You may ask how an attorney can provide assistance to you in the review of your insurance coverage, when insurance agents are, of course, available to advise you in this area. While there are many exceptional insurance agents who are available to advise you on your insurance needs, in many cases consumers purchase policies without much thought as to how they should protect their interests. From a legal perspective, your attorney can review your particular personal or business situation and examine and define more carefully your potential exposure.

For example, our firm handles many cases involving claims of clients who are injured as a result of automobile accidents. In our investigation of these claims, we unfortunately discover that many clients do not have adequate insurance coverage for one reason or another. Many individuals do not obtain optional underinsurance coverage, which provides coverage when you are involved in an accident with a vehicle that has inadequate coverage to compensate you or your family for their damage or loss. Reasonable coverage and other optional protection is not much more expensive than compulsory coverage, but given the regulated fees and standardization of automobile insurance, consumers do not take the time to carefully analyze their automobile insurance. Consumers do not usually care to purchase anything more than the minimum coverage required by law. Unfortunately, many times that decision can be a costly mistake.

With respect to another rather standard area of insurance coverage, basic homeowner’s coverage, many people procure homeowners coverage without giving much thought to what they are purchasing, or the coverage they actually need. In our experience representing buyers’ of residential properties, including the first time home buyer, more often than not, with all the costs and expenses involved in the home buying process, many people decline to purchase an optional general liability umbrella policy. Umbrella coverage is simply a policy that covers you (like an umbrella), on top of your homeowners and automobile policies. The umbrella policy protects you and your family from a wide variety of claims, including, in many cases, your participation or involvement in volunteer activities and as a member of a charity’s board of directors. The cost of obtaining such coverage is normally very reasonable.