What Kind of Insurance Coverage Should I Have?

We hear this question a lot.  It depends upon your financial situation. In order to properly protect your assets, you should have liability coverage greater than the Wisconsin statutory minimum of $25,000.00. You may want to purchase medical payments coverage if you either have no health insurance or limited health insurance. You should maximize the amount of uninsured motorist coverage (UM) and under-insured motorist coverage (UIM) available. You should consider purchasing an umbrella policy of insurance which is surprisingly inexpensive. Car accidents are more common most people realize.

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you and your family if you happen to be injured by a driver that has no insurance. Wisconsin does not require driver’s to have automobile insurance. If you are insured, your policy must provide minimum UM coverage of $25,000.00. You should increase your UM limits as high as possible. It is the least expensive coverage you can buy. It provides financial protection for you and your loved ones in case of a severe injury caused by an uninsured driver..

In Wisconsin, the Court of Appeals has ruled that insurers issuing umbrella policies that are excess over primary automobile liability insurance must provide under-insured motorist coverage.  See Nault v. West Bend Mut. Ins. Co., 2007 AP 1670 (released May 20, 2008).  So, if you have an umbrella policy ($1 million) and are in a serious auto accident caused by an under-insured motorist (let’s say for example the at-fault driver only has insurance coverage totaling $25,000.00) you will be protected by your $1 million policy.

Under-insured motorist coverage protects you and your family for injuries that may exceed the amount of the at fault driver’s insurance. You should increase the UIM limits as high as possible also. It is also inexpensive to purchase this coverage. UIM will protect you or your family in the event of severe injury. The benefit of this insurance protection far exceeds its cost.