How much insurance do I need in Wisconsin if I’m in a car accident?

March 2, 2017

Transcript

“Hi. This is Bob Welcenbach, a Milwaukee Personal Injury Attorney.

We’re here today to talk about what are the mandatory limits of insurance in Wisconsin. We’re going to talk about why these coverages are really inadequate in a different video, but today we’re just going to explore what is required in Wisconsin.

First, let’s talk about liability insurance. Liability insurance is an insurance that in the event you injure someone else or your passengers are injured, then your insurance company will pay a total of $25,000 per person and up to $50,000 per accident per bodily injuries.

The next type of insurance is called property damage. Now, this is different than collision. Collision covers your own car damage. Property damage is in the event you strike someone else and you’re at fault, your insurance company will pay you the minimum limit of $10,000 for damage to that person’s car.

Now the next type of insurance that’s mandatory in Wisconsin is called uninsured motorist, UM. Uninsured motorist is coverage for you in the event someone else does not have insurance or there’s a hit-and-run. Now, in this case, your insurance company will pay you the limits that are mandatory in Wisconsin of $25,000 per person and up to $50,000 per accident.

Let’s talk about two more types of insurance. There is insurance called UIM, which is under-insured motorist. What under-insured motorist is insurance in the event someone else hits you and their insurance is inadequate and your insurance company won’t pay additional amounts, sort of like overage insurance.

Now in Wisconsin, this is not mandatory, but your insurance company has to provide you a notice that it’s available. Right now, the mandatory minimum, if you elect to have this coverage, is $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident. We’ll talk in a future video about why UIM is deceiving and you don’t get what you pay for and how that works, so look for that future video.

Now the last type of insurance that’s common is called med pay insurance. Again, med pay is not mandatory in Wisconsin. Your insurance company, though, has to give you a notice that it’s available, and if you choose to have med pay, there’s a mandatory limit of $1,000. Now what med pay does is that in the event you’re injured in an accident or your passengers are injured in an accident, your insurance company will pay you that limit of $1,000 towards medical bills.

Thanks for watching this video about mandatory minimum insurance coverages in Wisconsin. Again, we’ll talk about why these are really inadequate in a future video, but if you like us, please go to our Facebook page and like us, and if you have any other questions, you can always visit our website, www.welcenbachlaw.com, or call us at (414) 774-7330.”