DENVER (KDVR) — Personal injury attorney Lisandra Matos looked to a recent tragedy, when two women died in an auto-pedestrian crash while visiting from Colombia, as a moment to educate consumers about insurance.
Matos will represent the family of two women, who died while on a walk in Aurora.
She told FOX31 people should always have a plan and not rely entirely on an insurance settlement if they get hurt in a crash.
“Every time I ask: ‘What do you have on your policy?’ — no one knows,” Matos said.
“If we go back to what the law requires, that we carry in our policies so we can drive around in Colorado, that limit is only $25,000,” Matos said.
If you’re hurt in an accident — whether behind the wheel, on foot or on a bike — that $25,000 settlement might commonly be what you get from another person’s insurance provider.
“If the person who caused the accident only has one policy, with $25,000 limits, that’s all we can recover for the family,” Matos said.
Full coverage ‘can be very misleading’
That amount can be gone fast after medical bills and other expenses.
“Sometimes full coverage is a word that can be very misleading,” Matos said.
She added that full coverage might cover expenses on a vehicle.
“That doesn’t mean that the most valuable assets in the car, which is the people, are protected,” Matos said.
When she asks clients what kind of insurance they have, Matos said the answer is often “I don’t know.” But she’ll tell you she’d want you to say “uninsured or underinsured protection.”
“This basically helps you with the person who causes the accident, has no insurance, which I see every single day,” Matos said, “or if a person causes a big crash and they only have the state minimum, which is $25,000.”
Matos said this gives attorneys more options for compensation for their clients after an accident.
The difference between what you pay for your policy now and adding that more coverage on your insurance can often be just $10 to $15 more on your bill.