It’s not easy to understand car insurance policies. You want your insurance to be affordable but also offer enough coverage in case of an accident. If you’re unfamiliar with Missouri car insurance laws, it can be difficult to find the policy that’s right for you.
The Kansas City accident attorneys at Peterson & Associates, P.C. understand that car insurance can be confusing, and you may not have a lot of money in your budget to spend on it. Here, we discuss the types of car insurance in Missouri, the minimum requirements as specified by law, and how to make an informed decision to help ensure you’re covered when you need it most.
Options for Missouri Car Insurance Coverage
There are many insurance companies, and each offers different types of auto insurance coverage. Because Missouri is an at-fault state, the driver who’s responsible for the accident is liable for paying for injuries and all damages. However, the kind of auto insurance coverage the liable driver carries will factor significantly into the payout. Here are the common types of auto insurance policies:
Collision Coverage
This type of insurance covers the damage to your vehicle caused by other motor vehicles involved in the accident. Collision coverage is not mandatory insurance coverage in Missouri, so you should check to see if you’ve included them on your policy. However, if you purchased your car with a loan, most car lenders require that you add collision to protect the loan.
Property Damage Liability
This type of insurance covers damages to your property due to an accident. This could include a laptop computer, sunglasses, or other items in your car or trunk.
Comprehensive Coverage
This type of insurance provides assistance if your car is damaged due to natural disasters, such as a flood or hail. It may also cover vandalism and theft. As with collision coverage, you’re not required to have comprehensive coverage in Missouri.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
This type of insurance may cover you if you’re hit by an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver.
Bodily Injury Liability
Under Missouri law, all drivers must carry minimum bodily injury liability coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. So, if you are responsible for a crash, your insurance will pay up to $25,000 for injuries to any one person, with a maximum of $50,000 total per accident if more than one person is injured.
However, our attorneys have found that the minimum coverage is often not enough to fully protect you. Car accidents often cause serious injuries, and the medical costs for those can far exceed $25,000. If you cause an accident, and the injuries to the other driver(s) cost more than your policy limits, you could be personally responsible for paying the difference.
What’s important to remember is that liability coverage only pays for another person’s damages and not the damages you’ve suffered.
Bodily Injury Liability Insurance: What’s Covered
If you’re the at-fault driver in a car accident, bodily injury liability insurance may help pay for some injury-related expenses, including the following:
- Medical bills. If the injured parties are taken to the ER, need to stay in the hospital, or need surgery, medication, and/or other treatment, this coverage usually applies to both the injured person’s immediate care needs and ongoing care.
- Lost wages. If the injured person is not able to work during their recovery, this type of insurance can cover current lost wages and any future loss of income. It can also cover the costs of long-term or permanent injuries.
- Pain and suffering. Pain and suffering are considered non-economic damages and are harder to quantify than medical bills; however, they may still be covered. This insurance covers emotional stress and loss of enjoyment of life caused by the injuries.
- Funeral costs. If the injuries from the crash result in the death of a loved one, this coverage usually helps pay for funeral and burial costs up to the coverage limits.
- Legal costs. If you caused the crash and are sued by the injured party, the insurance company will usually provide an attorney and pay legal fees even if the case goes to trial.
What’s Not Covered
Missouri drivers need to understand that bodily injury liability insurance does not cover all types of damages. Here are some of them:
- It will not cover your injuries if you caused the accident. You will need another type of medical insurance or health insurance to pay for any medical bills you accrue.
- It won't pay for damage to vehicles or other property. That requires property damage liability coverage—Missouri requires all drivers to carry a minimum of $25,000.
- It won’t pay for injuries if you caused the accident while using your vehicle for business reasons. You will likely need commercial auto insurance for business use.
- It won't cover injuries caused while committing a crime. Insurance only applies to accidents, not deliberate harm.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Why You May Need it
After an accident, you’re likely to face expensive medical bills, and you may not be able to work during your recovery. Because of this, the minimum amount of insurance coverage will likely not be enough to cover the costs of your injuries. Additionally, once that coverage is exhausted, you will be financially responsible for the remaining amount due for that accident or any other accident during that policy period.
It’s possible you could be injured by a driver who only carries this minimum amount of liability coverage; if so, you will be left to handle the unpaid bills and lost wages, unless you added coverage to your policy known as under-insured motorist coverage. This type of coverage is important to add to your car insurance policy to protect yourself and your family from drivers with inadequate liability coverage.
It’s also possible that your insurance agent didn’t spend time explaining this to you when you bought your policy. In general, insurance agents have little or no incentive to encourage you to purchase higher limits or added coverage. Why? Because the extra premiums are so small. However, the small additional cost to you gives you important added protection. For a small additional premium (around $20 or $30), your risk is greatly reduced.
Full Coverage: What it Really Means
The attorneys at Peterson & Associates, P.C. can help you better understand the kinds of car insurance coverages and how they apply when you’re injured, so you’re not surprised when you need financial assistance from your insurance company.
Often, we get calls from people who were injured in a car accident, but their insurance isn’t enough to cover their costs. Many of these injured victims thought they were purchasing “full coverage” when they bought their insurance policies and believed they were covered in just about any situation. It’s a hard reality after you’re injured to learn that your insurance doesn’t cover what you thought it would. That’s why it’s important to work with our Kansas City accident attorneys who can explain your policy and your coverage.
PIP and MedPay
Personal injury protection (PIP) is available in some other states but not in Missouri. However, you may consider adding an optional coverage known as medical payments (MedPay) coverage. Like PIP, MedPay may reimburse you for out-of-pocket expenses up to the limits you purchase, regardless if you caused the accident. MedPay doesn’t cover lost wages or home assistance.
In general, the limits for MedPay are $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000. It works in conjunction with your health insurance. Typically, your health insurance pays first, and then MedPay will cover your copays and deductibles. If you don't have health insurance, MedPay can provide critical coverage so you can get necessary treatment.
Peterson & Associates, P.C.: When You Need Help With Your Accident Injury Claim
Most people never expect to be involved in a car accident. But, when they are, the type of auto insurance coverage they have can make a big difference in the impact on their physical, emotional, and financial well-being.
It’s important to have the right car insurance, but many people find it challenging to understand the different types that are available. And many learn too late that their existing policy doesn’t fully cover them.
At Peterson & Associates, P.C., our Kansas City accident attorneys know that dealing with insurance claims and trying to understand your own insurance policy after a serious car accident can be overwhelming, especially when you're trying to recover from injuries. Read our case results to learn how we’ve helped clients after an accident.
