You may be wondering why a car and motorcyle accident lawyer is telling you what types of South Carolina insurance you need. The answer is simple: when our clients get hurt by at-fault drivers in accidents around Spartanburg, the money to pay their medical bills, to replace their lost wages, and to compensate them for their injuries comes from auto insurance. I write this because many of our clients are shocked by three things we don’t want to happen to you:
1.Often, at-fault drivers don’t have enough insurance to fully cover the victim’s injuries.
2.There is a type of insurance coverage, called “underinsurance,” [or "UIM"], that you can get on your own policy to protect you and your family from being stuck when a negligent driver can’t pay. If you wonder whether it's important, read our case studies on the link above. If you think you'll likely never need it, I can tell you none of those clients thought they would, either- but they were ever so relieved when we found it and maximized it for them!
3.“Full coverage” policies do not necessarily include underinsurance.
In all our years as car wreck attorneys in Spartanburg and beyond, countless clients have told us, “I’ve got UIM because my agent gave me full coverage!” Then we find out they have absolutely no underinsurance to protect them.
Moral of the story: we still don’t know what “full coverage” is, but we do know it often doesn’t include the underinsurance our clients need most.
If you're wondering how much insurance can pay for your settlement, schedule a free, no pressure strategy session with a Spartanburg, SC car and motorcycle accident attorney. Call toll free at 888-230-1841 or fill out a Get Help Now form.
Here are the types of auto insurance coverage you need to be sure are on your policy:
Liability
This is the coverage that protects you when you cause an accident. South Carolina law requires a minimum of $25,000. Get as much as you can possibly afford. There are two reasons for this. First, a seriously injured victim can go after your personal assets if you don’t have enough liability coverage. While this is very rare, you can definitely limit your exposure to this by getting as much liability coverage as possible. Second, the amounts of extra protection you can get for yourself—underinsurance and uninsured motorist coverage, described below—cannot be any higher than your liability insurance.
Underinsurance (UIM)
This is the insurance that helps cover you when an at-fault driver doesn’t have enough. For example, suppose you are injured in a traffic accident and your medical bills exceed $50,000. If the at-fault driver carries only the minimum $25,000 in liability coverage, you could get stuck paying the balance out of your own pocket! UIM helps cover those bills and compensate you for your injuries, instead of you worrying so much about financial ruin from unpaid medical bills.
UIM also offers an added benefit if you have multiple cars with UIM. The benefit is called “stacking.” In certain situations, it allows you to use up all the coverage on each car with UIM until all the insurance is paid or until you are fully compensated for your injuries. The law of stacking and UIM can be extremely complex, so if you’re involved in a car accident where you might need UIM, you should meet with an experienced car crash lawyer who can help maximize the coverage available to you.
Uninsured Coverage
This—sometimes called “uninsurance” or "UM"—is also required by South Carolina law. This coverage protects you when you get hurt by an at-fault driver with no insurance, or if you are the victim of a hit-and-run. WARNING FOR HIT-AND-RUN VICTIMS: you've potentially got some extra steps to take to protect your rights. Like UIM, it can be stacked in certain situations. If you need uninsured motorist coverage as part of your car accident case, you should consult with an experienced car crash lawyer who can help you maximize this coverage.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or MedPay
This coverage is usually available in small amounts (between one thousand dollars and ten thousand dollars) to help pay medical bills from a crash. To get benefits, you basically fill out a claim form to prove the bills are related to a crash, send a copy of a medical bill to your insurance company, and they send you a check.
Don’t think full coverage is enough. Check your policy and call your agent. If you have these coverages, consider getting more. If you don’t, you should get them now, because after the crash, it’s too late.
This is a public service announcement from Holland & Usry, where we hope you never need this insurance, but are here for you if you do. If you have any other questions, check out some of the articles on our site like the ones listed below. You can also check out our free report on South Carolina car crash cases. We are available by email or live chat, and you can always call us toll-free at 888.230.1841.
