Pennsylvania Auto Insurance Coverage What You Need to Know about Required Coverages

All owners of motor vehicles in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are required by law to purchase and maintain automobile insurance.

When purchasing auto insurance, you want to ensure you are sufficiently protected in the event you are in an accident, while being mindful that the cost is not beyond your budget.

Moreover, as an owner, driver or passenger, it is important to understand how automobile insurance affects an individual involved in an automobile accident.

Required Coverages

Under Pennsylvania law, there are certain coverages that must be part of every auto policy. You do not have to ask for them; but you do have to decide on the amount of each coverage. Coverage is the dollar amount of protection given by the policy. The following coverages are required in Pennsylvania:

Liability Insurance: This type of insurance provides payment to others. If an accident is your fault and you caused property damage or bodily injury to others, your liability insurance will compensate the injured party. The minimum amount required by law is $15,000 per individual and $30,000 per incident.

The question you should ask yourself is: How much coverage do I really need? Higher limits are available and should be purchased if you have assets to protect. If you cause an accident and the person injured makes claim against you and the value of the claim is greater than the limits of your policy (because of serious injury), then the injured party may choose to pursue the claim for damages in excess of your policy. In that case, your assets may be at risk (home, savings, investments, income, etc.). Your insurance agent can advise what limits of this coverage are available to assist in your decision of what coverage to select.

Medical Payments a/k/a Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This is a type of medical insurance you pay for through your auto insurance. It will pay your own medical bills (or for the passengers of your car) for treatment you receive if in a car accident - regardless of who is at fault (thus, it is also called No Fault Insurance). The minimum coverage required by law is $5,000. If you exhaust your PIP limit of coverage, then any additional medical bills can be submitted to your health insurance. If you have health insurance, then the $5,000.00 minimum PIP limit should be more than adequate coverage.

Please do not hesitate to contact Adams Kearney if you have any questions regarding auto insurance coverage or if we can be of any other assistance to you. You can also find our other informative article, Take Back Control of Your Finances and Life, at www.AdamsKearneyLaw.com.