Category: Personal Injuries
Car Accidents and Unintended Consequences
January 4, 2011 | Jon P. EricksonSome times when a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident they end up getting a traffic ticket such as a careless driving ticket. This can happen even if a police officer didn’t witness the accident. They might give you a ticket there at the scene of the accident, or send you one in the mail. A careless driving ticket or other misdemeanor moving traffic violation is a crime with a statutory maximum of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. The potential biggest problem from a conviction for such an offense is probably the collateral consequence of its effect on your motor vehicle insurance rates. It may make sense financially to hire a lawyer to fight this charge to try and prevent such a conviction. There may also be problems should you be sued civilly by the driver(s) of the other motor vehicles involved. We at BGS recommend you talk to our lawyers about this to help you make a decision on what to do. There are even potential felony charges from being involved in a motor vehicle accident such as Criminal Vehicular Homicide or Injury charges. One should always hire a lawyer in these types of cases. We have the legal expertise to handle both your motor vehicle accident…
Read MoreCar Insurance: What Do The Numbers Mean and What is "Full Coverage" Any Way?
December 21, 2010 | John T. BuchmanPeople often purchase car insurance early in life and seldom revisit their insurance coverage with their agents. People often ask me, “How much coverage do I have?” or “What do the numbers mean?” Many are confident they have adequate insurance because they purchased “full coverage,” but what does that really mean? What do the Numbers Mean? Minnesota law regulates car insurance policies issued in Minnesota and sets various minimum coverages and types of mandatory as well as permissive coverages. If you look at your insurance card or declarations page from your insurer, you may see numbers such as: $100,000/$300,000/$50,000, P20A, 100,000/$300,000 UM/UIM (or U/W). So what do these numbers mean? Insurance coverages generally fall into three categories: liability; personal injury protection “PIP” or no fault; and uninsured/under insured motorist coverage. Liability Liability coverage protects you from lawsuits against you or an insured under your policy for car crashes for which you/they are legally responsible. In the above example, the most the insurance company would pay on your behalf is $100,000 per person for bodily injuries they suffer; $300,000 total for everyone injured in any one collision and $50,000 in property damage (including cars, roadside light poles, etc.). (You can and should consider higher coverages). PIP or No-Fault This is the coverage that exists…
Read MoreHomeowner's Insurance: Dusting Off the Policy
December 8, 2010 | Adriel B. VillarrealYou probably took out your first homeowner’s policy when you bought your first home and have not looked at it since. This can be costly. While I know it is as exciting as going to the dentist or sorting your sock drawer, it is important to look at your policy and talk to your agent to assure your policy meets your current situation. The other option is to find out the hard way: when you have a loss and find out that you did not have the coverage that you thought you did. Myth vs. Reality Most people think that their homeowner’s policy provides absolute or “strict” liability for injury that occurs on your premises. This is not entirely accurate. Most insurance policies provide a limited amount of of medical insurance coverage or “med pay” coverage for anyone who is injured on the insured premises. Thus, if your drunk neighbor stumbles and falls down the steps in your home and breaks his ankle, your policy will provide limited medical expense coverage. However, in order to recover more, an injured person has to prove that you were at fault in some way causing the injury. This “med pay” coverage does NOT cover injuries to your own family members that live with you nor is…
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