Money Justice

The main purpose of truck insurance is to provide compensation to others who are injured by a truck crash. In the United States, The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 mandated that interstate trucks have a minimum coverage of $750,000 for trucks hauling nonhazardous waste. The Trucking Industry Is Behind The Times

For hazardous waste haulers the minimum coverage can range from $1 million to $5 million depending on the nature of the hazardous material.

The Trucking Industry Is Behind The Times

These limits haven’t changed despite that fact the value of the dollar has dropped dramatically since 1980. For instance, $1.00 dollar in 1980 gave you $2.79 worth of buying power in 2013 dollars. Practically speaking the minimum coverage in 1980, adjusted for inflation equals $2,092,500.

The Truck Industry Is Out There To Protect Itself

Unfortunately, the Trucking and Insurance Industries have lobbied against efforts to adjust these outdated insurance coverages to reflect the true cost of medical care and the increase cost of living.

Truck Crash Victims Are Not Being Taken Care Of

For many truck crash victims, minimum coverage is not enough. This means every truck crash case requires an investigation into just what insurance coverage is available. Issues of who owns the truck and the trailer affect that analysis.

For instance, if the tractor and the trailer are owned by different companies – motor carriers – the available amount of potential recovery may equal at least $1.5 million. And, there may be additional coverage available for insurance policies that have been improperly cancelled by the insurance company. That’s because insurance companies have to follow a specific process to cancel a policy or coverage for a motor carrier or the policy remains in effect.

You Need To Find All The Avaliable Insurance Coverage Before Settling A Claim

There are many other issues that can affect the amount of compensation available to a victim. Before a claim is settled it is imperative that all coverages be disclosed and investigated. Otherwise, claims are resolved at artificially low amounts.

How To Find What The Additional Coverage Coverage Is

I can't tell you how many truck crash cases I have handled where the truck company has told me there is no more coverage; however when I put constant pressure on them by filing discovery motion after discovery motion, a million more in coverage exists. Make no mistake, this is about money because that’s how our system measures justice. If you have been the victim of a truck crash and want to talk to me about it, give me a call.