The short answer: always elect “Full Tort” for your Pennsylvania auto insurance policy.

While no one can undo a serious personal injury, our legal system does allow for the injured party to receive just compensation for their personal injuries suffered in an auto accident. In Pennsylvania, as well as some other states, there are two auto insurance options for tort actions: limited tort or full tort.

Limited tort is the cheaper car insurance option, which makes it a very popular choice. Individuals often come into my office after they’ve been injured in a car accident that wasn’t their fault, and say, “I thought I had full coverage.”  In Pennsylvania, limited tort insurance bars people from pursuing compensation for pain and suffering. Many Pennsylvania drivers do not realize that it is possible to have excellent coverage for property damage, medical expenses, even personal injuries caused to another, but the limited tort policy prohibits you from recovering just compensation for your own personal injuries, when you need it the most.

The next statement I often hear is “But it wasn’t my fault.” Except for a few specific situations, fault doesn’t matter if you have limited tort insurance in Pennsylvania. Even if you did nothing wrong and the car accident was entirely someone else’s fault, limited tort can prevent you from recovering compensation for your pain and suffering. People tend to choose the limited tort option because it’s a little cheaper, sometimes $15 per month. I get it, for someone in the lower or middle class, saving $15 or $20 per month seems like the right choice because, they think, “This will never happen to me.” This option can end up costing that person hundreds of thousands of dollars for a car accident that they did not cause and was not their fault.

Many states do not have the limited tort insurance option, and I personally wish that Pennsylvania did not. Unfortunately, times are tough, and many people will try and keep their car insurance premiums down. I suggest you gather a handful of auto insurance comparisons from several car insurance brokers. My final advice is to always select the full tort insurance policy so that you can be sure that you will be fairly compensated for pain and suffering should you suffer personal injuries in a car accident.

When you call the Trapani Law Firm for a free review of your car insurance policy, I will also review and explain the following: UM/UIM Coverage, Bodily Injury Liability, Medical Expense Benefit, Property Damage Liability, Income Loss and Stacking of Limits. Give me a call anytime; I’d like to help serve my local Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley community to the best of my abilities. 610.351.2330.