Protect your automobile

What is your insurance appetite?

A Very Important Insurance Lesson

Example:

Bodily Injury $100,000 each person/$300,000 each accident.

Let’s say you were involved in an accident with one other person and you were cited.

The injured party is expected to have multiple surgeries and be off from work for at least 6 months. Their lawyer is asking for $350,000 in damages for his client’s medical expenses, lost income, inconvenience and legal expenses. With the limits in this example, how much coverage do you have under your policy?

$100,000 each person = that is the most coverage you will have under your policy for one person.

$300,000 each accident = if there were another person claiming damages, you would have up to $100,000 for person A and $100,000 for person B.

The only time the $300,000 would come into play is if there were a third person claiming damages.

Other things to consider:

• You cannot declare bankruptcy against a personal liability lawsuit in Wisconsin.
• Once the limit on your policy is reached, your insurance company is under no obligation to continue legal representation on your behalf. You would likely need to obtain your own attorney and pay all legal expenses going forward.
• Your income can be garnished up to 20% to satisfy the claim against you.

For example: $30,000 annual income x 20% = $600 monthly garnishment. Remember if your son or daughter is responsible for an amount above your insurance limits, the court is likely to garnish the parents income if the youthful operator is unable to meet the obligation.

The good news is that we can shop the market for you and work with each aspect of your program to build a comprehensive, affordable risk management program for your family!

While on the road, you need to make sure you've got maximum protection in case anything goes wrong. Count on M.H. Smith Insurance to get protection against damage, theft, and vandalism.