Coverage in Kansas for Injury in an Auto Accident

Kansas requires insurance coverage for all vehicles operated on the road.    This is to account for damages caused in accidents and to allow at least some form of protection to those injured in an accident.   Some coverage is no fault such Personal Injury Protection in which your own insurance company will pay for medical treatment up to the limits of coverage in that policy.     Coverage is a key to recovery in most any auto injury claim.

            The main basic and required forms of coverages in the State of Kansas are as follows:

• Bodily Injury Liability:   This coverage pays medical expenses, rehabilitation, funeral costs, pain and suffering, duress, mental anguish, lost wages from an injury, future medical, future loss wages, and other covered forms of damages from auto tort claim.    This coverage is used to pay for a lawsuit filed against the party who is at fault in an auto accident and is required for every driver so that driver can pay when they are at fault and cause injury to your body which results in these types of damages.    This is coverage is the insurance of the party who hit you.   Thus, if you are suing another driver for injury in auto accident, it is that driver’s bodily injury coverage that covers their liability for the claim.   The limit of this coverage is very important to your recovery as that limit is the most their insurance will have to pay.    (But see Underinsured or UIM coverage below)

 

• Property Damage Liability:   This coverage pays for repair, replacement, or cash value of damaged property.    This coverage is used to pay for a lawsuit filed against the party who is at fault in an auto accident and is required for every driver so that driver can pay when they are at fault and cause property damage.    This is coverage is the insurance of the party who hit you.   This coverage is relevant in your lawsuit because if you are attempting to receive damages for your property this coverage is the limit that their insurance will have to pay on claim for property damage.

 

• Personal Injury Protection (PIP or No-fault):   This coverage pays for medical expenses, rehabilitation, funeral expenses, lost wages, and in-home assistance for you and your passengers injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.   This coverage is part of your policy and a contractual right mixed in with tort requirements such as when to file a claim.   Passengers who own their own cars collect under their policy which in part why it is no fault.    You can purchase your own limits to protect yourself from accident with this type of coverage.

 

• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Protection:     This coverage pays you or your passengers for medical, rehabilitation, and funeral costs.   It does not pay for property damage.   It covers above only the bodily injury liability coverage.   It also pays settlements of lawsuits resulting from an accident caused by an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run motorist. You and your family are covered as pedestrians or when riding your bike.    This coverage is very important as while it is in your own policy and is mixture of both contract and tort law, it covers you when the person who hit you either did not have enough insurance coverage or had no insurance to cover you for the full amount of your damages for personal injury (not property damage).

Kansas law mandates that every automobile insurance policy sold in the state must have these very small minimum coverages:

• Liability coverage

• $25,000/person for bodily injury

• $50,000/accident for bodily injury
• $25,000/accident for property damage
• Personal injury protection (PIP or No Fault)
• Minimum amount required by law:
• $4,500/person for medical expenses
• $900/month for one year for disability/loss of income
• $25/day for in-home services
• $2,000 for funeral, burial or cremation expense
• $4,500 for rehabilitation expense
• Survivor Benefits: Disability/loss of income up to $900/month for one year
• In-home services up to $25/day for one year
• Uninsured/Underinsured
• $25,000/person
• $50,000/accident

The minimal limits are not very helpful in most accidents.    Fortunately, most agents correctly urge their clients to purchase more coverage.    We believe here at our office that it is important to have proper Underinsured coverage.    It is equally important to have adequate uninsured coverage, but the issue we see more often is not have enough insurance which is why it is important to have proper underinsurance coverage.    This often referred to as UIM coverage.

For example, if you are hit by someone who only has the minimal amounts of coverage, their insurance company only has to pay $25,000 for the personal injury.   It is unlikely that a person with minimal coverage has money to pay the claim (which is why they had minimum coverage).   Such coverage will not compensate for a large accident.    Even you had $50,000 in medical bills, that insurance company would only have to pay $25,000.

This situation can be fixed with underinsurance or UIM coverage.   If you have $100,000 in UIM coverage, then you could claim against your policy $75,000 more in monies to cover the damage above the $25,000 liability coverage.    You can purchase as much UIM coverage as you can afford or want to pay for in coverage.    In our example above, a person with $50,000 in medical bills, likely has a claim above $100,000.    We believe that your policy should have at least $500,000 in coverage.    That is above the minimum requirements, but insurance companies will provide it for an increased premium.   That way if you are in bad accident, you should have coverage to compensate you for medical bills, lost wages, and the pain and anguish from the injury.  

This UIM coverage is in your own policy and completely in your control to protect yourself.    

As mentioned above, UIM does not cover property damage.   However, you can protect yourself in this regard by purchasing Collusion insurance.   This will cover your vehicle for damage in accident regardless of fault.   Thus, if the other party is not fault or does not have enough coverage, this type of insurance in your own policy can cover your damage subject to the terms of your policy.   Also, you can purchase Comprehensive coverage.   This coverage will protect you from damage from storms, fires or other forms natural disaster as defined in your policy.    Again, these types of two coverages are within your control when you purchase your insurance.