Breaking News
Read fine print when buying auto insurance to avoid rude
awakening later
By DAVID I. FUCHS
As a personal injury attorney, I’ve heard this terrible story
far too many times Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public are out driving with
their two daughters 8 and 10 when a speeding drunk driver runs a
red-light striking their car broadside. Mr. and Mrs. Public escape
with cuts and bruises, but their daughters sustain injuries to
their head, neck and backs. Mr. and Mrs. Public eventually come to
see me to discuss what legal rights and rights and recourse they
have against the drunk driver.
My first question is what automobile insurance coverage did they
have? The Publics respond with puzzled looks. Mr. Public asks: Why
am I asking about his insurance, when the other guy was at
fault? His reply: While he hadn’t read his policy his insurance
agent told him that he had “full coverage.” Mr. Public then hands
me his insurance declarations page. I note the dreaded “no B.I.”
and “U.M. rejected.” I look at the police report and note that the
drunk driver had been cited for many things, including “no
insurance.”
I have the thankless task of explaining to Mr. and Mrs. Public
that “full coverage” is nothing more than insurance jargon for the
minimum requirements to register and insure a vehicle. I go on to
explain that their coverage for this accident would be limited to
payments for some of their medical bills, lost wages and for
third-party property damage, with no coverage for the pain and
suffering their family had sustained and would sustain in the
future, because of the gross negligence of the drunk driver.
I see the proverbial “little bulb” go on over their heads as
they begin to understand that without uninsured motorist coverage
they would be limited to a lawsuit against and individual who, in
all probability, would be found to be without assets and therefore
judgment-proof. And I see the anger well up in Mr. Public as he
says: “There ought to be a law against this kind of thing.”
I wholeheartedly agree. What is desperately needed is for the
state Legislature to pass an Automobile Insurance Bill of Rights
that compels insurance companies, their agents and the insured to
execute an affidavit of coverage disclosure attesting that the
benefits of uninsured motorist coverage have been made known to the
customer.
Consumers must understand that if they purchase bodily injury
liability coverage, they will have uninsured motorists limits equal
to the limits of their bodily injury liability coverage, unless
they specifically reject uninsured motorist coverage. If consumers
do reject uninsured motorist coverage, they must understand that if
they are in an accident with an individual who is uninsured, or
does not carry enough coverage, they will not be able to make any
claim for compensation against their own policy.
But the consumer need not wait for the state to act. The
consumer should question his or her agent and carefully read all
paperwork.
I tell all of my clients that is better to pay for the coverage
and never need it than to need it and not have it. Above all, if
your agent has told you that you have “full coverage,” remember the
Public family. Be wary, be skeptical, and don’t believe it until
you review the fine print.
The author is attorney David I. Fuchs with a personal injury and
wrongful death practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He wrote this
article for the The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.
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