Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM August 2018 | Page 21

By: Jan Laman [email protected] Harbour Insurance Services, Inc. With regards to Auto Insurance, Motorcycle Insurance, Boat & Recreational Insurance there is a danger of buying too little coverage. At my agency we get calls all the time from prospects that want the “cheapest coverage” or “minimum required limits”. What does this mean? I’ll break it down for you. Minimum required limits for vehicle insurance in Texas are: $30,000 Bodily Injury Coverage for each person with a $60,000 limit for the entire loss and $25,000 for property damage. This means that if you are at fault in an accident, regardless of the extent of the injuries to the other parties or how many people were injured you have no more than $60,000 to cover it all. Have you been to the ER lately? Medical costs are skyrocketing. The average injury in an accident is currently reported to cost $26,000 and that’s just for one person. Remember? If you buy minimum limits, you only have $30,000 coverage for that one person. What if there are two or more? What if the medical costs go over the limit? None of us want to pay for insurance we may never need, including me. The reality is that, at some point in our future something will happen and we will need our insurance coverage to avoid untold out of pocket expense. We live in a very litigious society. We have to protect ourselves from losing everything over one incident. The next time you call an insurance agency for a quote, and I highly suggest you contact a local, licensed, experienced insurance agency, ask for the highest possible liability limits and then ask for a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy. The Personal Liability Umbrella policy will give you at least $1,000,000 worth of additional liability insurance for your vehicles, home and any other property you insure. Make sure you are protected. The premium increase is minimal compared to the risk you take every time you get into your vehicle. I have never had a client regret paying insurance premiums after having a large loss. They are always thankful they had the insurance in place to protect them. It also means that whatever property you damage with your vehicle, whether it is another vehicle, a building or a telephone pole, you only have $25,000 coverage for that property. Most vehicles on the road today are worth more than $25,000. What does this mean for you? Once you reach your coverage limits, all further expenses come right out of your pocket. And, if the injuries are serious, these medical costs can accumulate for years. If that vehicle you damaged is worth more than your policy limit to replace, the difference is your responsibility. MOMENTUM / August 2018 20