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Jeff Lowenthal explains what you need to know about buying Pennsylvania auto insurance.
Auto Insurance Tips
Purchase Enough Insurance
Remember, your automobile insurance company will only pay out the amount you purchase. The same is true for the auto insurance company of the person who causes a car accident. This means if you only have the minimum amount required in Pennsylvania, which is $15,000/$30,000, and the other person only has $15,000/$30,000, the most you will be able to get is $30,000. This assumes you have underinsured motorist protection. If you do not have UIM, the maximum settlement for which you will be eligible is $15,000. This amount doesn’t go very far if you are hurt.
Get UIM/UM
If you buy a lot of insurance, say $300,000, but you don’t have UIM and the other person only has $15,000, you will only be able to recover $15,000. Don’t go to the trouble of buying a lot of insurance and then making it unavailable by failing to purchase UIM. UM covers you in case of an uninsured motorist. The monthly fees for both UIM and UM are low. Be sure you get them both.
Stack Your Policies
Stacking increases the amount of money available under your policy. If you have several people insured, stack your policies and you can increase the amount of coverage with a minimal monthly fee.
Don’t Get Limited Tort!
Limited tort is much cheaper, this is true. But if you purchase limited tort you cannot recover for your pain and suffering unless you have a serious enough injury to overcome a required threshold. Fortunately, most accidents are not serious enough to overcome this threshold. This means you will be out of luck in a relatively minor accident where you suffer injuries that can have a major impact on your life. It isn’t worth the savings. Get full tort!
