Recently in Auto Accidents Category

PENNSYLVANIA UNINSURED AND UNDERINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE: MAKING SURE YOU ARE COVERED WHEN THE OTHER DRIVER IS NOT.

April 9, 2012,

You are in your car, stopped at a red-light, when suddenly you are hit from behind by another driver that was not paying attention to the road. You suffer extensive injuries that will require thousands of dollars in losses, only to find out the other driver is not insured. Or, maybe they are insured, but you find out that they only have the minimal amount of coverage required by law and that amount is not enough to cover the losses you incur. Under these scenarios, will you be covered for your damages through your own auto insurance policy? Well, that all depends on whether or not you selected the option for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage when you took out your automobile insurance policy.

Uninsured motorist coverage is designed to protect you when the at-fault driver does not have insurance coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage is coverage that you purchase to protect yourself in the even that you are in an accident and the other party who is responsible for the accident does not have enough insurance coverage to compensate you for your losses. Therefore, when you have exhausted the amount of coverage from the policy of the at-fault party, you then look to your own personal insurance policy for the additional amount of money which will compensate, or make you whole, for your injuries and losses.

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Pennsylvania Auto Accidents: Full vs. Limited Tort Insurance Coverage

May 5, 2011,

car crash.jpgThe differences between full and limited tort auto insurance coverage can often times be confusing and difficult to understand. The primary difference between full and limited tort coverage is that full tort coverage allows for the recovery of damages for pain and suffering incurred as the result of an accident for which you, the driver, are not at fault. This means that if you are involved in an auto accident and the other driver caused the accident, then you and other members of your household are able to recover monetary damages for the pain and suffering incurred as a result of the accident.

Alternatively, if you have limited tort coverage, then you and the other members of your household are barred from recovering damages for pain and suffering unless the driver of the other vehicle was at fault and one of the following conditions are met:
1. The accident causes serious bodily injury resulting in death, disfigurement, or other permanent serious injury;
2. The other driver is convicted or accepts Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) for driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance;
3. The other vehicle is registered out of state;
4. The other driver intended to injure or kill himself or another person;
5. The other driver is uninsured;
6. The other driver is in the business of designing, manufacturing, maintaining or repairing motor vehicles; or
7. You are injured as the passenger in a vehicle that is not a private passenger motor vehicle, such as a bus or taxi.

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