Las Vegas Car Insurance Laws - Coverage Lawyer

Las Vegas Car Insurance Laws - Coverage Lawyer

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One of the things I'm often asked by clients, or people in general, is, "How much insurance should I have? What are the Las Vegas car insurance laws?" That has actually been set by statute. In order to drive legally in Nevada, you have to have at least $15,000 per person in liability coverage. It's funny, that limit was set back in 1958, when the dollar went a lot further than it does now. I encourage all my clients, and everyone I talk to, to get higher limits. It doesn't cost much more; usually just a few dollars more per month can dramatically increase your liability coverage. The other thing that you need to remember, though, is we're having a severe economic crisis in this country, and Nevada has been hit particularly hard. Conservative estimates are that 1 in 6 drivers don't even have car insurance right now. That means that if you're hit by somebody and you're hurt and they don't have coverage, typically they don't have any assets, so you're not going to be able to get any money from that person or that person's insurance company, because it doesn't exist, and you're going to be on the hook for all your medical bills and all your problems, and the cost of your vehicle.

So I encourage all of my clients to get what's called "Uninsured Motorist Protection". Simply stated, that just means that if I get hit by somebody that doesn't have insurance, my insurance company is going to step in and cover it as if they insure that other person. Uninsured motorist carries another benefit: If I'm hit by somebody that has insurance but doesn't have much, and it isn't enough to cover all my harms and my losses, I can turn to my uninsured carrier, and they supplement the insurance the other driver has. It becomes under-insured coverage. I encourage everyone to talk to their insurance agent, and he or she will answer all those questions in more detail, but uninsured motorist is definitely something everybody should have.

A question I'm often asked is, "Do I need under-insured motorist coverage in Las Vegas?", and the answer I always give is, "Absolutely!". Especially in this economic time where we're finding now, more than ever, people on the roadways of Las Vegas have no auto insurance coverage, and as a result, if you're hit by someone without insurance, your only recourse is to use your under-insured motorist coverage. If you haven't spoken to your agent recently about what coverages you have, I strongly recommend you talk to your agent about obtaining at least $15,000 worth of under-insured motorist coverage per person. This will protect everyone in your vehicle in the event you're unfortunate enough to be involve in an accident with an under-insured driver.

One of the most important reasons to have under-insured motorist coverage is you'll rely on it to pay medical bills, which aren't covered by health insurance, that you incur as a result of injury sustained in an accident with an uninsured or under-insured motorist. Also, if you miss time from work under-insured motorist coverage can compensate you for that time you missed from work as a result of being insured. Also, compensation for pain and suffering: Without under-insured motorist coverage, if you're involved in an accident with someone who doesn't have liability insurance, you have no recourse whatsoever. I strongly recommend, if you haven't spoken to your agent recently about your auto coverages, first and foremost - make sure you have under-insured coverage on your policy. Also check the limits of that coverage. In this day in age, with the cost of medical expenses going up yearly, it's important to have a sufficient amount of under-insured coverage. This is an expense well worth it, and one that we strongly recommend you take a look at. Make the change sooner rather than later.

Many people ask me, "What information should I look for, what research should I do before I hire a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer?" Obviously, a referral from a trusted source is always the best way to go, but sometimes you don't have that luxury. What I recommend my clients do is do a Google search on a lawyer that you're thinking about meeting with first, just to see what you can find out (you might be surprised). There are good things on there, but there could be some bad things, and it's up to you, and you can ask the attorney about those thing. The other thing that I encourage people to do is, when they're meeting with a client, ask the attorney, "What is the extent of your involvement going to be on my case? What are you going to do personally?" At our firm, I don't do everything. I don't request the records from the hospital. I don't put the address on the letter and drop it in the mail box. But I do the important things. I deal with the insurance companies, and I talk to the adjusters. I answer all the legal questions. You want to make sure that you have somebody like that; somebody who's qualified to be handling the aspect of the case that they're handling. You don't want some high-school graduate who is 19 years old negotiating with an insurance company on your behalf, but unfortunately there are firms out there that do that.

The other thing that I encourage clients to ask their lawyer is, "How many lawsuits have you filed, and how many lawsuits does your firm file?" Insurance companies keep track of those things. If a personal injury attorney never files a lawsuit, the offers go lower and lower and lower, because the insurance company's not going to respect that law firm. You want an experienced litigator, who's done it before and can tell you what to expect, leading the charge.

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If you are interested in learning more about: <a href="http://www.hennessandhaight.com/types-of-cases/automobile-accidents";>Las Vegas Car Insurance Laws</a>, then visit the Henness and Haight Injury Attorneys' site and learn more about these <a href="http://www.hennessandhaight.com";>Las Vegas Injury Attorneys</a> now!



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