Baton Rouge Uninsured Motorist Accident Lawyer

According to the Insurance Research Council (IRC), roughly 14% of all motorists in the U.S. are uninsured-that’s nearly one out of every seven drivers. Louisiana is the second most expensive state for auto insurance-partly because of its high number of uninsured drivers. Hundreds of negligent drivers take to the road with lapses in coverage, policies below the minimum, or no insurance at all. In an effort to reduce insurance premiums for its consumers, the state legislature passed Act 1476, known as the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act, in 1997. One section of this complex law was the “No-Pay, No-Play” provision, enacted to penalize uninsured and underinsured drivers, while encouraging them to purchase adequate levels of car insurance.

In Louisiana, driver must maintain minimum insurance coverage to legally operate a motor vehicle, with rare exceptions. The bare minimum a driver must purchase is:

• $15,000 in bodily injury per accident
• $30,000 in bodily injury per accident
• $25,000 in property damage liability

There are two types of coverages insurance companies will either include or offer, but these are optional; drivers can choose to reject them (often with a signature stating they’re declining this coverage). One such coverage type helps you during uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury insurance comes with a minimum legal requirement of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident-if a driver decides to purchase this optional coverage. A driver can reject this insurance in Louisiana, but it’s common for policies to include UM/UIM coverage. This type of insurance can protect you if an at-fault driver does not have adequate insurance coverage.

After any traffic accident in Baton Rouge, stay calm and remain at the scene.
Move yourself and your disabled vehicle off the road and to a safe location, if possible.
Asses yourself for injuries, and then see if anyone else has injuries. If you see injuries, fatalities, or property damage in excess of $500 (as is the case in most crashes), you legally have to call 911 to report the accident.
Call the police and request an ambulance if anyone has injuries.
If at this point you discover the other driver doesn’t have insurance, call the cops if you haven’t already.