About your policy
Full Tort V. Limited Tort
First Party Benefits
Third Body Benefits
Unisured Motorist
Stacking
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Uniontown Office:
92 East Main St., Suite #20
Uniontown, PA 15401
P: 724-438-1616
F: 724-438-1664
Carmichaels Office:
106 Carmichaels Plaza
Carmichaels, PA 15320
P: 724-966-9090
F: 724-966-8080
Automotive Insurance
Although car insurance is legally mandated for all individuals who operate automobiles, the only thing most drivers know about their auto policy is what company it’s through and how much the premium is. What the average driver does not realize is that the amount they are able to recover for the injuries they suffer as a result of a car accident to a large degree depends on their own auto insurance. People are often times shocked to find out that what they thought was good or “full coverage” turns out to be a state minimum policy after they are in an automobile accident. By then it is too late. Sometimes the provisions of a Pennsylvania insurance policy prohibits any recovery to an injured individual for their pain and suffering. It is never too early to sit down with an attorney to review the type and amount of insurance coverage you have. The absolute wrong time to do it is after an automobile accident has occurred. I hope this web site will help raise your awareness to the type and amount of automobile insurance you’ve purchased to protect you and family from the serious injuries and even death that can occur as a result of a car crash.
Full Tort v. Limited Tort
Pennsylvania law requires insurance companies that insure cars registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to offer what is known as a “limited tort option” to purchasers of car insurance. By selecting the “limited tort option” the policy holder (driver) waives his or her right to sue for non-economic detriment or damages such as pain and suffering unless that individual suffers serious injury such as death, serious impairment of a bodily function, or permanent serious disfigurement. In exchange, the policy holder gets a reduced premium of approximately 10% of their premium. This is what gamblers refer to as a “sucker’s bet”. In essence the policy holder (driver) is saving 10% off his or her policy and risking tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event they or someone covered by the policy are injured badly but not severely enough to qualify as suffering serious impairment of a bodily function, or permanent serious disfigurement, serious impairment of a bodily impairment, or permanent serious disfigurement which is the case in a vast majority of the accidents.
So what does an individual’s decision to select the “limited tort option” mean to that individual once they are injured in a car wreck? In short, unless they are killed, suffer a serious impairment of a bodily function, or permanent serious disfigurement they will be unable to collect for pain and suffering which is typically the bulk of a recovery in an automobile accident case. It is crucial for an individual to select the “full tort option” and reject the “limited tort option”. For those who have “limited tort coverage” switch before you find yourself wondering if the injuries you or a loved one has suffered as a result of an automobile accident are serious enough to allow you to recover for your pain and suffering.
If you’ve already been in an accident and you have “limited tort,” like all other individuals involved in an automobile accident, you should contact the Law Offices of Benjamin F. Goodwin, Esquire, because there are exceptions and he’d be happy to review your case free of charge.
First Party Benefits
The term “First Party Benefits” is unique to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is often referred to in other jurisdictions as “Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Benefits.” “First Party Benefits” or “PIP Benefits” refers to the portion of an auto policy that provides for minimal medical benefits in the amount of $5,000.00 which pays for medical expenses incurred as a result of treating for any injury arising out of the maintenance or use of a motor vehicle regardless of fault. That’s right, even if you are 100% at fault for an auto accident, your insurance will pay at least your first $5,000.00 in medical bills. While $5,000.00 in “First Party Medical Benefits” is the legal minimum, as with all aspects of your policy, you can increase the limits of the amount of your “First Party” benefits and purchase other first party benefits such as income loss benefits, accidental death benefits, funeral loss benefits, and others. Like “First Party Medical Benefits”, income loss benefits, accidental death benefits, funeral loss benefits and all other first party benefits, these benefits are paid out regardless of fault.
If you would like to review your auto insurance policy, or if you or a family member has been involved in automobile accident and denied “First Party Benefits”, contact the Law Offices of Benjamin F. Goodwin, Esquire, today at (724) 966-9090 or (724) 438-1616, for a free, no pressure, no obligation consultation regarding your rights.
Third Party Benefits—Bodily Injury Liability
The amount a driver is able to recover from a negligent or at-fault driver in a car accident case often depends on the amount of “Third Party Benefits,” also referred to as, “Bodily Injury Liability Insurance” the driver at fault for the accident has purchased. “Bodily Injury Liability Insurance” is the component of a driver’s insurance policy that will pay another driver for his or her injuries if the insured driver is found to be liable for the injured driver’s losses and injuries. Let’s say you are driving your car and you are involved in a wreck with another car and you are at fault. Your “Third Party Benefits” will pay for your legal defense and pay the injured driver for his or her losses and injuries up to the limits of the policy. The minimum amount of coverage required by Pennsylvania law is $15,000.00. Claims for bodily injury include but are not limited to medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. When choosing your level of liability insurance it is important to choose limits which are high enough to protect your personal assets in the event that a judgment is rendered against you for your own negligence. While the bodily injury liability insurance is available to an injured driver, if the limits are insufficient and the injured party does not have adequate Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage, the injured driver can recover from the at-fault driver’s personal assets such as bank accounts, automobiles, and real estate. While Pennsylvania law requires $15,000.00 in “Third Party Benefits,” even relatively small claims can quickly exceed the minimum limit, whereby putting an individual’s personal assets and drivers license.
