By: Henri M. Saunders
LIABILITY INSURANCE
Louisiana law requires that all drivers carry liability insurance. The purpose of this is to protect the motoring public. Liability insurance also protects you in the event you cause an accident. Keep in mind that you are protected only up to the amount of your liability limits selected when purchasing your insurance policy. This will be discussed in greater detail below.
Louisiana law also has a provision called “No Pay, No Play.” This means that if you do not carry liability coverage and you are involved in a car accident caused by someone else, you will not be able to recover the first $15,000 of your bodily injury damages or the first $25,000 of your property damages.
LIABILITY LIMITS – How much should I get?
In Louisiana, the minimum liability limits one must have is 15/30/25.
- 15 – relates to bodily injury coverage, with $15,000 being the “per person.”
- 30 – relates to bodily injury coverage, with $30,000 being the “per accident” limit
- 25 – signifies the amount of property damage coverage, in this instance, $25,000.
So, if you have these minimum limits on your liability policy, you will be protected only up to $15,000 per injured person and only up to $30,000 if multiple people are injured. You will have up to $25,000 in protection for any property damage caused.
At Saunders and Chabert, we like to encourage our clients to increase their limits to whatever you can comfortably afford in order to provide you with personal liability protection, as well as additional protection in the form of Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage.
UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE (“UM Coverage”)
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is very important. As many as 15% of drivers in Louisiana are operating vehicles without insurance.
We often encourage our clients to check their policy to make sure they carry uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage. This is valuable coverage will protect you in the event that you are injured in an accident caused by another driver who is either uninsured or does not have sufficient policy limits to cover all of your damages (“underinsured”).
You should purchase the highest amount of UM insurance coverage you can comfortably afford. We encourage you to stay away from “economic only” UM coverage, as this will not provide coverage for any intangible damages you suffer such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, scarring and disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.
BIG TRUCK INSURANCE
Under Louisiana law, larger commercial trucks (10,000 lbs. or more) are required to carry higher limits of liability insurance. Depending on the vehicle’s gross tonnage, the minimum liability limits could be from $750,000 up to $5,000,000. The reason for this requirement is obvious – the higher the weight of the vehicle, the more damage it can cause.
Under federal law, an 18-wheeler and its load can weigh up to 80,000 pounds which can cause catastrophic injuries and damages if involved in an accident.
Saunders and Chabert has many years of experience handling trucking accident cases, and we know how to maximize recoveries from big insurance companies.
Please contact our team if you have any questions car insurance in Louisiana and the rights you have.