New South Carolina Law Could Cost Motorists Big Money

Effective January 1st, 2007, car owners in South Carolina are going to be paying more money for their car insurance. The reason? The South Carolina General Assembly voted to raise the minimum coverage amounts. Sounds vague enough, right? Well, it’s not all that difficult. Each state has minimums for the amount that your insurance is required to pay out for bodily injury and property damage in the event of an accident. This is usually expressed as three numbers. South Carolina’s old requirements were 15/30/10. This means $15,000 for bodily injury per person; $30,000 total for all persons injured in the accident; and $10,000 for property damage.

What Are the New Requirements?

The new law requires South Carolina residents to carry liability coverage in amounts of no less than 25/50/25, or $25,000 per person and $50,000 total in bodily injury coverage, and $25,000 in property damage coverage. Regardless of the law, you can usually choose how much coverage to carry. In order to save on their rates, though, many people choose the minimum coverage. The new law is for the protection of South Carolina citizens, because those numbers represent the maximum that your insurance company will pay.

Under the old requirements, imagine if you were to run a red light and smash a Mercedes and a Jaguar, both carrying two people. All four people end up grievously injured, requiring surgery and long hospital stays. Both cars are also totaled, necessitating replacement. Your car insurance company will only pay $30,000 total for the bodily injuries and $10,000 for the property damage. Once these unfortunate folks get out of the hospital, as long as they have an uninjured dialing finger, they can call a lawyer and sue you for injuries and property damage above what your insurance company paid. Ouch!

With the new law in place, your car insurance company will pay $50,000 total for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. You’ll now have an additional $35,000 cushion. Imagine if you’d been sued for $35,000? Few people have that money sitting around. Your state is helping to protect you from possible bankruptcy and hardship. So what’s the downside?

Rising Cost of Car Insurance

The downside is easy to explain: money. The higher your bodily injury and property damage coverage is, the more your car insurance premiums are going to be. This is why most motorists only carry the state minimums. It’s hard to imagine yourself in a courtroom facing a judge, but writing those checks for car insurance is real to all of us. So what can South Carolina motorists do about it? The answer is simple - shop around. Many people are currently paying more than they need to. Just a little bit of time can save you hundreds.

If you know that you’re going to be facing higher car insurance bills anyway, the smart thing to do is find the very best rate. Using the internet is a fast easy way to comparison shop. Avoiding a lawsuit is a no-brainer, so why not make sure to avoid overpaying for your car insurance!