Several years ago, the State of Illinois amended their statutes regarding minimum limits on automobile liability coverage. The minimum limit was raised from 20/40 to 25/50. Along with that raise in liability limits, the limits for uninsured motorist coverage was automatically raised to $25,000 per person/ $50,000 per occurrence. That's important, but it still isn't enough. When you select your limits for auto coverage, your UM coverage is the most important part of the policy. Go higher than $25,000, protect yourself and your family with $100,000 per person coverage. It's not much more in premium, and you'll be doing yourself a favor if you ever should need to use it.Read More
I recently settled a claim for a client who had been badly hurt when she was struck by a car while riding her bike. She was thrown to the sidewalk, landing on her shoulder and head, then spent three days in a suburban hospital. Concussion, memory loss, foggy thinking, closed head injury and a shoulder injury.The driver who hit her was on his cell phone and he didn't have any insurance. What my client didn't know is that she was covered for the injuries she suffered through her own insurance, through her uninsured motorist coverage. Fortunately, she had decent insurance limits of $100,000 per person. (The state minimum, and most prevalent coverage is only $25,000 per person.) Her own insurance company covered all of her medical bills, her lost wages from work and a fair amount for her pain and suffering. It's so important to protect yourself and your family…Read More
A requirement under most Illinois insurance policies is that the possible subrogation rights of the UIM carrier must be protected, or waived by that carrier, before making a settlement on the underlying case. It is incumbent on you, as the lawyer, that you notify the third party carrier of an offer to settle the third party case and get explicit permission from your client's UIM carrier to sign a release in favor of the tortfeasor. Your client's carrier has the option to "match or waive" the amount offered, that is, they can ask that your client not sign a release, keep the claim open, but they must advance the amount offered by the third party carrier within thirty days of receiving your notice. It is my experience that few carriers will ever advance that money, but they must be given the opportunity to do so. And then they can either…Read More
