Timothy F. Rayne, Esquire

Your coverage selections can help protect your personal rights and assets in the event of an auto accident

Although you should always discuss your auto insurance needs in detail with an insurance professional, it is important to thoroughly understand the legal implications of your coverage selections. Your decisions control your potential personal liability in the event that you cause an accident as well as your potential recovery if you are the victim in an auto accident. Therefore, you may want to consider coverages above the minimum the law requires.

Your coverage selections are set forth on the "declarations page" of your automobile insurance policy. Take a look at your coverages and consider the following tips regarding Bodily Injury/Property Damage Coverage, First Party Benefits, Tort Election, and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Protection.

Bodily Injury/Property Damage Coverage
Bodily Injury/Property Damage Coverage protects you from claims from other parties concerning accidents that you cause. Under Pennsylvania law, you are required to carry Bodily Injury Coverage of at least $15,000 for injury to one person in any one accident and $30,000 for injury to two or more persons in any one accident. In addition, you are required to have coverage of at least $5,000 for damage to property in any one accident.

From a legal standpoint, however, it is often advisable to carry substantially more than the minimum coverage. It is certainly foreseeable that $15,000 for any one person and $30,000 total Bodily Injury Coverage would be insufficient to satisfy a claim for serious injury to one or multiple parties should you cause an accident. Similarly, a Property Damage claim could easily exceed the $5,000 minimum coverage. In the event that either Bodily Injury or Property Damage Coverage is exceeded, the damaged parties could pursue your personal assets to make up the difference. As such, it is important to discuss obtaining more than the minimum coverage from your insurance provider.

First Party Medical Benefits and Wage Loss Coverage
Pennsylvania law requires that an auto insurance policy provide First Party Medical Benefits of at least $5,000. That means that if you are involved in an accident, whether it was your fault or not, your insurance company will pay the first $5,000 of your medical bills. Again, however, it is easy to foresee a situation in which such coverage would be insufficient. Therefore, it is often advisable to consider additional First Party Medical Benefits Coverage.

Although the law does not require it, you can also choose to carry First Party Wage Loss Coverage. This coverage will pay a portion of your wages in the event you are injured in an auto accident. Obtaining such coverage is often prudent because it protects you from the peril of lost income in the event of an accident.

Tort Election
While selecting your auto insurance coverages, you will be asked to choose either "full tort" or "limited tort." Although a limited tort election will result in savings on premiums, it substantially restricts your rights in the event you are the victim in an auto accident. Specifically, unless you sustain a "serious injury," you may seek only "economic damages" in a claim against the responsible party. Such economic damages would include medical expenses, lost wages and other out-of-pocket expenses. However, you would be barred from obtaining any compensation for your "non-economic damages," such as pain and suffering. Given the court's narrow interpretation of the term serious injury, you are giving up substantial rights with a limited tort election.

Uninsured/Underinsured Protection
Although Pennsylvania law does not require that you have Uninsured/Underinsured Protection, it is highly recommended from a legal standpoint since uninsured and underinsured drivers certainly frequent the roadways. Uninsured Coverage protects you from uninsured drivers and Underinsured Coverage protects you from underinsured drivers. In the event an uninsured driver causes an accident and injures you, it is unlikely that you will be able to get compensation because there is no insurance coverage. In that case, if you had Uninsured Coverage, you would be able to make a claim for compensation from your own insurance company up to your policy limits. Similarly, if an insured driver causes an accident but only has $15,000 of coverage and you sustain serious injuries, your claim is worth in excess of the coverage. In such a case, if you had Underinsured Coverage, you would receive the $15,000 from the responsible party and then make a claim on your own Underinsured Coverage for the additional damages.

Recommendations
It is recommended that you review your policy to determine if your elections have provided for sufficient coverage in case of an accident. Contact your automotive insurance representative or a legal professional with further questions.

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