Every car in New York state is required to be registered and insured.  The requirements of an insurance policy vary from state to state and you have many options available.  In New York, the minimum bodily injury policy amount is $25,000 per person/$50,000 per occurrence.  This means if you purchase insurance in this amount and you are sued, you are covered up to $25,000 for each person in the accident but only for a total of $50,000.  Of course, you can purchase insurance with greater liability protection but as explained below when you do make sure that you purchase equivalent Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage.

Another portion of your insurance policy is the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/SUM) provision.  This portion of the policy is often misunderstood and when you purchase the insurance your agent or broker does not inform you about this portion for one reason -- it costs them money!  All policies contain the mandatory minimum of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per occurrence Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage.  This portion of your insurance policy is designed to protect you and your family in the event you sustain injury as a result of an automobile accident where the party at fault has no insurance or is unknown.  In such a case your insurance company will assume the role of paying your medical bills and pain & suffering award up to the $25,000.00 per person/$50,000.00 per occurrence limit.

If you presently maintain an insurance policy with liability limits greater than the minimum $25,000.00/$50,000.00 (i.e.., $50,000.00/$100.000.00 or higher) contact your insurance company immediately to check that your UM/SUM limits are equal to your liability limits.  Many times when you purchase your policy you are not told that for just a few dollars extra on your premium you can protect yourself and your family with additional UM/SUM limits up to the amounts of your bodily injury limits.  Therefore, if you have $50,000 per person/$100,000 per occurrence (or higher) bodily injury coverage you must ask you insurance agent for $50,000 per person/$100,000 per occurrence UM/SUM coverage.  In the event you have higher liability coverage you should always have the UM/SUM coverage equal the liability limits of your policy.

It cannot be stated how important it is to confirm with your insurance company that your UM/SUM policy limits match your bodily injury policy limits.  After reading this I would encourage you to review the declarations page of your insurance policy.  If you want more information about your insurance coverage, click here or call us at (516) 241-9192.

< Back