Legal Question in Traffic Law in Wisconsin

Auto Liability Insurance Limits for Personal Injury Claims, Bankruptcy Options

As a general matter, I would always recommend purchasing the highest policy limits which you can afford. The price jump from one level to the next may be only minor, suggesting that the higher limits are worth it. However, any insurance is better than none, so buy what ever level you can afford. This is true because if you are at fault in an injury accident, any lawyer suing you must consider accepting your policy limits and letting you, the potential defendant, off the hook in return. One popular myth is that liability limits should be higher than uninsured/underinsured motorist limits. In my nearly 30 years of personal injury experience, clients are just as frequently victimized by accidents where they were not at fault and the adverse party has no insurance (or very little insurance). In these circumstances, "UM" and "UIM" coverage will reimburse you for actual medical expenses plus wage loss, disability and pain and suffering. The same applies to comprehensive coverage for vehicle damage, aka, "collision" coverage. Finally, the ability to declare bankruptcy is the "insurance" of last resort if your limits ever prove to be too low. For most working people, the impact is not nearly as bad as many expect in terms of assets lost to their creditors. The vast majority of families involved in a bankruptcy end up paying nothing other than their court costs and attorney fees, averaging $1,200 to $3,000. People Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not available to drunk drivers and a few other categories of drivers (such as those who have already filed chapter 7 within eight years). But, even they can usually obtain relief in a chapter 13 case, which is designed to allow payments within the person's budget and ability to pay over a five year period. Persons who are unusually wealthy may face a different outcome in bankruptcy and may therefore have a greater need for higher insurance limits. The same applies to persons whose income is substantially above the state median income for their family size.