Posted by the Charleston, SC Car Accident Attorneys at Anderson & Schuster, Attorneys at Law, LLC. Our Charleston auto accident lawyers help those injured in car, truck and motorcycle accidents in Charleston, North Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Summerville and across the South Carolina lowcountry.
Have you ever wondered what the numbers mean in your insurance policy? For instance when you renew your automobile insurance and your insurance agent tells you that you have 25/50/25, 50/100/50, or 100/300/100, what does that mean? The first two numbers (multiplied by $1,000.00) deal with the amount your insurance carrier will pay for damages related to bodily injuries. Bodily injury damages include things like medical bills, lost wages, permanent disfigurement, and pain and suffering. The first number in the sequence is the limit that an insurance company will pay an individual for damages related to a bodily injury. That means that if you are injured in an accident and have $100,000.00 in medical bills, and the at-fault driver has minimum limits of 25/50/25 then the most you can recover from their insurance company would be $25,000.00 for your bodily injury damages.
The second number in the sequence relates to the maximum amount an insurance company will pay for bodily injury damages, regardless of how many people are hurt and have suffered damages in an accident. Let's add two more people to our last example and make it where three people were hurt in an accident. Let's say each had $100,000.00 in medical bills. Under this scenario, if the at-fault driver had minimum limits coverage of 25/50/25 the three injured people with $300,000.00 in medical bills collectively would only be able to split $50,000.00.
The last number in the sequence relates to the amount of property damage coverage a motorist has. The property damage coverage covers things like damage to a vehicle or other property damaged in a collision. Again, if the at-fault motorist has minimum limits coverage of 25/50/25 then the most that could be recovered for property damage that was experienced would be $25,000.00.
In South Carolina, motorists are required by law to carry minimum limits liability coverage. As we have discussed, minimum limits coverage in South Carolina is 25/50/25. In a general sense, this liability coverage covers damages experienced by people and property as a result of someone's negligence. These insurance limits are often times not sufficient to fully compensate someone for the damages they experience in an accident. In these situations, there is additional insurance coverage that can be purchased to help protect yourself against someone that does not have enough liability insurance to cover all of the damages you sustain. In our next post, we will discuss this type of insurance coverage. If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident anywhere in the lowcountry, call a Charleston, SC Car Accident Attorney at Anderson & Schuster, Attorneys at Law, LLC to handle your case. Our car accident consultations are free of charge, and can provide you with some valuable information.
Our auto accident attorneys are here to help those injured in car, truck and motorcycle accidents in Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Goose Creek, Hanahan, James Island, West Ashley, Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, Folly Beach, Johns Island, Ladson, Awendaw, McClellanville, Moncks Corner and across South Carolina.
