Rick's Tips - Auto Insurance
Atty. Rick Russo, the Chairman of our Personal Injury practice, provides important tips on how you can protect yourself and your family by making the right choices when purchasing motor vehicle insurance.
Rick’s Auto Insurance Tip #1 – Select Full Tort Option
Don’t give away your family’s rights by choosing the wrong tort option. Choosing the FULL TORT option will preserve all of your rights when injured through the fault of another. Selecting the Limited Tort option can be a costly mistake because it may greatly limit your rights even when injured in an accident that was not your fault.
Rick’s Auto Insurance Tip #2 – Purchase Income Loss Benefits
Purchasing income loss benefits as part of your motor vehicle insurance coverage will provide you and your family with a monthly income if unable to work because of injuries suffered in an accident. Needless to say, this can be a critically important benefit to have when you can’t work because you were injured in an accident.
Rick’s Auto Insurance Tip #3 – Don’t reject UM
Uninsured motorist benefits will protect you and your family when injured by the fault of someone who does not have any insurance, or when injured in a hit & run accident. Even though Pennsylvania requires all vehicles to be insured, some people violate the law. Uninsured motorist coverage is the way to protect your family from these people. Note, however, these benefits will only cover bodily injury, not property damage.
Rick’s Auto Insurance Tip #4 – Weigh cost vs benefit re Collision
Collision coverage is how you can protect yourself against property damage caused by a person without adequate insurance coverage, or where you or your family member is the person at fault for causing the accident. Collision coverage can be expensive so you need to evaluate the cost in light of your family circumstances.
Rick’s Auto Insurance Tip #5– Don’t reject UIM
Underinsurance motorist coverage will protect you and your family when injured by the fault of someone who has insurance, but it is insufficient to fully cover your claim, Uninsured coverage protects against people who do not have any insurance; underinsurance coverage protects against people who have insurance coverage, but in an inadequate amount to fully compensate you or your family for the damage they caused.
Rick’s Auto Insurance Tip #6 – Don’t reject stacked UM/UIM coverages
Stacking uninsured and underinsurance coverage can significantly increase these coverages when you have more than 1 vehicle on the policy. Avoid giving away your rights – do not reject this stacked coverage, Choosing stacked benefits can be vital to your family’s financial well-being when seriously injured in an accident.