Alabama Auto Insurance Coverage

All drivers in Alabama are required to have a certain amount of liability insurance on the vehicle. Liability insurance provides compensation to another person in the event that you cause an accident and are found to be liable to that person for damages. The minimum amount of coverage required by law is $25,000, but you can purchase higher amounts of liability insurance in order to protect your personal assets against the risk of higher damages being awarded against you in the event you cause serious injuries to another.

When the Birmingham accident lawyers at The Walker Law Firm represent a person who is injured in an auto accident, one of the first things we do is investigate all possible insurance coverage that is applicable to your damages. There are two categories of auto insurance - first-party coverage and third-party coverage. First-party coverage insures you and your property. Third-party coverage pays for injury caused to other people when you are negligent in causing a Birmingham auto accident. In exchange for the payment of a premium, the insurance company promises to provide compensation in the event of certain occurrences. Though a full recitation of insurance coverage and laws would occupy several large text volumes, the following is brief synopsis of the most typical coverage and issues.

Liability Insurance

As stated, this type of insurance is required by Alabama law. The liability portion of an insurance policy is specifically for defending and settling any claims or paying any judgments rendered against the insured in an automobile claim. If you are injured in a Birmingham car accident caused by the negligence of another, we will make a claim under the bodily injury liability coverage of the negligent defendant's insurance policy. Liability coverage is not health insurance, and it is not designed to pay for your medical bills as they are incurred. It is designed for a one-time settlement or lump-sum payment for all of your damages. Liability insurance minimums required by law in Alabama are:

• $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in any one accident.  

• $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more persons in one accident, not to exceed the per-person limits above.  

• $25,000 for injury or harm to property of others in one accident.

Birmingham auto accident lawsuits must be filed against the negligent driver and may not also name the insurance carrier as a defendant. In fact, the jury is not allowed to know that the defendant is even covered by insurance. If the jury renders a verdict in excess of the defendant's liability policy limit, the defendant is then personally liable out of his or her own assets for the additional amount.

Medical Payments (Med-Pay) Coverage

When purchasing automobile insurance, many Birmingham drivers may seek to include several types of coverage in addition to liability insurance. One of these types of coverage is called medical payments coverage, which is not required by Alabama law. This coverage is available to the insured driver (the individual who holds the policy) and any passengers in the insured's vehicle for injuries sustained in an auto accident, regardless of the fault of the driver. It is important to note that the insurance policy of the negligent party does not pay med-pay benefits to an injured plaintiff. These benefits are limited to the driver or passengers in the insured vehicle, regardless of fault. The plaintiff looks to his or her own insurance policy or the policy on the vehicle in which he was a passenger for med- pay benefits.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Benefits

Two other related types of voluntary coverage you can (and probably should) purchase are uninsured and underinsured motorist benefits. These types of coverage protect you against a negligent defendant who illegally does not have liability insurance coverage or has minimum coverage that is inadequate to fully compensate you for your injuries. If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist who was negligently at fault for causing the accident, the Birmingham car accident attorneys at The Walker Law Firm would make a claim for you under your own uninsured motorist coverage. Your own insurance carrier would then have to pay any judgment which may be rendered, up to the limits of the policy which you purchased.

If the person who caused the accident has liability insurance, but the policy limit of his or her liability insurance is less than the uninsured motorist coverage of your policy, we can make an additional claim under your own policy for what is called underinsured motorist benefits, in the event that your damages exceed the limits of the other party's liability coverage. A complicated body of case law has evolved dealing with this type of benefit, and the experience of a Birmingham accident attorney familiar with these issues is critical in obtaining the maximum amount of recovery for you.

Collision Coverage

Collision coverage is a type of voluntary coverage you can purchase which provides for the repair or replacement of your own vehicle after an accident, regardless of whether or not you are at fault. This is different than property liability insurance coverage discussed above. An innocent victim of an accident may present a claim for the property damage under his or her own collision coverage or under the negligent defendant's property damage liability insurance coverage. Your own collision coverage normally includes a deductible, whereas property damage liability insurance coverage does not. In a Birmingham automobile accident case, after a claim has been paid under collision coverage, the insurance carrier who paid the claim may then file suit against the property damage liability insurance carrier for the negligent defendant to recover the amount paid out. This process is called subrogation, and does not affect your recovery.