AUTO INSURANCE POLICY WITH DROP DOWN OR STEP DOWN COVERAGE – MN LAWYER
Our car accident lawyers encourage people to read their insurance policies and ask their agents questions. We want you to make sure you get the coverage you need. In other words, you should try to avoid being surprised when you make a claim. Here is another important example of an insurance surprise:
In Minnesota, every auto insurance policy comes with at least a minimum amount of liability coverage. Likewise, there must be a minimum amount of uninsured and underinsured coverage. Uninsured and underinsured coverage are pretty much what they sound like. If you are in an auto accident caused by another driver and that driver doesn’t have insurance you have uninsured coverage. If the other driver doesn’t have enough insurance to pay for your injuries, your underinsured coverage will pick up the difference. In either case, this is limited to the amount of the coverage you purchased.
The legal minimum amount of coverage for liability and uninsured and underinsured is $25,000. However, you can buy much more coverage. Our auto accident attorneys frequently see people who have purchased coverage of $100,000 or $250,000. Some people purchase $1,000,000 of coverage. You should know how much auto insurance you have before you get into an accident.
READ YOUR CAR INSURANCE POLICY
However, some auto insurance policies have what is called a “step down” or “drop down” provision. What that means is that in certain circumstances the car accident insurance will step down or drop down to the minimum. You may have thought you bought more insurance coverage, but then it suddenly gets reduced.
This problem often comes up when one family member causes a car accident that injures another family member. For example, if you are a passenger in an accident caused by your family member, what you thought was $250,000 in auto insurance can drop down to $25,000. Another example is when you let someone borrow your car. With some policies, uninsured coverage may have a drop down or step down provision for people who borrow your car. If they are injured by an uninsured driver, your insurance will only cover them for the minimum $25,000 even though your declarations sheet says much more.
Our MN car accident lawyers have had many clients unpleasantly surprised by drop down coverage in their policy. You don’t want to discover this after you or a family member or friend are seriously injured in a car crash.
CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS
Discovering after the crash that your auto insurance coverage stepped down to the minimum can be a big problem. If there is a serious injury with major medical bills and disability, you want the insurance coverage you thought you purchased. Therefore, read your policy NOW and ask your insurance agent questions. If your auto insurance has a step down provision, you may want to make a change.
If you have questions about your auto insurance after you have been injured in an accident in MN, please call us. You will speak with a top attorney for a free consultation. Our top car accident lawyers make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to. Also, here is a link to more information about car accident insurance in Minnesota.