My last few columns have dealt with some common legal issues clients and citizens face in everyday life, with suggestions about how to avoid the problem in the first place. The best legal problem to have is the one which never happens. Hopefully, the suggestions below will spare you the frustration and bad surprises that go with many disputes. The suggestions will also help you receive adequate payment for legitimate claims you may have for which there may not otherwise be sufficient insurance coverage.
A costly insurance gap. Families should consider a routine insurance rider to cover one’s more valuable personal items, such as jewelry and special keepsakes. Otherwise, a theft or other loss may result in your receiving an insurance payment of $500 or $1,000, the general coverage policy limit without the rider, when the monetary value of your lost or stolen items may be much more.
Meet with your agent to review what especially valuable items need to be scheduled separately. The modest amount of time and expense to do this are clearly worth it to you.
Auto insurance. Consider increasing your underinsurance auto-insurance coverage. The greater risk for you as an otherwise safe driver is often not that you are in a wreck that’s your fault — but rather that someone injures you and they have inadequate coverage.
Over the years, more individuals and families have sustained significant financial losses caused by negligent parties who are often judgment-proof. The clients have a claim that goes partially (and sometimes substantially) unpaid unless they have adequate underinsurance coverage.
This risk far and away is the single greatest legal exposure of a not-at-fault citizen and it is largely, if not entirely, avoidable by providing this coverage for your family.
Umbrella policy. Consider purchasing one to provide an affordable extra level of coverage should you have a claim made against you. In my experience, few (if any) claims ever exceed your higher level of coverage with an adequate umbrella policy. The cost for this rider is generally modest and it provides people with peace of mind as well as financial protection.
Review your insurance deductibles. You may be able to pay for these modest additional insurance coverages recommended here by establishing higher deductibles that are more realistic based on your historical claims.
What do you do if you are in a wreck? Call the authorities, without exception. You want to document who did what and who said what about how the wreck occurred, especially for insurance purposes. It also helps to avoid, shall we say kindly, the other party “misremembering” key facts. A Joe Friday officer who records “just the facts, ma’am” avoids many issues, especially given North Carolina’s harsh contributory negligence law (not comparative negligence, as in most states). This means that if you are (allegedly) at fault by even 1%, you cannot recover on your claim. A negligent party who later (mistakenly) suggests to their adjuster that you may have been somewhat at fault, too, thus contributing to the wreck even in a small way, may result in a denial of your claim under North Carolina law. If the party does not contend that to the investigating officer, it is much harder for the at-fault party mistakenly to suggest later that you may have been at fault, too.
We will explore next time other common challenges you can avoid with a little planning.
Remember: An informed choice is a smart choice.
This article was originally posted by the Winston-Salem Journal. To read the original article, click here.