PATTY HARKEN: Welcome to Spotlight 5. I'm Patty Harken. And I'm so glad you've joined us today to see who's in the spotlight. If you've ever been in an auto accident or felt that a doctor didn't do quite right by you, you may have felt like it was you against the world. Well, Steve Vanek, Managing Partner at Friedman, Domiano & Smith, is here to let us know that you don't have to feel alone. They can help. Welcome, Steve. Nice to have you here today.
STEVE VANEK: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
PATTY HARKEN: So we're talking about automobile insurance today. What are people doing with their automobile coverage?
STEVE VANEK: Well, one of the things in the current climate that's happening is people--you know, money's tight. People are losing jobs. Or they're taking pay cuts. So they're going through their expenses. And they're looking to see what can I cut out of my insurance policy. Sometimes that comes up as a way--well, maybe I'll save money here.
PATTY HARKEN: Right.
STEVE VANEK: But one of the things you never want to do in Ohio is cut out your uninsured, underinsured motorist coverage. It's no longer mandatory as of October 31st, 2001, in Ohio. So people get confused because they say, well, what's full coverage? Full coverage in Ohio technically now is just liability coverage. And that protects you in the event that you hit somebody else and protects them if you do that.
PATTY HARKEN: Right.
STEVE VANEK: It doesn't protect you if you're hit by somebody who's uninsured. In Ohio right now, the problem is the state's not really doing what it should to make sure that everybody's keeping their insurance and driving with insurance. So your odds of getting hit by somebody who is uninsured in Ohio is fairly high, much higher than it should be.
The only way you can protect yourself is to keep your uninsured, underinsured motorist coverage in place. And if you look at your premium, the large part of what you're paying for in your premium coverage is your liability. That's the highest rated coverage you're going to pay for. Your uninsured, underinsured motorist coverage is fairly minimal in the scheme of things. Don't eliminate it. Don't get rid of it. If you need it, you need it to be there.
PATTY HARKEN: Right.
STEVE VANEK: The other coverage that's important is medical payments. And you know, a lot of people now don't have health insurance.
PATTY HARKEN: Right.
STEVE VANEK: Or their employers drop their coverage and they can't afford it. Medical payments coverage will kick in to pay the medical bills that aren't covered by some other source. And this is a way to kind of protect yourself--not from a general illness. But if you're in an automobile accident, let's face it, 12,500, which is the state minimum policy limit, can be gone in your first ER visit if it's bad.
PATTY HARKEN: Right. So people really shouldn't be going for the absolute minimum coverage. It's not going to--
STEVE VANEK: [Interposing] It's not a good idea.
PATTY HARKEN: No.
STEVE VANEK: To the extent that you can increase it above 12.5, you should do that. And it's not just people who are looking to save money. There's also an issue with folks who have a well-paying job and have a lot of assets. They need to be thinking about their reality, which is that you might want to have an umbrella policy over and above everything else to protect yourself. And shop around because those are--you know, vary from company to company on what they're offered. But the bottom line is limits and what you pay for the premium is not the end all. You need to look at the policy.
PATTY HARKEN: Very good. Well, thank you, Steve. If you're interested in seeing Friedman, Domiano & Smith, and they can help you, go to fdslaw.com or call (800) 280-0070.
[GRAPHIC: FRIEDMAN, DOMIANO & SMITH, www.fdslaw.com, 800-280-0070]
[GRAPHIC: PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATION, Provided By, Friedman, Domiano & Smith]
FRIEDMAN, DOMIANO & SMITH
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