AUTO INSURANCE POLICY WITH DROP DOWN OR STEP DOWN COVERAGE – MN LAWYER
Our lawyers always encourage people to read their insurance policies and ask their agents a lot of questions. Here is another important reason to know what you are getting in your insurance policy:
In Minnesota, every auto insurance policy is required to have a minimum amount of liability coverage, and 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.
READ YOUR CAR INSURANCE POLICY
You need to know how much auto insurance you have before you get into an accident. Another reason to read your insurance policy is that some auto policies have what is called a step down or drop down provision.What that means is that even though you think you purchased more coverage, in certain circumstances the car accident insurance will step down or drop down to the minimum.
For example, if you are passenger in an accident caused by your family member, what you thought was $250,000 in auto insurance can drop down to $25,000.Or if you loan your car for the day to your sister or best friend, the 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 after they, 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. Therefore, read your policy NOW and ask your insurance agent questions so you know what you are getting. 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, you are always welcome to call us. You will speak with a top attorney for a free consultation. Also, here is a link to more information about car accident insurance in Minnesota.