If you have ever been involved in an automobile accident, you understand the importance of properly insuring your vehicle. Vehicle insurance is designed to cover your risk of financial liability or loss if you are involved in an automobile accident causing property damages or personal injuries. Most states require vehicle owners to carry a certain amount of “minimal limits” of liability insurance to cover a driver’s potential negligence in operating a motor vehicle. In Nebraska, the minimal limits currently are $25,000.00 per person and $50,000.00 per accident (when two or more persons are injured in the same accident). Is $25,000.00 a sufficient amount of insurance when you consider the rising costs of medical care?
In January of 2013, Nebraska State Senator Paul Schumacher introduced LB 80, a bill proposing increases to the minimal liability insurance limits required in Nebraska. The bill proposes the minimal liability limits in Nebraska be raised from $25,000.00 to $50,000.00 per person and from $50,000.00 per accident to $100,000.00 per accident (in cases where two or more people are injured in the same accident). This change would pay up to $50,000.00 per injured person in an accident up to $100,000.00 for two or more persons injured in one accident. Consumers would still be able to purchase larger limits, however the mandatory minimum liability limits would be raised.
As a personal injury law firm, we see cases all the time where the minimal limits of $25,000.00 per person and $50,000.00 per accident does not even cover the medical bills incurred in an accident. Inserra & Kelley encourages our clients to carry insurance limits sufficient to protect themselves not only for their own liability, but in cases where you must protect yourself from the negligence of persons who are operating an uninsured motor vehicle. According to the Insurance Research Council, California Department of Insurance, 8% of all Nebraska drivers are operating motor vehicles uninsured. This makes it even more important for drivers to carry sufficient limits. If you are struck by an uninsured driver who has no non-exempt assets, your only option for covering your medical bills is to make a claim under your own underinsured/uninsured coverage. If you have any questions regarding how much coverage you should carry, please contact your insurance agent or give our law firm, Inserra & Kelley a call for a free analysis of your current coverage.