Alaska has thousands of miles of the road, some with traffic jams during weekday rush hours and some where you can drive for hours without spotting other vehicles.
Whether you spend more time commuting to work or driving out to rural communities for service calls, you have to carry insurance on your vehicle according to state law. You probably expect to make a straightforward insurance claim when you get hurt in traffic or your vehicle suffered major damage.
Unfortunately, there are some situations in which drivers will find themselves with uncovered expenses. When will insurance not be the solution to your crash-related costs?
When there are gaps in the other driver’s coverage
Many people view insurance not as a form of protection but as a financial burden. They might try to minimize their insurance costs by reducing how much coverage they carry. The problem with this approach is that if someone suffers a significant injury that requires weeks in the hospital or time off of work, insurance may not offer enough coverage to pay all of their bills.
There are some drivers won’t don’t have insurance at all. Just over 16% of Alaskan drivers don’t have insurance. If you don’t have uninsured or underinsured motorist protection on your own policy, a crash might leave you with no coverage at all or a lot of bills that insurance won’t pay.
When you accept a settlement
Insurance adjusters are often quick to offer lump-sum settlements after car crashes. When you don’t have any income and need to pay medical bills and car repair costs, a check from the insurance company can seem like exactly what you need.
However, once you accept that settlement, you don’t have the right to ask for coverage for any future expenses. Even if the settlement is far less than the maximum coverage available through the policy and you have tens of thousands of dollars in additional expenses, you will have a very hard time getting more compensation from the insurance company after you accept a settlement.
Making the most of the coverage available to you and carefully reviewing settlement offers can help protect you from car crash expenses that you have to pay out-of-pocket.