Your Automobile Insurance Coverage-Are You REALLY Covered?

Do you know how much you are insured for on your automobile insurance? Do you know how much you are covered for in case the person that hits you is either under-insured or not insured at all? These are the questions that my sister, Kim, wishes she had known in August. She has carried a popular insurance for approximately 6 years. She trusted her insurance agent to give her the coverage she needed at an affordable price without any questions. She had no idea what "state minimum" insurance was, but she does now.

Kim was driving home from college at the end of August when a teenager going to work was also on the same road. This teenage was late for work, and proceeded to run three cars off the road and cut off a school bus in his rush. He came around a corner at a rate of speed higher than allowed, went left of center, and had a head on collision with my sister. She had no time to react, he was there and her Tracker was destroyed, and she was left seriously injured. She spent about five days in the hospital's trauma unit where she suffered from an extreme amount of bruising all over her body, a broken tooth, a broken cervical vertebrae, and a broken hip with "multiple" fractures. For all accounts, and from the witnesses, she is EXTREMELY lucky to be alive. Being in the trauma unit has racked up an incredible amount of medical bills that SHE is responsible for. She had to drop out of school for this semester, and has been unable to work. She is confined in her bed. She is not even permitted to put any weight on her leg until November at the earliest.

Shortly after the accident, she found out that the boy that hit her had his own insurance, the "state minimum". She knew that $12000 was not even going to cover the hospital stay, let alone the numerous doctor visits that she's had and that she will need in the future. This is when she started to look at her own policy. She was shocked. She had no clue as to what exactly her coverage was. She just assumed that since she had insurance, that her doctor bills would be covered. Her insurance is not the state minimum, but close. For the boys insurance and from her's, combined, she is only covered for $30,000. $30,000!!!! With the cost of health care today, that money is spent. So what about her lost wages? These are not covered by the insurance, medical bills will come first. How will she live? She gets no money for pain and suffering, for additional doctor visits costs, the cost to fix her teeth, or for basic living. All because she didn't take time to know what all the gibberish on her policy meant. My insurance agent took the time to explain to me what it all meant when I first got insurance. Kim's insurance agent didn't! And now, Kim will pay.

Don't get caught. Kim is not the first person that I know that this has happened to. A very close friend of mine was in a serious accident a little over a year ago, she was in the hospital for a month. The guy that went left of center and nailed her, had "state minimum" insurance. We all have to carry insurance. Make sure that your insurance is enough to cover YOU in case this happens to you.

I am just an average person in a VERY small community in Amish Country, Ohio. I know two people that got caught and are now paying because of "state minimum" insurance. Take the time to look at your policy, and take the precautions needed. I personally carry $100,000/$300,000....and that may not even be enough in the even of a serious accident. But it IS better than state minimum!