St. Cloud Personal Injury Lawyer - Automobile Insurance

The National Uninsured: Why You Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage In Minnesota

Mike Bryant — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:24:21 GMT

For the last two weeks the prolific writers here at the Injuryboard, have been participating in a daily dialog about their local perspective on various national issues. This is Minnesota's dive into that discussion. If you haven't been reading it, you really should. At the bottom of this post is the list of the other articles.

Here in Minnesota, Interstate 94 runs across the middle of the state, I-90 runs across the southern part of the state, and I-35 runs north and south. A number of other interstate roads crisscross the state. All of these roads, connect us to the many roads that are coming out of other states. Over time, I have written about all types of tragic collisions on many of those well traveled roads. Some times each of us get involved in those collisions that take place, but many times we never find out what happened.

If the cars are insured, then we know that for Minnesota , no fault benefits will come into play. These are the basic benefits that pay for medical expenses, wage loss, and replacement services that allow coverage when a car is involved. My partner Joe Crumley has written extensively about these coverages. Often, the Application for Benefits, which is generally required by insurance companies in order to initiate payment for the aforementioned benefits, is the first application that the injured parties have to fill out.

If one or more of the vehicles involved in the crash is uninsured, as is being talked about by Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C., Steve Lombardi from The Lombardi Law Firm, Wayne Parsons of Wayne Parsons Law Offices, Rick Shapiro from Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C., and Pierce Egerton from Egerton & Associates; there is an even greater reason why you should protect yourself and your passenger(s) by purchasing increased uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. UM is sold in a link with underinsured (UIM) coverage, which is the coverage that protects you and your passengers when the other car has insurance, but not enough. These coverages are extremely important to protect yourself and your family against injuries and the many hardships that come after many accidents.

Over the last week, I have been driving the Minnesota portion of I-94 from end to end, and I have observed an increased number of state troopers out on the roads. I would guess that with people heading off to college, Labor day coming up, the increased DUI enforcement, and people heading down to the State Fair, it makes sense to be watching the roads more. Hopefully, they are being made safer; but, you still need to protect yourself and your family by checking your personal auto coverage.

Another helpful thing to do is spend a little time looking over these posts:

Are Double-Bottomed Semis More or Less Dangerous to You? - Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C. (Michigan), August 26, 2009

Who wins and loses when a Ford Focus and a fully-loaded semi-truck crash? - Steve Lombardi from The Lombardi Law Firm (Iowa), August 25, 2009

Hawaii Freeway Chronicles #1: What Are The Danger Points On H-1, H-2 and H-3?, by Wayne Parsons of Wayne Parsons Law Offices. (Hawaii), August 27, 2009

The Interstate Highway Graveyard, “Speed Kills”, Lombardi, August 28, 2009

Why Speeders on the Highway Cause More Serious Accidents, Glass, August 28, 2009

Death and Injury On Interstate Highways Increase With Higher Speed Limits, Wayne Parsons, August 29, 2009 2:31 AM

Drunk Drivers Caused 40% of Traffic Fatalities In Hawaii In 2006, Wayne Parsons, August 31, 2009 12:16 AM

Interstate Highways Are No Place For Drunk Drivers Over The Labor Day Weekend, Wayne Parsons | September 01, 2009 4:36 PM

Uninsured Motorist Car Insurance: It’s Your Most Important Car Insurance and Here Is Why, Rick Shapiro, September 01, 2009 10:30 AM

Uninsured Drivers: Who Are These People?, Pierce Egerton , September 02, 2009 12:00 PM

Risky Drivers Don't Just Drive Drunk and Speed - They Often Don't have Insurance , Wayne Parsons, September 02, 2009 4:09PM

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Are The Chickens Coming Home To Roost For Allstate?

Mike Bryant — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:54:00 GMT

Interesting that this week Allstate announced they are losing customers. Their revenues are down and they have now vowed to do a better job. Chief Executive Tom Wilson said the insurer was trying to stem the loss of customers whom he fears are unhappy with its services. "We are losing too many, we think because they are not happy," Wilson said.

This is interesting news. Maybe they have been reading:

April Arman : All State and State Farm in Lott's Crosshairs

Mike Ferrara : Allstate is Cooking the Books

Jeffrey Meldon : Allstate Admits it has Dirty Hands

And one of my favorites: Been Treated Like Dirt by Allstate Insurance? Now We Know Why.

