A few days ago, we discussed how big your liability can extend in case you are responsible for an accident. I got some responses back saying that my figures were exaggerated. Let’s take a closer look, and then we can decide if the figures were exaggerated.

During our hypothetical drive, your phone rang and it was you BFF calling you about the latest sale at The Awesome Fashionista Boutique, or Terrible Ted’s Hardware, i.e., your favorite store of all time where you love to shop. You momentarily lost control yourself, and of your car while you thought of all of the delicious things you could buy on sale, and you broadsided another vehicle right where the driver’s side door is and injuring the driver of the other car who had to be taken away in an ambulance.

The ambulance takes the driver to the emergency to the emergency room where he is treated for the injuries caused by you. The injuries are found to be sufficiently serious that the victim has to receive surgery, and then spend a month in the hospital undergoing follow-up treatment and care for the injuries. After being released from the hospital, the victim has to undergo two years in rehabilitation, undergo physical therapy, and during this time is unable to work and make a living, or provide for his or her family.

Now plug in the type of job that the victim has. If, like our hypothetical example put it, if the victim was a teacher, well the expenses will add up, but will remain manageable, so to speak. Teachers do not make all that much money, and so therefore the costs of missing two years of employment wouldn’t be huge, but, they’d still be pretty big. But, what if the person you broadsided was a doctor? a powerful lawyer? A professional athlete? Then your liability would really add up.

Now, what would happen if the victim’s disability was longer than two years? What if the disability was permanent, and the victim had a lifetime of loss of income? What if the victim was killed? The best way to protect yourself from major lawsuits, and possibility of risking the loss of your hard-won assets, is to buy sufficient insurance to protect you in case of worst-case scenarios.

Bottom line, pay attention to your car insurance policy. It is important to keep more than price in mind when shopping for auto insurance, or getting car insurance quotes. Yes, it is tempting to go for the lowest quoted rate when you get your car insurance quotes, but that may not be the wisest course of action for you, and may leave you unprotected from serious car accidents, and the aftermath of those accidents.

Some recommendations:

Find a good local agent. An insurance agent that has experience helping customers protect themselves, and has already seen some real-world cases where drivers found themselves without adequate coverage is your best best to find the protection you really need. They will also be trained to help you save as much money as you can, without leaving you exposed to dangerous financial situations.

Tags: Auto Insurance, car insurance, consumer advice, Insurance, insurance coverage, Insurance policy, shopping online, Traffic collision, Vehicle insurance

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 1:46 AM and is filed under Auto Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.