Do you know if you have enough car insurance to protect yourself and your family if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident? How long has it been since you discussed automobile insurance with your insurance agent? The New Year is a great time to review your car insurance coverage to ensure you have sufficient coverage for any situation. Our New Orleans car insurance attorneys encourage you to discuss your insurance coverage with an insurance agent.
Required Car Insurance in Louisiana
Louisiana requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance to protect other people in the event a driver causes a car accident. Liability insurance compensates victims of an accident that you cause up to your policy limits. The minimum liability insurance Louisiana drivers must carry is:
- $15,000 for bodily injury or death to one person in an accident
- $30,000 for bodily injury or death to multiple people in an accident
- $25,000 in property damage coverage per accident
If you have assets you want to protect, you might want to consider purchasing higher amounts of liability insurance. A victim of a car accident that you cause can file a lawsuit seeking additional compensation for damages that exceed your car insurance limits.
Do I Need Optional Car Insurance Coverage?
Other types of car insurance are optional. However, because they are optional does not mean that you should ignore their value or overlook them to save money. Many of the optional types of car insurance available can protect you if you are involved in a car accident, even if you are not at fault.
Types of car insurance coverage that you may want to discuss with your car insurance agent include:
- Medical Payments Coverage — Med Pay insurance pays medical bills after a car accident, regardless of who may be at fault for the cause of the crash. Med Pay can be very useful in the weeks and months following a car accident while liability is being determined and you are recovering from your auto accident.
- Collision Insurance — Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle for an auto accident that is your fault. Lenders often require owners to have collision insurance to protect them in the event of an accident.
- Comprehensive Insurance — This type of car insurance covers damage to your vehicle from covered events other than wrecks, including fire, vandalism, theft, and hail.
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage — Uninsured motorist coverage compensates you after an accident with an uninsured driver. Thousands of drivers in Louisiana have no insurance. It is wise to carry the highest amount of uninsured motorist coverage as you can afford.
- Underinsured Motorist Coverage — Many people save money on car insurance by carrying the minimum amounts of liability car insurance. Unfortunately, a car accident can result in thousands of dollars in damages that exceed minimum policy limits. Underinsured motorist coverage helps to compensate you for damages that may exceed the at-fault driver’s liability insurance limits.
- Towing Insurance — Towing insurance reimburses you for covered towing charges.
- Rental Car Coverage — This type of optional car insurance reimburses you for covered rental car charges.
Talk to your insurance agent to review your car insurance coverage. Make sure that you understand your coverage, exclusions, policy limits, and deductibles so that you are not surprised after a car accident.
Contact a New Orleans Car Accident Attorney for Help
If you are injured in a car crash, our New Orleans accident attorneys can help. Contact Attorney Fred Olinde or any of the accident lawyers at The Olinde Law Firm by calling (504) 587-1440 or 1-800-587-1889 to schedule a free consultation.