It’s hard not to ignore the flood of auto insurance commercials inundating television programming. Call one and save 15% in 15 minutes. Another offers a plethora of discounts. Another offers the “value plan.” While these slogans may seem catchy, they fail to disclose, what protection they offer the consumer. After all, isn’t the purpose of auto insurance to protect you, your family, and your property in the event you are involved in an accident?
The CDC REPORTED that in 2009, there were almost 11,000 drunk-driving related fatalities. Approximately one third of all motor vehicle crash fatalities involve alcohol-impaired driving.
In 2010, an estimated 4 million U.S. adult respondents reported at least one episode of alcohol-impaired driving, for an estimated total of approximately 112 million alcohol-impaired driving episodes or 479 episodes per 1,000 adult population.
Those numbers are alarming and scary. At Bliven Law Firm, P.C. a Montana and Oregonlaw firm, located in Kalispell, we help victims of drunk driving accidents recover compensation for their injuries and deaths of their loves ones. Through our experience, we have discovered that most Montana and Oregondrunk driving crashes cause severe and permanent injuries or death to the innocent victims.
Montana and OregonDrunk Drivers often do not have significant assets or adequate insurance to cover all of the victim’s damages. Some people do not realize that medical expenses from a drunk driving accident may total hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the innocent victim has not purchased adequate underinsured and uninsured coverage, he or she could be personally responsible for the medical bills caused by the drunk driver.
Some consumers may be surprised to realize how affordable Uninsured and Underinsured coverage is, especially when substantially increasing the policy limits may only raise the annual policy premium by a few dollars a month. In addition, uninsured and underinsured coverage is personal and portable in Montana and Oregonmeaning that regardless of the vehicle you are in, whether it be your own, a relative’s, friend’s or co-workers, you should be protected with your own uninsured and underinsured coverage in Montana.
In addition to uninsured and underinsured coverage, many Montana and Oregondrunk driving victims do not carry medical payments coverage. Med. Pay. coverage is designed to protect the insured regardless of who is at fault.
Insurance disputes, involving liability, underinsured and uninsured coverage may last months. If your bills are not promptly paid, some medical providers may quickly send your bills to collections, damaging your credit score. Most Med. Pay. coverage in Montana, will cover your medical expenses, if you are involved in a car accident, regardless of whose fault it is. Having adequate medical payment insurance means if you are injured in an accident, you can seek and receive medical treatment knowing the bills will be paid.
While it may be tempting to save $50 on auto insurance, isn’t it more important that auto insurance covers you and your loved ones in case you fall victim to one of the four million drunk drivers on the road ? Talk with an insurance professional to make sure you and your family are adequately covered in case you become the victim of a drunk driver accident in Montana.
If you have been hit by a drunk driver in Montana, contact our offices at Bliven Law Firm, P.C. We have been handling drunk driver accident cases in Whitefish, Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Lakeside, Billings, Sydney, Libby, Troy, Eureka, Flathead County, Lincoln County, Lake County and more for over 35 years. We are dedicated to helping innocent victims of drunk driving accidents in Montana.