Car & Motorcycle Accidents

What to do in the Event of an Accident

STOP: You must notify police of the accident immediately.

ASSIST THE INJURED: If someone is seriously injured, get an ambulance, rescue squad or doctor immediately.

PROTECT THE SCENE: The cars should be left where they came to rest, unless they are blocking traffic.

NOTIFY THE POLICE: Florida law requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident to notify the police. This should be done as son as possible after checking for injuries and removing traffic obstructions.

PROVIDE REQUIRED INFORMATION: You are required by law to provide the other driver in an accident with your name, address, and vehicle registration number and, to let him see your license. You are entitled to the same from him.

DO NOT COMMENT: Except for your exchange of required information, you should not comment on the accident.
OBTAIN WITNESSES: Get the names and addresses of all the witnesses you can.
WHEN

TO LEAVE: After you have assisted the injured, obtained identification from the other driver, provided your own name, address and identification, gotten the names of witnesses, studied the scene so that you know what happened to cause the accident and assisted the investigating officer, you are free to go.

SEE A DOCTOR: Serious injuries do not always show immediate symptoms. It would be wise to have our doctor examine you as soon as possible.
INFORM

YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY: After on-scene investigation of the accident has been completed, you should inform your insurance company if any injury or significant property damage has occurred.

MAKE NO PAYMENTS: The driver of the other car can not force you to pay anything without legal proceedings and you or the other driver’s insurance company must pay for damages in many instances. Accordingly, you should carefully consider the circumstances before making payments to the other driver for damage to his car or property. You would be prudent to seek the advice of your lawyer.

SELECT YOUR OWN LAWYER: Do not allow anyone to rush you into a settlement. You may be entitled to significantly more or you may not be obligated to pay as much. By consulting a lawyer, you will safeguard your own rights. Attorneys are designated in specialties to aid in selection.

^ TOP ^

Understanding Automobile Insurance Coverage

There are six basic automobile insurance coverage's that are available. Although the law only requires that you secure personal injury protection coverage and property damage coverage, we urgently recommend that you get full coverage in all areas.
BODILY INJURY COVERAGE
Simply stated, bodily injury insurance is designed to protect the policyholder from lawsuits or claims that have been made as result of the policyholders’ negligence. As a general rule, this protection is also extended to the driver of the automobile, regardless of whether he or she is named on the policy, as long as that person is operating the vehicle with the owner’s permission and consent.
If you have involved in an accident, and a claim is made against you, your insurance company will hire an adjuster who will investigate the matter and attempt to settle the claim within your policy limits. If the adjuster is unable to settle the claim and a lawsuit is filed against you, your insurance company will pay the costs to have an attorney defend you throughout the lawsuit.
Under most policies, you are required to cooperate with both the adjuster and the attorney.

^ TOP ^

UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGEThe purpose of this protection is to provide coverage for personal injuries to you and those who are in your vehicle, in the event you are involved in an automobile accident that is not your fault. If the person who causes the accident has an inadequate amount of insurance, you are permitted to make a claim under your own policy.
Depending on the policy, you may be required to file a lawsuit against your insurance company or submit your claim to binding arbitration. Because the law does not require motorists to have bodily injury coverage, there are a substantial number of drivers who are either uninsured or underinsured.
Because this coverage may directly benefit you, it is highly recommended that you purchase the maximum amount of uninsured motorist coverage that is available for each automobile that you own.

^ TOP ^

COLLISION COVERAGECollision Coverage is designed to provide insurance against the risk of damage to your vehicle. As a general rule, most insurance companies require you purchase this coverage with a deductible that can range from $100 to $1,000.
Regardless of the cause for the damage, your insurance company is required to pay the costs to have it repaired. However, if the repair costs exceed the fair market value of the vehicle, your insurance company may elect to pay you only the fair market value of the vehicle.

^ TOP ^

COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGEComprehensive coverage is designed to protect you from the risks of damage in a non-accident context. For instance, if your car is damaged as a result of vandalism, theft or catches fire as a result of an electrical malfunction, you may make a claim against your comprehensive coverage.

