Proper Insurance Limits Are Worth The Cost

At Hardworking Capital, our job is to help guide you through all aspects of your finances and inform you of related risks. To that end, our “Perspective” edition of The Works will periodically introduce you to another professional’s viewpoint.

Our first contributor is Carrie Babij, President of Desert Insurance Solutions of La Quinta.  Carrie is an expert with over 20 years’ property and casualty insurance experience including her position as Vice-President, Wells Fargo Insurance.  Her independent firm offers a complete line of personal, commercial and professional liability products from top insurance carriers.

The following was submitted by Carrie:

“A colleague of mine has a local client who rented an RV to take his family up to Big Bear. As they drove up the side door of the RV swung open and struck a bicyclist they were passing. The bicyclist was thrown over some rocks and severely injured.

The client was legally at fault and was sued. His 1-800 auto insurance had a $100k limit with no umbrella. Medical expenses for the bicyclist were over $300k, and total damages are projected to be $1.1 million. So the client is expected to lose $1 million of his $2 million personal assets. All because he was improperly insured.

Anyone who drives a car, owns a home or runs a business faces the serious risk of lawsuit which, if underinsured, can be catastrophic. My general advice for personal property and casualty insurance is to self-insure the little risks (like fender benders) and use the savings to insure the big risks (like lawsuits). In other words, carry a high deductible on your auto and homeowners policy, then make sure you have high limits on liability and uninsured motorists, and buy a low cost umbrella that covers your personal assets.

Property and casualty insurance can get more complicated, particularly for businesses, professionals and high net worth individuals. So the real point of this story is to suggest you find an expert independent agent you can trust.”

Hardworking Capital is not affiliated with Carrie Babij or Desert Insurance Solutions.  This is not intended as an endorsement and is for informational purposes only. Photo Credit: Masson/Shutterstock.com