Your Insurance Policy: The Key To Understanding Your Benefits And Rights
If you are like most people who have car insurance, your policy was explained to you by your insurance agent when you first purchased it, but you never read it yourself and you are not very familiar with what it says. You may not even know if you have uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage.
You expect that your insurance company will cover you if you are hurt in an accident, but you don’t have a firm understanding of how to bring a claim or what benefits your policy includes.
That lack of understanding can hurt you if you need to bring a claim.
At Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, we help people understand their insurance coverage. Our San Francisco personal injury attorneys can review your policy and explain your benefits to you. Over the course of 50 years of legal practice, we have seen every kind of auto insurance policy available in California. We can help you get the full and fair compensation you deserve.
If you were injured in a car, truck or motorcycle accident and you have questions about your insurance policy, call our firm at (415) 981-7210 or send us an email.
Parts Of A California Car Insurance Policy
Most motor vehicle insurance policies contain these sections:
- Table of contents: This tells you where to locate information in the multipage document.
- Declarations: Found at the beginning of the policy, this section identifies who the policy belongs to, the amount of coverage for each type of benefit and when the policy goes into effect. It may also include a list of endorsements or riders (see below).
- Definitions: If you are unclear about the meaning of some of the words or phrases in your policy, you may find a definition of those terms in this section.
- Policy provisions: A provision describes the specific type of insurance coverage you purchased (including whether or not you purchased uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage). You may find it in one section or provisions might be included throughout the policy.
- Exclusions: This section describes what is not covered under your policy.
- General provisions: This section describes provisions that apply to all of the company’s insurance policies. They are not unique to your insurance policy. In this area, you will find language about state statutes and the obligations your insurer has to policyholders, information about litigation and/or the requirement to arbitrate a claim dispute, terms and conditions for cancellation or termination of a policy, and information about how to submit claims.
- Endorsements and riders: If the insurance company has customized your policy to add or take away benefits, those revised terms will be attached to the end of the insurance policy and are called endorsements or a rider.
Get The Compensation You Deserve From Your California Car Insurance Policy
If you need help understanding your car, truck or motorcycle insurance policy, contact a San Francisco uninsured motorist attorney at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger to schedule a free consultation.
To arrange a meeting to discuss your case, call us at (415) 981-7210 or contact the Walkup firm online.