Automobile insurance coverage

Automobile accidents are unfortunately a common occurrence in our mobile society. Frequently, they result in serious injuries or death. Because of the potential for such severe consequences, it's important to obtain sufficient automobile insurance coverage to protect ourselves and our families. Nowadays, the minimum level of insurance available in Wisconsin of $25,000 can fall far short of providing the protection each of us needs.

Many people assume that increasing their liability insurance means a significant hike in the premiums, when in fact that is not always the case. For example, according to one of the largest insurance companies in the Midwest, increasing a policy from limits of $100,000/300,000 (that is, a limit of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident) to $250,000/500,000, on average, involves an increase in premiums that can be less than $30 semi-annually. This is a relatively small price to pay for a significant amount of additional coverage.

The other consideration with respect to auto insurance involves uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) coverage. UM protects us when a driver that causes injury does not have a policy of insurance. UIM kicks in when another driver has limits that will not fully cover the injuries involved. The semi-annual premium increase of less than $30 in the above example would also include raising limits of UM and UIM to $250,000. Always remember to ask about UM and UIM when discussing coverage with an insurance agent. This coverage provides an important and relatively inexpensive method of insuring ourselves for injuries that we might sustain in an automobile collision.