Attorney Warns About Drivers without Automobile Insurance

A New York lawyer who specializes in accident litigation is warning consumers to be sure they have sufficient auto insurance to protect them if they end up in an accident with an under- or uninsured driver.

According to attorney Michael S. Levine, minimum liability coverage is often insufficient to cover the full range of medical expenses and property damage that can result from a serious accident.

"One of the hardest things in my profession is to have to tell a client that the person who caused their accident either has no insurance, or only has the $25,000 minimum liability coverage required by law in New York State," said Levine.

Levine noted that in New York, legislators are considering a bill that would require insurers to provide customers with uninsured and underinsured coverage equal to the amount of liability coverage on an account.

The attorney also suggests that people who do not carry at least $100,000 in uninsured/underinsured coverage are being "penny wise and pound foolish" because the cost of this additional coverage is often modest. He also warned drivers against assuming that everybody else on the road is carrying sufficient insurance coverage.

Right now, 49 states have laws requiring drivers to carry automobile insurance, although various media outlets have noted in recent months that during the recession, a growing number of people have tried to cut costs by skirting such laws or carrying the minimum amount of coverage possible.