Injuryboard members have been pointing out the problems for some time. Hopefully, Allstate means it when they say they are looking at treating people the way their commercials suggest they do. It's time to get out of the frivolous defense business.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Save Lives: Stop Drinking And Driving In 2009

Mike Bryant — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:31:00 GMT

The death statistics in Minnesota went down for car accidents in 2008 but, they increased for alcohol related crashes. The safest way to prevent this is to simplely not drink and drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also provides a number of safety tips that should always be kept in mind:

1) Alcohol's effects change as more drinks are consumed. After a few drinks, inhibitions are lessened, and driving skills and decision-making abilities become impaired — all before symptoms of intoxication become apparent.

2) Alcohol in the digestive system continues to be absorbed into the bloodstream, affecting judgment and coordination for hours after the last drink.

3) Caffeine is a stimulant that can help keep you awake, but it does nothing to remove the alcohol in your system.

4) If your celebration plans include alcohol, make sure you have a ride home with someone you are confident will not be drinking.

5) Women especially should always keep a hand on their drinks, to prevent anything from being slipped into them.

We see the tragedy that results from cases when drunk drivers are on the road. Make sure you aren't one of them. Here's to a safer and happy 2009.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Insurance Study Suggests That Lawyers Make a Difference

Mike Bryant — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:41:00 GMT

Recently, I discussed the "independent" study that was put together by the Insurance Research Council and touted by the Minnesota Insurance Federation . What is interesting is that items they seem to be spinning in a negative light, may be a great reason for the average Minnesota consumer to take a closer look.

As part of the presentation of the study, they found that between 1997 and 2007, only 23-28% of Minnesotans hired an attorney to help with their no fault benefits. Nationally, during the same time, the percentage was 28-31%. Those who hired attorneys received three times as many benefits.

The study then points out that claims with attorneys are open longer. Which makes sense, because an attorney who understands the law will make sure that No Fault pays what it should. If the Insurance company denies, delays and defends someone will be on the insured side.

No fault benefits involve a number of protections. It's important if you are in a motor vehicle accident that you talk to someone who understands what your rights are. Missing from the study, is the reality that the insurance companies virtually have an attorney on every case. You need someone on your side.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Insurance Study Suggests Minnesota Liability Premiums Lower Than National Average

Mike Bryant — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:11:00 GMT

Recently, I discussed the "independent" study that was put together by the Insurance Research Council and touted by the Minnesota Insurance Federation . The study's impact according to press releases was to show that Minnesota has a problem with it's no fault system. But on closer look, the numbers used show that Minnesotans pay less than the national average for liability coverage.

At the same time, we have one of the best systems for coverage's. The mandatory underinsured and uninsured coverages help people protect themselves when they are in an accident with a car that has no or not enough coverage. The 30,000 liability limits take care of many smaller cases. Finally, the Minnesota no fault system, which the study seems intended to attack, provides for wage loss, medical coverage, medical mileage and replacement services at one of the most important times for a injured person.

A comparison is then made to the neighbor states of Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota. At best, it's comparing apples to oranges. Each of those states provide for less benefits and have substantially less drivers. There really is no surprise in that result.

While some of the benefits should be looked at because they haven't been increased in over 30 years. The system is one that works and is far more valuable for the injured person than most systems set up in other states.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Fox In The Henhouse- Are We Better Off With The New AIG CEO

Mike Bryant — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:56:04 GMT

The recent shocking news of AIG's financial problems has lead to a number of questions about where they go from here. Of great concern is their most recent move to put former Allstate chief Edward M. Liddy in charge. The press release touted how he decimated Allstate's ranks to save costs and firmly pushed the old-fashioned insurer in the direction of the internet.

The recent problems with Allstate's actions while Mr. Libby was in control have been well documented in other InjuryBoard's Blogs:

Jeffrey Meldon : Allstate Admits it has Dirty Hands

Brent Adams : You Are Not In Good Hands With Allstate

Steve Klearman : AAJ: Allstate Worst Insurance Company in America

Don Jacobs : Allstate insurance tactics revealed in new book

Diego Madrigal : AllState Wins the Worst Insurance Company Championship.

It's of great concern that the worst voted insurance company CEO is now being turned to as a solution. Allstate was sanctioned in a number of states and had their insurance license pulled for a while in Florida. AIG has some big problems, hopefully things won't get worse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant