Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyers

Frequently Asked Questions - Insurance

The list below addresses some of the most frequently asked questions having to do with insurance.

1. What types of insurance do I need?
2. What is Automobile Insurance?
3. What is Home Insurance?
4. What is Renters Insurance?
5. What is Life Insurance?
6. What coverages are required by insurers?
7. What is No-Fault insurance?
8. Who is required to have Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance?
9. Which insurance company pays your No-Fault benefits?
10. What are No-Fault Medical Benefits?
11. What is No-Fault Disability and Income Loss?
12. What are No-Fault Replacement Services
13. When can I make a claim against the other insurer?
14. What is No-Fault insurance stacking?
15. What is an umbrella insurance policy?

If you have recently been injured in an accident, it is critical that you contact a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer as soon as possible.

The purpose of an insurance policy is to protect you again potential financial liability. Since there are countless risks we each face on an average day, it is not surprising that there are so many different types of insurance policies on the market to choose from. There are numerous types of insurance policies available, with each tailored to your specific needs.

A few of the most common types of insurance are: Auto Insurance, Health Insurance, Home Insurance, Renter’s Insurance, Life Insurance, No-Fault Insurance, Boat Insurance, Motorcycle Insurance, and Umbrella Insurance. Although the numerous policies available may seem endless, you are going to put yourself in a very risky situation if you don't have the proper forms of insurance.

Automobile Insurance is a type of insurance providing a safeguard that protects the owner from losses due to traffic accidents and/or theft. All 50 states have different legal requirements when it comes to car insurance and the minimum amount of insurance that is required.

In Minnesota, car owners are required to carry insurance for their vehicles in case they are involved in an accident causing injury or damage to someone else. Although liability is the minimum level of coverage required, it is highly recommended that all vehicle owners also carry collision and comprehensive insurance. Opting for collision and comprehensive insurance policies will provide a safety net, ensuring that damage to your vehicle will be covered, as opposed to liability, which will only cover the other driver. In addition, collision and comprehensive insurance will cover medical expenses if you are injured in the accident.

Your home is likely to be the most expensive thing that you own. Home insurance is extremely important as it covers your financial investment in your house. If something terrible were to happen, such as as a house fire or flood damage, you will be responsible for paying to fix the damages or rebuild your home. Based on your individual needs, you can choose a policy that provides as much protection as you think necessary.

A homeowners insurance policy will reimburse you for losses to your home, covered under the policy. A homeowners policy should cover (1) losses to real property such as lighting, fire, storm damage, or vandalism, (2) loss of personal property located inside the home by theft or another covered risk,  (3) loss to personal property lost or stolen outside the home such as your vehicle, and (4) personal liability for bodily injury to protect you in the instance that someone is injured on your property.

When disaster strikes, it doesn’t differentiate between those who own their home and those who rent. As a result, renters face the same risk as homeowners making rental insurance just as much of a necessity. Although your landlord or condominium association may already have insurance, it only provides protection for the physical building structure, not the personal items that are located inside.

Renters insurance typically provides coverage, up to the limits you select, for specified situations, such as: fire, theft, flood damage, and smoke damage. Not only will renters insurance provide coverage for your own personal items, it will also protect you from accident and injuries that occur while you're at home, such as a friend or aquaintance slipping and falling.

Medical bills and healthcare costs are extremely expensive, and the more medical attention you require the more expensive your medical bills will be. You cannot predict when you will be in need of medical care. As a result, healthcare coverage is extremely important. Health insurance will guarantee that you are able to see a doctor and/or be able to visit the hospital without suffering the severe financial hardship that results from medical bills.

There are numerous options available in regard to coverage for medical care, including: Catastrophic Health Isurance, Short-Term Health Insurance, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) insurance, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) insurance, and Full-Service Health Insurance.

Insurance carriers must provide the following minimum coverages under your auto policy:

1. Bodily Injury Liability (BI): $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident. This is the coverage that covers you if you cause an accident and injure someone.
2. Property Damage Liability (PD): $10,000 per accident. Pays for damages to the other car or other property if you cause an accident.
3. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM): $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident. This is coverage for you and your family if a person without insurance or without enough insurance injures you.
4. Personal Injury Protection (PIP): also called No-Fault benefits:

If you are involved in an auto accident, it is critical that you contact a lawyer from our office as soon as possible. One of our attorneys will review the facts of your case and contact you to further discuss potential claims.

Determining fault in an auto accident is generally determined by the state in which the accident occurred. Minnesota has developed a no-fault based system of auto insurance. This means that the injured person's no-fault insurance company pays for most out-of-pocket losses, such as medical and chiropractic bills, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, and many other types of out-of-pocket loss directly after an accident occurs. This prevents long and costly court battles over who was at fault for the accident and to what degree.