^ TOP ^

PROPERTY DAMAGE COVERAGEProperty damage coverage insures you against the risk of damage to property that may be caused by your negligence during an accident. For example, if you swerve to avoid an object and hit a fire hydrant, your property damage coverage will be used to reimburse the city for the costs that are incurred to repair the fire hydrant.
Because various insurance companies offer other insurable options such as towing and rental car reimbursement, it is important that you discuss these options in great detail with your agent before purchasing a package of automobile insurance.

^ TOP ^

PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION BENEFITSOur current “no fault” law requires each automobile operator to maintain personal injury protection coverage in an amount not less that $10,000. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is designed to provide medical and lost wage coverage irrespective of fault. For example, if you have been involved in an automobile accident, you may make a claim for PIP benefits against your insurance company regardless of fault.
Under the “no fault” statute, you company is required to pay 80% of your medical expenses and 60% of your lost wages providing you are able to establish that the medical treatment was both reasonable and necessary or that you were unable to work as a result of the accident. Although the “no fault” statute requires insurance companies to pay PIP within 30 days, this time period does not begin to run until the company has received the medical bills and the pertinent documentation to substantiate the lost wage claim.

^ TOP ^

MEDICAL PAYMENTS COVERAGEIn addition to PIP coverage, most insurance policies provide medical payments coverage. This coverage is designed to pay the other 20% of your medical expenses that were not covered under PIP. Of course, once all PIP benefits have been exhausted, this coverage can be used to pay 100% of any remaining medical expenses. It should be remembered that your medical payments coverage is not available definitely. For example, many insurance policies provide that all claims for medical payments coverage must be made within one year from the date of the accident. Because of such time limitations, it is important to check your policy to be sure how much time you have in which to make a claim for medical payments coverage.

^ TOP ^

What is Uninsured Motorist Coverage

What is uninsured motorist coverage?
Uninsured Motorist coverage (U.M.) is in essence liability insurance coverage that covers you in the same way as your liability insurance coverage covers the other drive. In the event the other driver does not have liability or has inadequate liability insurance, then you may make a claim on your U.M. coverage.
Since Florida does not require that all drivers carry liability insurance, the likelihood of being in an accident with someone who does not have liability insurance coverage, or has inadequate coverage, is substantial.

^ TOP ^

REJECTING U.M. COVERAGEIf you carry liability insurance, your insurance agent must offer you the same limits of U.M. coverage. If you reject the coverage or elect lower limits of coverage, the agent must have you sign a U.M. selection form. Please consider this decision carefully. In order to protect yourself and your family, we urge you to purchase U.M. coverage.

^ TOP ^

WHO IS INSURED?Those insured under the U.M. section of a motor vehicle policy fall into two general classes. Class I insured's are the named insured on the policy, his or her spouse, and any resident relatives of the insureds’ household. Class II insureds are operators and passengers in the insured vehicle. The distinction between Class I and Class II insureds is the coverage for Class I insureds applies whether the insured is injured in his own vehicle, in someone else’s or is a pedestrian. Class II insureds are covered only as to the vehicle they are driving or occupying.
Policies vary; therefore, it is important that we inspect all policies for all automobiles in your household. If you are a passenger in someone else’s car, you will also need to obtain the vehicle owner’s policy. If you cannot get this, we can obtain it by mail for you. We will examine what coverage you have and who is covered.

^ TOP ^

STACKINGUnlike liability coverage, U.M. may be stacked, but only if you select stackable coverage at the time of purchase. If you have U.M. coverage on more than one vehicle, then these policies may be stacked. For example, if you carry 25/50 coverage ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident) and you have two cars on the policy, then you have 50/100 coverage with which to make a claim. This applies only to accidents occurring before October 1976 or after October 1, 1980. Stacking is presently an option which we strongly recommend you select.

^ TOP ^

IN SUMMARYMany people realize the importance of U.M. coverage after a serious accident. We suggest that if you are not carrying inadequate U.M. coverage or no coverage at all that you immediately have this added to your policy. In our opinion, the relatively modest premium charged for U.M. coverage is money well spent by you.