Protecting Yourself and Your Family With Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

I’ve seen it too often over the years: A victim of a car crash receives less compensation than they deserve because their recovery is limited to the limits of the at-fault driver’s motor vehicle insurance policy. The reason for this is that most people, and even some businesses, are what we call “judgment proof.” Someone is judgment proof when they are insolvent, i.e., when their debts exceed their assets. Most judgments from a personal injury case (with some exceptions, such as injuries caused by a drunk driver) are dischargeable in bankruptcy. This means that if you obtain a judgment against someone who is judgment proof, they can simply declare bankruptcy and avoid paying anything more than what their insurance will cover. The sad fact is, when facing an at-fault driver who is judgment proof, you’ll probably only be able to collect the limits of that person’s liability insurance policy. In Oregon, the current minimum motor vehicle liability insurance limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. ORS 806.070(2). In this day and age, just spending a couple days in the hospital can cost more than $25,000. However, there is a way to protect yourself. Every motor vehicle liability insurance […]