Richmond, VA based personal injury attorney Jason W. Konvicka answers the question “How Much Car Insurance Is Right For You?”
What to consider when buying car insurance
My name is Jason Konvicka, and I’m a trial attorney with the Allen Law Firm. Many times I’m asked “how much coverage should I have on my car insurance policy?” The most important thing is to consider that car insurance is protecting you in two ways. It protects you if you cause an accident, but it also protects you if you’re injured by someone else who has either no coverage, no insurance at all, or very little insurance coverage.
Car insurance coverage amounts
I always recommend that people buy as much insurance as they can comfortably afford. You’re really investing in protection for you and your family. The amount of insurance that you would want to have really depends on how much protection you feel that you need. If you have a lot of assets, you might elect to have higher insurance coverage. If you’re starting out, just got out of college, and you don’t have a lot of assets, you might decide that you’re more comfortable with a little bit less insurance coverage. I typically recommend people start at $100,000, if not $250,000, and even consider more than that… and the reason why is that I think most people are very surprised that the cost of having additional coverage is really not that high. One of the most important things that I stress to people is that when they get insurance don’t just focus on the liability coverage (that’s the part that protects you if you cause an accident).
Under-insured or uninsured motorist coverage
The other part which is just as important if not more so is the under-insured or uninsured motorist coverage (that’s the part of the policy that protects you if you’ve been injured by someone else who has either no insurance coverage or has very limited insurance coverage). However, as the person buying the insurance, you can actually elect to have less under-insured or uninsured motorist coverage, and that’s a huge mistake and it’s something you definitely don’t want to do. You might save a few dollars now, but it could cause significant harm to your family financially. So it’s extremely important when you get insurance coverage that you have matching limits (which means that your liability insurance and your uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage match).
About The Speaker: Jason Konvicka is a partner with Allen & Allen in Richmond, Virginia. During his 20+ year career he has achieved numerous record-setting jury verdicts and substantial settlements on behalf of his clients. Outside of the courtroom, Jason is highly involved with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and currently serves on its Board of Governors as Vice President.
