What Does Full Coverage Car Accident Insurance Mean?

Have you recently been in a car accident caused by another driver? Did the driver assure you that he or she has full coverage car insurance? If so, you might be wondering if the driver does have full coverage insurance. Just because a driver says he or she has full coverage, that insurance still might not cover all of your medical expenses.

If you have suffered an injury in a car accident in the greater Charlotte, Mooresville or Monroe area we can help. At Arnold & Smith, PLLC our attorneys have extensive experience negotiating with insurance companies on behalf of our clients.

Insurance companies often try to pay injured drivers the least amount of compensation possible. We fight for our clients to receive the most compensation possible from insurance companies. To schedule your free initial consultation, contact our law firm today.

After a car accident, those involved are usually in shock or quite stressed. Perhaps the other driver knew that he or she was at fault for the accident. The driver may have reassured you that his full coverage insurance would cover any medical costs and car repair costs.

What does full coverage insurance mean? The term full coverage is not entirely straightforward. When some drivers say full coverage insurance, they may be stating that they have the minimum insurance liability coverage required by the state of North Carolina. North Carolina law requires the following minimum insurance coverage:

• A minimum uninsured or underinsured motorist property damage coverage of $25,000
• A minimum property damage liability coverage of $25,000 per incident
• Minimum liability coverage for bodily injuries of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident
• A minimum uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident

If the other driver meant that he or she had the minimum legally required coverage, the insurance might only pay out $60,000 for your bodily injuries. Many car accidents result in injuries that cost less than $5,000 to treat. Nonetheless, severe injuries such as spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries can cost over a million dollars in medical expenses over the lifetime of the injured person.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation points out that the costs of living with a severe spinal cord injury are high. For example, if a 25-year-old receives a spinal cord injury that results in paralysis, the lifetime medical costs could exceed $4.5 million. Even when a 50-year-old suffers a spinal cord injury in which he still has some motor function, his lifetime costs could easily exceed 1 million dollars.

In the United States, one surgery can cost more than the minimum bodily injury insurance requirement. For example, a Denver resident fell and broke his leg in 2013. He had no insurance and had to receive surgery to treat his broken leg. He received a $63,000 hospital bill for his surgery.

If someone has to have multiple surgeries after a severe car accident, those hospital bills could double or triple. If the other driver only has $60,000 in bodily harm insurance, that amount would not cover the hefty medical bills or any other damages resulting from the car accident.

Even if the at-fault driver has insurance exceeding the minimum state requirements, it still may not cover all of your medical expenses. Further, many drivers ignore the obligation to take out insurance and risk paying the relatively inexpensive fees. Approximately 9% of North Carolina drivers have no automobile insurance.

There is a good chance that if the at-fault driver does not have car insurance, he or she also does not have enough assets to pay you compensation. Our attorneys can help you determine what the best course of action is in this type of situation. There could be other drivers, companies, or municipalities that are at-fault and not insolvent.

At Arnold & Smith, PLLC we understand that our clients who have suffered injuries in a car accident need compensation as soon as possible. That is why we work diligently and effectively to bring about an amicable resolution to their case. Contact our law firm today to schedule your free initial consultation, now with convenient offices in Charlotte, Mooresville and Monroe.