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Oklahoma’s insurance rules may leave you with crash bills

Motor vehicle collisions are often very expensive. They cause thousands of dollars in damage if the vehicles involved are repairable at all. Sometimes, issues with the axles or the frame of a vehicle after a crash will force someone to buy a new vehicle instead of repairing the damaged one.

Then there are the medical issues to consider. If someone suffers an injury in the crash, there will be hospital bills and possibly lost wages to add to the pool of overall expenses. Depending on how many people get hurt, the extent of their injuries and the condition of your vehicle, a crash can easily carry a six-figure price tag.

If you were like most drivers in Oklahoma, you have insurance on your vehicle and expect coverage in the event of a collision. The driver who causes the crash should provide you with liability insurance coverage that will pay for your bills. If they only carry what the state requires and nothing more, your costs could be multiple times higher than the maximum amount insurance will pay.

Even the state recognizes its insurance requirements are too low

If you go to the website run by the state of Oklahoma explaining the liability insurance coverage requirements, it says right there on the government website that the minimum policy requirements are insufficient for personal protection.

The state openly recommends that people purchase multiple times more coverage than the law requires. In fact, the state website specifies an amount more than ten times higher than the minimum coverage of $25,000 in bodily injury and property damage liability coverage required currently.

Your hospital bills could easily be so expensive that you still have thousands of dollars in expenses after insurance pays the maximum amount that it will cover, which is why investing in more coverage is a smart move for most drivers.

What happens when insurance falls short?

If the driver who caused the crash has inadequate insurance, they could be at risk of a personal injury claim. You can potentially file a civil lawsuit against them and request full compensation for any expenses that insurance has not covered.

Learning more about insurance rules and revisiting your own policy will make it easier for you to protect yourself after a motor vehicle crash.

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