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Despite the millions of dollars that car makers and government agencies spend on crash testing and safety measures, there is no way to predict what happens to a human body during the course of any given auto accident. A car might roll over three times and the driver might walk away unscathed, while what seems to be a minor fender bender could cause severe spinal damage.

Car accidents and their consequences are unpredictable, and it is for this reason that people buy insurance policies. But just because you have an insurance policy doesn’t mean that it’s a particularly good one. Many people simply go with the minimum levels of insurance that the state requires, or just buy liability or insurance. In Virginia and a few other states, drivers are allowed to pay what is called an uninsured driver’s fee, which allows them to take to the roads and highways with no coverage whatsoever. Getting into an accident with an underinsured or uninsured driver can leave you in a terrible position, as the minimum coverage might not be enough to handle your medical expenses or property damage, and no coverage at all can leave you to deal with everything on your own.

Getting insurance nowadays is so simple that many people buy coverage without even really considering the sort of coverage they are getting, and they simply assume that if they get into an accident then all of the damages and medical bills will be covered. That is not the case. Many injury victims face the unpleasant surprise of tens of thousands of dollars worth of medical bills, which can be disastrous if they face an inability to go back to work. And thousands of people face this situation every year, even though they were completely blameless in the accident.

Having an insurance policy that is insufficient is scarcely better than having no coverage at all. After all, what’s difference would ten thousand dollars make if you owe fifty thousand? Crushing debt is crushing debt. This is why purchasing extra insurance is so important. Here is the coverage that you should buy to make sure that you are adequately protected.

Collision Insurance: This covers any damage to your car or the other car over the minimum, which is usually $10,000. $10,000 can go very fast when there is a multiple car accident. And if you got hit by an uninsured driver, all of the expenses come out of your pocket.

Gap Insurance: There is nothing worse than having an “upside-down” loan. Cars depreciate in value over time, so the second you drive your new car off the lot the value of the car goes down by a few thousand dollars. For the life of your loan, you car is worth less than the amount of money that the car is worth. If the insurance company declares the car a total loss, they will only give you the amount of money that the car is worth according to Blue Book value. So that means that you could still be forced to pay the thousands that the insurance won’t cover. Getting insurance to cover the difference between the loan amount and the value could save you a great deal of money.

Extended Personal Injury Protection: If your medical bills and lost wages are more than the $10,000 minimum coverage, things can get bad in a hurry. If the car accident injuries were serious, $10,000 can be spent before you even leave the emergency room. Extending your personal injury protection to the $50,000-$100,000 range can not only cover the difference, but also help you through the delays of getting your case settled or tried if you can’t get back to work.

Bodily Injury Liability: This sort of coverage is designed to protect you in the event that the accident was your fault. If you check your insurance coverage right now, you probably only have enough coverage to handle $10,000 to $20,000 worth of medical expenses for anyone who gets hurt because of you.

You might be thinking that all of this extra coverage will be prohibitively expensive, but you can get good deals for much less than you think. And it will certainly be less expensive than what you will have to pay if you have a car accident without the right amount of insurance.

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Lewis & Tompkins
927 15th Street N.W., 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Phone: 202-296-0666

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