Under the Minnesota No Fault Insurance Act, Minn. Stat. § 65B.41, each person injured in an auto accident is guaranteed $40,000.00 of coverage for basic economic loss benefits, with $20,000.00 being allocated for medical expenses and $20,000.00 for other no-fault benefits, lost income, replacement services, funeral expense loss, survivors economic loss, and survivors replacement services loss. If you own more than one vehicle, you have the option of purchasing no-fault stacking, which multiplies all of the No-Fault benefit limits.

In the state of Minnesota, all motor vehicle owners are required have No-Fault insurance except motorcycles, which only need liability coverage. You will need to have proof of insurance to obtain, or renew your license plates. It is a misdemeanor criminal offense if you drive, or let anyone else drive your vehicle without insurance.

The Minnesota legislature chose to adopt the no-fault based approach for many reasons, incuding:

1. to relieve the severe economic distress caused upon uncompensated victims of automobile accidents;
2. to encourage appropriate medical and rehabilitation treatment of the automobile accident victim by assuring prompt payment for such treatment;
3. to speed up the administration of justice and ease the burden of litigation on the court system;
   
4. and to correct imbalances and abuses in the operation of the automobile accident tort liability system.

Generally, you collect no-fault benefits from your own insurance company. Even if you don’t own a vehicle or otherwise have coverage of your own, you can usually apply to have coverage assigned to you. If you are injured in an accident while in a commercial vehicle, you usually collect from the commercial vehicle’s insurance company.

If the accident occurs while you are in a commercial vehicle, you usually collect from the commercial vehicle’s insurance company. This process can get be very complex, so call it is important that you contact one of our Minneapolis Injury Lawyers immediately for additional information.

Medical expense benefits include all reasonable expenses for necessary medical care from doctors or hospitals, chiropractic offices, x-rays, optical, dental and rehabilitation services, such as physical therapy. The Minnesota No-Fault Act also specifically provides for inclusion of chiropractic care and treatment.

In addition, it extends to ambulance costs, nursing services and extended care facilities. It can also include medically necessary devices such as prosthetic limbs, prescription drugs, and reasonable transportation expenses incurred traveling to receive the covered medical benefits, such as mileage and cab fare.

Obviously the care and treatment sought must be causally related to the motor vehicle. The decision as to the form of medical care is left entirely to the injured person. The insurance company does not have any right to make a choice as to your treating physician. As long as the care and treatment sought is causally related to the auto accident and such treatment is reasonable and necessary, the insurance company remains responsible for payment up to the statutory maximum of $20,000.00.

A partially disabled person who is unable to work full-time or return to the same type of work he or she performed prior to the injury has an inability to work within the meaning of the statute. Inability to work is defined by the Minnesota No-Fault Act as: disability which prevents the injured person from engaging in any substantial gainful occupation or employment on a regular basis.

Loss of income also includes the cost incurred by a self-employed person to hire substitute employees to perform tasks normally performed by the injured person and which cannot be performed because of the injury. Disability and income loss benefits provide compensation for 85% of the injured person's loss of present and future gross income from an inability to work that is proximately caused by the auto accident. In addition, disabity and loss of income is subject to a maximum of $250.00 per week.

Income Loss Benefits are payable for loss of time from work while receiving reasonable and necessary chiropractic or medical treatment. If the injured person returns to employment and is unable by reason of the injury to work continuously, compensation for loss of income shall be reduced by the income received while the injured person is actually able to work.

If a persons sustains injuries in a motor vehicle crash that keep them from performing their normal daily duties at home, they may be entitled to “Replacement Services.” Replacement Services compensate the injured person or their family for the reasonable expenses that are incurred in obtaining substitute services to replace the services that the injured person would have been able to perform had the accident not happened.

For example, if a person’s injuries make it necessary for them to hire someone to clean the house, mow the lawn, take care of children, or perform other regular household duties, the no-fault insurance carrier is required to reimburse these extra expenses up to a maximum of $200 per week. All replacement service loss incurred on the date of the injury and the first seven days after the injury are excluded in calculating the replacement service loss.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you may deserve compensation for losses No-Fault benefits do not cover. These include pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, emotional distress, and other losses. You may also claim losses resulting from the injury, or death of family members, or certain loved ones. In, order to recover such losses, you will have to prove liability as well as meet any one of the following:

1. Over $4,000 in medical bills;
2. Disability for more than 60 days;
3. Permanent injury or disfigurement; or
4. Death.

If the driver causing the accident is uninsured, or commits a hit and run from the accident site, you may not need to prove such serious injury and may also have additional rights.

Your No-Fault coverage can easily and inexpensively be increased if you own more than one motor vehicle. Stacking your No-Fault insurance coverage multiplies the amount of coverage available so if you own two vehicles under the policy, you would be entitled to $40,000 of medical coverage and $40,000 of wage loss benefits if you were hurt in an accident. Another added benefit of stacking is that it also multiplies your eligable weekly maximum wage loss coverage.

In addition, stacking also multiplies your medical no-fault coverage. Regardless of whether you have health insurance, you should consider the benefits of stacked no-fault medical coverage policy. Talk to a Minnesota insurance agent for additional information on stacking.