Nelson C. Barry Automobile Accidents Law Blog on Lawyers.com

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH AUTO INSURANCE?

Friday, June 5, 2009 by Nelson C. Barry

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The law in California is that every driver must have a  minimum of $15/30 coverage ($15,000 per claim,  $30,000 maximum). This is fine if you don't have any assets or a job or job potential. In other words, even the most minor accident can cause you to be liable for more then this $15,000 per person limit (and for more than the $30,000 limit too!). So if you have a  job, or a  house, or might inherit something someday (because if someone gets a judgment against you, the judgment is good for 10 years and can be re-newed every 10 years for the rest of  your life!) get enough insurance. This does NOT mean get $100,000 if  you want to  protect your $100,000 worth of assets. What $100,000 in insurance means is that the insurance company will pay the first $100,000 of the judgment and then it  is up to you to come up with the  rest so if you have $100,000  in assets and  you cause $200,000 in damages, your insurance money AND your assets are gone.  So the  point is to get as much insurance as is reasonable to let you sleep soundly. The general wisdom among this personal injury attorney's friends is $2,000,000. This can be secured most economically through the use of a primary policy and one or two umbrella policies (because  umbrella policies are  very cheap considering how much protection they provide).
 
Next week I will let you in on the pro's and con's of getting different "extras" on your auto insurance policy such as medical payments coverage and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
 
Until then, drive safely because the best form of  protection is to not hit anyone. (hey you, put down the phone and drive!).
For more information about this or other automobile accident related topics, feel free to contact me or visit my website www.nelsonbarry.com.
 
Posted at 12:54 PM
Topic: Automobile Accidents
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