Hello, my name is Mark Diederich, CEO of TDA Insurance. As a valued client of TDA its our goal to keep you informed and educate you on your insurance choices.
By now, I am sure you have some knowledge of the Auto Insurance Reform that went to effect July 2nd, 2020 in the state of Michigan.
We have sent you information and videos and talk with many of you regarding your Personal Injury Protection and Liability choices that you can elect.
There is one change in the new law that was not very well publicized. Now that you have Personal Injury Choices —you can know opt of unlimited medical protection, (although for most people we don’t recommend that) You can opt out of Personal Injury Protection altogether with a qualified medical plan or you can reduce your lifetime limit to $500,000, $250,000 or $50,000 if your on Medicaid. Some people on a limited budget are electing to reduce or eliminate their Personal Injury Benefits. Why is it important to know that some people are electing lower benefit levels? Because the new law now allows you to be sued by another party if they have un-reimbursed medical bills. Before the new law went into effect you could not be sued for this because everyone had unlimited benefits.
What does this mean to you? It means you have an increased bodily injury liability exposure. That is why the state has recommended that you carry the new recommended Bodily Injury Liability Limit of $250,000 per person or $500,000 per occurrence. For some people, this limit is sufficient. But for many people that have 2 cars and a home and other investments and assets to protect this is not enough. For those people, we recommend they carry an umbrella liability policy that sits on top of your auto and home insurance and provides extra liability protection in case your sued for unreimbursed medical bills and damages. Personal Umbrella Liability policies can be purchased in increments of $1 Million Dollars for about $200-$300 per million of coverage per year.
Who hasn’t noticed the personal injury attorney’s commercials on the tv and radio almost 24 hours a day? They stand ready to take on any kind of auto related accident to sue for damages, and now unreimbursed medical bills. We have seen more injury claims and lawsuits in the last couple of years, and now there are more reasons to sue. We anticipate this trend accelerating with the new law.
If you own a home and have assets, we think its a solid piece of mind that you consider spending $20/month to have this extra protection. If you have considerable assets you want to purchase enough umbrella coverage to cover your total assets. Often, this cost will ne offsets by small decreases in your auto insurance premium.
If you would like a review on your liability limits and a proposal on a personal umbrella liability policy, please contact one of team members at TDA Insurance at 877-828-6690.
I hope you find this information helpful in educating you on insurance choices. Its our goal to make sure you have the protection you need at competitive prices. Thanks for Listening and remember its always a Great Day at TDA!