AUTOMOBILE POLICY TIPS
Your Household — make sure you disclose all drivers living in your home. If a relative/friend is staying with you and driving your cars, they need to be a listed driver on your policy.
Car Title — each car should be titled only in the primary driver’s name. Never have both spouses on a car title. This protects joint assets (home, bank accounts, etc.) from an excess judgment.
Buy Unlimited PIP (Personal Protection Insurance) — Our recent No Fault Reform (2019) allows for drivers to buy less than unlimited PIP starting in July 2020. Even if you have other health insurance, No Fault is broad and covers more expenses. If you are hurt, unable to work and can’t keep your health insurance, then you have PIP as a lifetime benefit. Medicare and Medicaid don’t provide adequate coverage!
Teen Drivers — ADD THEM TO YOUR POLICY!! If you don’t disclose the teen driver in the household, then the teen is driving uninsured in your car. The insurance company can deny coverage for the collision damage and medical claims. The teen and parent (on title) can be sued together by the injured person and you may have no insurance coverage!
When you have a new student driver in the household, it is best to put your agent and insurance company on notice — email! Insurance companies will not raise your premium until the teen receives their full driver’s license.
Don’t let your teens break the rules! If they cause an accident while breaking the rules, this could impact your liabilities and/or your insurance company could deny your coverage.
Teen Tracing Apps — use these with caution. They can be accessed by Courts.
Independent Agency — An insurance agency that sells more than one line of insurance. For example, they sell Citizens, Auto-Owners and several other companies. Every insurance quote PINGS your credit! Several pings in a week can lower your credit score and insurers will increase your premium with a lower credit score.
An independent agency only pings your credit once and shops several lines. Bundling home, auto and umbrella frequently reduces annual insurance cost.
UMBRELLA COVERAGE is important with the recent No Fault Reform. If you cause an accident, an umbrella policy provides liability protection from $1-5 Million. This coverage is typically $300 to $500 per year. Add UM/UMI to your unbrella policy to protect your family!
POLICY BASICS:
Bodily Injury Coverage — coverage protection if you cause an accident. Most are split limits, so the lower number is per person and the larger number is per accident. Example—$250/$500 means $250,000 per person and no more than $500,000 per accident (even if multiple persons are injured).
TIP — Purchase at least $250,000 or more in coverage. If you don’t have enough coverage, the person can collect against you (paycheck and property).
Uninsured & Underinsured Coverage— protects your family if someone negligently injures you and does not have adequate coverage. Under most policies this protects your family even if they are in a friend’s car, school bus or walking down the road.
TIP — Purchase at least $250,000 in coverage. Citizens and Central Insurance offer up to $2 million and the annual cost is a small fraction of the policy premium.
TIP — Farm Bureau makes it near impossible to access this coverage you purchased. Do not have insurance with Farm Bureau.
Step-down Provisions — if you cause an accident and injure a family member residing in your household, these companies REDUCE coverages bodily injury coverage to the minimum coverage! If the passenger was a stranger, that random person gets the full coverage! Why would you insure your family less than a stranger???
AVOID:
Farm Bureau, AAA, Nationwide, Grange, Progressive, USAA and Geico
Logeman, Iafrate & Logeman, P.C., is a personal injury law firm that has helped accident victims recover the compensation they need to rebuild their lives and take care of their families for over forty-five years. Our law firm has helped countless clients throughout Michigan recover losses including car accidents, uninsured accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, wrongful death, pedestrian accidents, traumatic brain injury, no fault, and more! Please feel free to contact the firm at any time for advice or for help with your personal injury claim.