Today your Plymouth insurance agent is going to dive into under-insured and un-insured auto policy coverage. Everyone knows that you need protection for liability when it comes to car insurance. If you are the person that is involved in an accident and you cause the damage or you’re in a no fault state where they require you to have a certain amount of coverage. But one topic that a lot of people overlook is what happens if they’re involved with an act in an accident with someone who does not have coverage or does not have enough coverage to protect their family from the damage caused the medical bills accumulated and things of that nature.
The question your Plymouth insurance agent would then ask is how are you covered if someone is under-insured or un-insured? Well, to begin the name of the coverage is actually called exactly that, under-insured and un-insured coverage. It is a standard component of your auto insurance policy and is part of every single policy. There is coverage for both under-insured and un-insured drivers. This protects you from people that do not have insurance that you’re involved in an accident with or they do not have enough active insurance on their policy to cover the damages or medical bills associated with an accident that you are involved in. That may not be your fault if you are in a fault state.
In Minnesota, particularly the coverage required for auto insurance for every person who drives is $30,000 per person for liability limits, $60,000 total maximum per accident, and also $10,000 in property damage. So the two parts to focus on there are the $30,000 per person and the $60,000 per accident.
If you were to go with these lowest limits, you would be protected. But essentially you would have the basic limits that Minnesota requires you to have. For almost every single homeowner’s quote that we run, we recommend to at least have a minimum of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident total, and $100,000 of property damage. This may increase the price very slightly, but it’s very minimal compared to what you would think. You’re basically going triple your per person coverages and increase your per accident coverage by 500% by increase to these limits from the state minimum. However, the prices will not significantly go up in this sort of proportion and you will be surprised at the minimal cost it is to have much higher coverage for you and your family.
Generally it will be more slightly expensive for those higher coverages, but you and your family will be much more comfortable if those situations ever come up and you have an un-insured or under-insured motorist. Having the state minimums is fine, but making sure that you’re covered in case of something that happens is usually the best way to approach insurance. You’re paying for insurance to make sure that it protects you financially is able to repair your car and if you have those state minimums you may be protected, but there isn’t a whole lot of excess coverage that would be able to protect you for a more serious accident, more serious medical bills or some sort of situation that many people face in Minnesota every day.
One thing your Plymouth insurance agent wants to your know is if your under-insured and un-insured motorist coverage is too low, then you will be the one stuck with paying those extra bills and those coverages will be exhausted and those payments will then come out of your personal funds. So it is very important to make sure that your policy has high enough coverage for under-insured and un-insured motorists. Many times we see high levels of coverage for the personal coverage that is for the person driving, but the policy has a very low limits, usually then Minnesota state guidelines, for under-insured and un-insured. The difference in price there is usually not very much more to bump the coverage up to match your higher limits for your own coverage and your Plymouth insurance agent will put you in a position that you will have much better protection for yourself and your family.
As your Plymouth insurance agent we want to make sure that if a situation ever arises where you have a person who is un-insured or under-insured and you were involved in an accident with them, it is always a good idea to double check your coverages or have a professional like myself at envision insurance. Look for those coverages in your policy and shop around to see if we can find you a better deal for the current coverages you have, and also make sure that you’re properly protected in situations like these where under-insured and under-insured motorist coverage maybe limited on your policy or something that has been lowered to adjust for price. As your Plymouth insurance agent at EnviZion Insurance our goal is to make sure that you’re properly protected and avoid any financial harm that can come from an un-insured or under-insured driver.
Finally, what we suggest is that you get your hands on a copy of your current policy and do a couple of things. First off, give us a call and talk with one of our agents directly on the phone at 612-354-6496. With you statement in hand find what coverage you have for under-insured and un-insured drivers. Second, find out if that coverage is sufficient for your current financial situation with our agents based on the amount of coverage you have. Lastly, if your coverage is low for you liking, our agents can run 100% free quotes for you to see what the price would be for a policy with the coverage that you are looking to have so that you feel comfortable. If you are not sure what coverage you have or where to looking our agents will be more than happy to help you out in finding the information for you as well.
To your Plymouth insurance agent please feel free to call us at 612-354-6496, and we will be happy to review your current policy and answer any questions you have!