Does your insurance policy have coverage for lost wages?

Motor vehicles are a major source of both injury and liability for the general public. Even in the best circumstances, a vehicle can put someone at risk for a crash and serious injuries. Most people tend to ignore the risk involved in motor vehicle travel, simply because it is part of their daily life.

Drivers may want to keep the annoyance and expense involved in vehicle ownership to a minimum. That often involves trying to minimize insurance costs. However, residents of Kentucky would be wise to balance the desire to keep insurance costs low with the need for adequate coverage in the event of a crash. Simply buying the least insurance possible under the law may not cover your lost wages.

Minimum insurance coverage won’t protect your family well

Even if you are the only one involved in a crash, it can have a massive impact on the entire family. Someone else may need to stay home to provide care for you during your convalescence. The entire family may experience the financial impact of your lost wages as you recover. There is also the loss of a vehicle, the cost to repair or replace it, and the cost of medical care.

If you try to keep costs low by carrying only the minimum amount of insurance that you can in Kentucky, you may find that it does not cover your lost wages and your medical expenses. That is because Kentucky requires no-fault insurance, which means your own policy will provide you with compensation in the event of a crash, not the policy owned by the other driver.

Instead of keeping your costs low by minimizing your insurance costs, you could be leaving yourself and your family vulnerable to future financial consequences if you ever wind up severely hurt in a crash. A more comprehensive policy should include lost wage replacement to reduce the financial impact of a crash.

A thorough policy review can help you maximize coverage while minimizing costs

Many people struggle to really understand the coverage outlined in the motor vehicle insurance policy, especially with the less common no-fault insurance used in Kentucky. Unfortunately, insurance agents can sometimes mislead people out of the desire to maximize their own profit associated with writing a policy.

Sitting down with an experienced personal injury attorney is a great alternative to dealing with the hard sell approach common among insurance agents. Your attorney can recommend the right kinds of coverage for your family’s needs while also identifying any problematic gaps that could leave your family vulnerable.

The whole point of no-fault insurance is to protect your family from a worst-case scenario, regardless of who is actually responsible for the collision. Carrying inadequate insurance is like throwing money away, because you are still paying for the policy without getting all of the protection that you deserve.