While you’re making New Year’s assessments of the state of your life, take an extra moment to evaluate your motor vehicle insurance coverage.
Much attention is given to the premiums you pay for your coverage, but even more scrutiny should be given to the actual coverage being purchased.
To fulfill Idaho minimum legal requirements, motorists need only carry liability coverage providing $25,000 in bodily injury coverage and property damage per person.
But just because you’re covered legally, doesn’t mean you’re covered financially. Current health care costs and vehicle values leave anybody carrying only minimum coverage precariously exposed. If you’re at fault in an accident and carrying only the legal minimum coverage, you may be on the hook for far more than your insurance company is obligated to pay.
We recommend at least following the 100/300/100/300 rule. That’s liability coverage of $100,000 per person for bodily injury, including death; $300,000 in bodily injury for multiple injured people per accident, and $100,000 in property damage. And to cover yourself if the other vehicle’s driver is at fault (caused the accident), you should purchase at least $300,000 in underinsured coverage.
It’s okay to shop for price when shopping for automobile insurance, but make sure you’re not skimping on coverage that would protect you and others.
If you are injured in an accident and are not at fault, we can often make insurance companies pay when they’re unwilling to. But we can only make the other driver’s insurance company pay for the coverage the other driver purchased and the underinsured coverage you paid to cover yourself.