If you would like to review your auto insurance policy, or if you or a loved one has been involved in automobile accident, contact the Law Offices of Benjamin F. Goodwin, Esquire, today at (724) 438-1616 or (724) 966-9090 for a free, no pressure, no obligation consultation regarding your rights.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage & Underinsured Motorists (UIM) Coverage
While Pennsylvania law requires all drivers to have at least $15,000.00 in liability insurance, a vast amount of drivers on the road have “minimum coverage” or worse yet, no insurance coverage at all. Luckily, your greatest protection against being a victim of an uninsured or underinsured driver is your own auto insurance policy.
“Uninsured Motorist (UM) Insurance Coverage” and “Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Insurance Coverage”, as their names imply, are designed to protect the policy holder from being the victim of a negligent driver who has insufficient or no insurance coverage at all to compensate him or her for the injuries they caused.
Let’s say you are driving your vehicle and you are involved in an auto accident with another driver named, “Crash”, who is at fault for the accident. As a result of your auto accident, you suffer serious and permanent injuries resulting in damages in the amount of $250,000.00. Regretfully, Crash, the driver at fault for you injuries, earned his name and only has liability insurance in the amount of $50,000.00. Accordingly, Crash is an underinsured motorist. As such, you will have to look to your own automobile policy to see if underinsured motorist coverage is a part of your auto policy. Under Pennsylvania law, Underinsured Motorists (UIM) and Uninsured Motorists (UM) coverage can be waived. That being the case, not all auto policies have Underinsured and Uninsured Motorists coverage. Assume for purposes of this hypothetical that you were prudent and purchased Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage with limits of $200,000.00. You will be able to make a claim against your insurance company for the other $200,000.00 you deserve to cover the injuries you suffered as a result of the automobile accident that Crash caused. On the other hand, generally speaking, had you skimped on coverage and waived Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage in order to save a couple of bucks on your premium, you would only be able to recover Crash’s limits of $50,000.00 and be left to suffer the burden of your remaining $200,000.00 loss.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage works similar to Underinsured Motorist (UIM) but can only be claimed when the at-fault driver has no insurance coverage whatsoever or it is impossible to ascertain whether the driver had insurance coverage as in the case of a hit-and-run accident where the at-fault driver flees and is unable to be identified. In our previous example, assume now that the driver responsible for the car accident, Crash, had no insurance or that Crash fled the scene of the accident before his identity could be ascertained and there is a police report and you promptly reported the accident to your insurance company. In that instance, Crash would be an uninsured driver and you would have to look to your policy to see if you had purchased “Uninsured Motorist” (UM) coverage to cover the damages you sustained as a result of your injuries. Had you not purchased Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage, then you would have no insurance available to draw from to cover your losses and you would have to attempt to collect from Crash’s personal assets. That is, if Crash has any assets to speak of, or if you ever knew who Crash was in the first place as in the case of the hit-and-run driver.
As you can see, it is crucial to protect yourself and your loved ones by making sure your car insurance policy has significant “Uninsured Motorist (UM) Insurance Coverage” and “Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Insurance Coverage” to ensure that you and your family will be protected against negligent underinsured and uninsured drivers. There are a lot of “nuts” out there and while you can’t control who the other driver is or how much insurance he or she has, you can control what type of insurance you have.
If you would like to review your policy, or if you have been the victim of an uninsured or underinsured driver call the Law Offices of Benjamin F. Goodwin, Esquire, at (724) 438-1616 or (724) 966-9090, today for a free, no pressure, no obligation consultation regarding your rights.
Stacking
When more than one vehicle is insured under a single policy, individuals who choose “stacking” are able to combine their respective Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage for each vehicle covered by that particular policy. For example, assume Dick and Jane live in the same household and they are a two-vehicle family. Assume further, that these two vehicles are insured by the same insurance company under the same policy. Let’s assume that Car # 1 has “Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Insurance Coverage” in the amount of $100,000.00, and Car # 2 has “Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Insurance Coverage” of $100,000.00 and that Dick and Jane opt to “stack” their coverage. Generally speaking, in the event that either Dick or Jane were to be injured in an automobile accident by an underinsured driver while operating either car, there would be $200,000.00 available in Underinsured Motorist Coverage instead of $100,000.00 because “stacking’ would allow them to combine Car # 1’s Underinsured Motorist limits with Car # 2’s Underinsured Motorist limits. It is important that if you elect to utilize the “stacking” option on a policy to make sure that the vehicles are insured by the same company and on the same policy. Certain insurance companies will attempt to circumvent “stacking” by insuring the cars on separate policies, charging you for stacking on both policies, and then attempt to deny your claim for stacked benefits under an exclusion in the policies known as the “household exclusion.”
If you would like to review your policy or if you or a family member has been the victim of an uninsured or underinsured driver call the Law Offices of Benjamin F. Goodwin, Esquire, today for a free, no pressure, no obligation consultation regarding your rights by calling (724) 966-9090 or (724) 438-1616.