM) provides coverages for you and your family in cases where the person who is at fault for a motor vehicle accident that causes you or your family member injuries, either does not have insurance or left the scene of the accident and their identity is unknown. Underinsured motorist insurance (UIM) provides coverages for you and your family members for injuries sustained in an accident when the person at fault does not have enough insurance (and/or assets) to provide full compensation for your or your family member's injuries in a motor vehicle accident. In any of these cases, your own insurance will pay for any damages that are not covered by the other party's auto insurance (or personal assets) up to the amount of your UM/UIM coverage.

Also, in the case of UM/UIM coverages, for a Pennsylvania resident, the law requires that the insurance company provide the option of "stacking." "Stacking" provides additional UM/UIM coverage by adding the UM/UIM coverage of each vehicle that you insure. For example, if you have three cars insured in the policy and for each car you have $300,000 in UM/UIM benefits, when you "stack" the three, you will have $900,000 in UM/UIM coverage even if only one of the insured cars is in the accident that causes injuries. That is important to remember when choosing a figure for your UM/UIM coverage.

These are some general tips regarding your Pennsylvania Auto Insurance. The attorneys at Kamensky Cohen will be happy to review your insurance coverage with you, at no cost, and provide you with advice regarding the best possible automobile insurance coverage to meet your particular needs.