As a firm that focuses a large amount of our practice on automobile accident cases, one disturbing trend we have observed is how many people do not have uninsured motorist coverage. The law in Alabama requires all drivers to have liability insurance, which pays for losses covered by that driver’s negligence.
However, studies show that 25% of drivers in Alabama do not have liability insurance, which is a frightening statistic.
Think about that for a second. If you are in a car accident that is someone else’s fault, there is more than a 25% chance that you will not be compensated for your losses.
Notice that we said, “More than a 25% chance.” The reason why this figure is actually higher than 25% is because uninsured coverage includes underinsured coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage picks up the tab when the at fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover your losses.
At Jaffe & Erdberg, we deal with insurance adjusters and insurance lawyers on a regular basis. We know the game they play, always trying to limit the amount of money they pay out, while our job is to get the client as much money as possible. We play this game every day, which makes us pretty good at it.
When you hire our firm, you can be confident knowing we will fight to recover the fair compensation you are owed. When the case is over, our clients often come into our office to collect their compensation. They are sometimes so excited that we get a hug or big smile out of the visit. This is truly the most rewarding part of our job!
As a result of the massive financial loss that can accompany a car accident, we encourage our clients to make sure that they have sufficient uninsured motorist coverage. While the minimum coverage that can be sold in Alabama is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident, we recommend having at least $100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident, and possibly even higher. One point we have discovered is that uninsured motorist coverage is very inexpensive, and you can typically obtain the $100,000 / $200,000 coverage for less than $200 per vehicle, per year. We have even had a client with an uninsured motorist policy of $1,000,000. While this is certainly unusual, it’s something to think about when deciding how much coverage is right for you.