Do You Have FULL Coverage??
Throughout the years while interviewing accident victims, many of our citizens, upon the initial office visit, advise us that they have "full coverage." Too often, they realize, after an accident has occurred, that there is valuable insurance coverage which was available to them, but which was either not explained by their agent or not purchased.
Florida law requires that each person operating a legally registered motor vehicle have no-fault coverage. No-fault coverage is insurance which is designed to pay your medical bills at 80% and your lost wages at 60%. These economic losses must be paid by the insurance carrier within 30 days of their submission to the claim office. The same law which requires no-fault coverage permits the insurance company to sell these coverages with deductibles ranging from $500 to $2,000. Deductibles often save the customer a few dollars; however, if the occasion arises when those benefits are needed, the customers find themselves insuring themselves up to the amount of the deductible they purchased. We recommend that you avoid any deductible PIP insurance, and when possible, purchase additional benefits of increased PIP coverage and/or additional insurance known as med pay, or excess medical payments coverage. These additional insurance products provide the best benefit when you need it the most.
Another very important insurance coverage which you should purchase is uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This insurance is generally referred to as "UM" coverage. UM coverage provides you and other members of your family who live in the same house with benefits for damages including bodily injury, medical bills and lost wages which arise is you are injured through carelessness or negligence of a driver who was either uninsured or underinsured.
Unfortunately, there are large numbers of underinsured motorists on the highways in and about the state of Florida. If you are injured in as accident caused by one of these uninsured or underinsured drivers and you do not have available uninsured motorist coverage, you may be unable to recover expenses incurred for medical, wage and pain, and suffering.
The law in Florida requires that insurance purchasers sign a waiver when they elect to either not purchase UM coverage or purchase UM coverage in amounts less than their bodily injury liability coverage.
We strongly recommend that you do not waive your uninsure/underinsured motorist coverage, and suggest that you obtain as much underinsurance motorist coverage as your insurance company will allow. While it may cost you a few dollars more, the result of not having this valuable coverage can be catastrophic. The purchase of automobile insurance can be a complicated process. It is also one of the most important decisions you will make in protecting you and your family. Think about how much time you spend in your car traveling from place to place and the frequency of accidents that occur around you.
If you have any questions about whether you really have "full coverage" please feel free to call us and we will be happy to meet with you, at no charge, to review and discuss your automobile insurance coverage.
Please drive defensively, wear your seatbelt, and stay alert in order to avoid an accident. If you do become the unfortunate victim of an automobile accident, please make sure that you do, in fact, have "full coverage."
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