Operating a motor vehicle comes with serious risks, and deadly car accidents can occur even when a person is being cautious. Unfortunately, car wrecks occur more routinely in New York than in many other states. We are often asked, is the minimum required car insurance enough? Well, New York state’s roads are particularly dangerous, and many times the minimum motor vehicle insurance fails to provide sufficient compensation for the drivers injured in accidents.
You should not hesitate to speak with an experienced Long Island accident attorney if you or a loved one is harmed in a crash. Our auto accident lawyers understand the rules involved with crashes and will fight tirelessly to make sure that you receive the compensation that you deserve.
Minimum Required Car Insurance in New York
New York state requires motor vehicle drivers to have active insurance policies on their vehicles. The minimum car insurance policy guards drivers against bodily injury liability as well as property damage and protects uninsured motorists.
Minimum required insurance in New York does not contain underinsured protection for drivers. Nor does minimum required insurance provide collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, or medical payments. Even though none of these types of coverages are legally required, a person can separately purchase each of these types of insurance.
Without adequate insurance coverage, a person who is involved in a motor vehicle crash will be responsible for their own medical bills when the motorist who strikes them does not have adequate coverage or funds to pay for their injuries.
What Minimum Required Car Insurance Policies Cover
Some of the types of coverage included in minimum motor vehicle insurance policies include:
- Bodily injury liability coverage. Coverage pays for other individuals’ injuries when you are responsible for causing an accident. The minimum insurance policy compensates up to $25,000 per individual but is capped at $50,000 per accident despite how many people were injured. This means that a person might have to pay for any medical costs after bills surpass the insurance limits. This means that if you cause a crash that results in $40,000, your insurance will pay $25,000 and you will be required to pay for the remainder out of pocket. If three people are injured and each has $20,00 in medical costs, insurance will pay up to $50,000 and you will be responsible for paying for the remainder out of pocket.
- In car crashes, property liability coverage compensates for damages caused to another person’s property. This often means the cost associated with repairing another vehicle, but it is not restricted to this. This can also include things like buildings as well as other physical items. If another driver owned personal property in the vehicle that was harmed in the crash, the driver might request that you pay for the replacement of these items. The minimum coverage compensates $25,000, you must personally pay for any property damage that surpasses this amount.
- If an uninsured motorist causes bodily harm or damages property, your uninsured motorist coverage will compensate for your damages. Hit-and-run crashes can also be pursued under uninsured driver coverage. The compensation from this coverage is the same as liability coverage. Because you do not know the identity of the motorist who caused a hit-and-run accident, you will be unable to file a claim for compensation with this party’s insurance carriers. As a result, you must proceed through your insurance carrier. In this situation, your insurance carrier might charge you the deductible for compensating you out of uninsured motorist coverage. If the location of the motorist who caused the hit-and-run is ever determined, your insurance provider should reimburse you for the deductible.
Available Options for Additional Coverage
Although it is not legally required, obtaining additional insurance coverage that surpasses the minimum is often a wise idea. Motor vehicle crashes can lead to substantial damage to property as well as costly injuries for the people involved. The average stay at a hospital in this country costs a little more than $30,000. This means that a person who has minimum insurance coverage will already have to pay $5,000 out of their pocket.
A person can pay for additional coverage that increases the upper limit of the payout. You can also obtain underinsured coverage as well as collision coverage and comprehensive coverage.
Underinsured coverage compensates you if you are in a crash where the other individual is at fault, but their insurance fails to cover the entirety of your medical bills or property damage.
Both collision and comprehensive coverage protect vehicles. Collision coverage compensates when a vehicle is damaged in a collision with another vehicle or a stationary object. Meanwhile, comprehensive coverage protects vehicles against other types of damage like vandalism and theft.
How Our Long Island MVA Lawyers Can Fight for You
If you or a loved one is involved in a crash, you should not hesitate to speak with an accident attorney, particularly if the other motorist is responsible. Our Nassau County accident lawyers understand the stress and overwhelming emotions that can arise after car accidents, particularly when injuries or fatalities are involved. Even if you have the maximum insurance possible, you still might face challenges receiving fair compensation from insurance carriers because they focus on paying out as little as possible. Insurance carriers try to pay less than what you deserve, which is why you should not provide official statements to them or accept any offers for compensation until you first speak with an accident attorney. A lawyer can advise you about how to best proceed so you can focus on healing from any injuries you received in the crash. If the accident was the result of another motorist’s negligent driving, you might qualify for compensation. You should not bear the burden of financial losses and emotional harm due to another party’s poor choices. A lawyer can help assess if legal action is a good idea for your case.
Contact a Compassionate Accident Attorney
New York is a dangerous state for motorists. As a result, you should give considerable thought to protecting yourself with more than the minimum motor vehicle insurance policy. Better insurance provides additional compensation if you are involved in an accident, and additional protection if you are found responsible for a crash. At the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP, we have years of experience fighting for the results that people injured in car crashes deserve. We invite you to contact our law office today to schedule a free case evaluation as well as a free auto insurance policy review. Call us today at 516-358-6900.
