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‘Full Coverage’ Is Never Enough Recently, we took on two clients with very similar cases. They both had been injured in a car accident, both had medical bills exceeding $50,000, and in both cases, the at-fault driver only carried $20,000 in liability coverage, the minimum allowed in Massachusetts. However, at the end of each case, one client was left with thousands in medical bills while the other had all her bills covered by a combination of insurance from the at- fault driver and her own auto insurance. Why did such similar cases have very different outcomes? Because these clients had purchased different amounts of underinsured motorist coverage for their own policies. The first client purchased only the minimum of $20,000 in underinsured coverage for her own policy. So, even after we made the insurance companies (both our client’s and the at-fault driver’s) do everything they were legally obligated to do, she still had unpaid medical bills and lost wages. When our client saw the burden she was left with, she shook her head and said, “But I have full coverage!” Contrary to popular belief, full coverage doesn’t mean you have the most insurance coverage you can possibly have for all circumstances; it simply means you have comprehensive and collision coverage in addition to liability coverage. Comprehensive and collision coverages relate to damage to your vehicle. People often get confused and wrongly believe that if they have “full coverage,” then they are fully protected from personal injury damages caused by others. They are not. To provide yourself with some level of protection from injury damages caused by an “underinsured” vehicle, you must purchase sufficient “underinsured coverage” on your own policy. And the amount you purchase must exceed the liability limits of the person who caused your injuries. Our second client did just that when she raised her underinsured motorist coverage to $100,000. Because she had this coverage, we were able to get her insurance company to pay for all the remaining medical bills and then some. She collected the $20,000 minimum liability limits from the at-fault driver and another $80,000 (for a total of the $100,000 in underinsured limits she purchased) from her own insurance company. Very similar cases, similar injuries, but dramatically different settlements. Having this much coverage sounds like it should be much more expensive. But it is not. Insurance companies don’t want you to know that once you have coverage, raising that coverages usually raise your premiums by a very modest amount. You could go from having $20,000 in underinsured motorist coverage to having $100,000 in coverage with only a small increase in your yearly premium. It’s almost always worth it to do so. Not sure if you have enough car insurance? We can help! Send Len an email at lspada@spadalawgroup.com with a copy of your insurance Declaration Page, and we will do a free insurance evaluation for you. We can advise you on how to get the most out of your insurance to make sure that if you need help, your insurance company is legally obligated to take care of you. ‘Will my insurance protect me and my family?’
Valentine’s Day Strawberry Shortcake Local Chef’s Corner T S Z P F R S R G Z V K I S B U H R U O R P E A N Z H K S I G E O N C N L A J O A I A R U S N O F E B E E M R I N A A I G D N W V G C A D N M U X D Q T O O B A H N O G G Q Y E I N L C O G R L N J V A V N S G G E T A L O C O H C E T O S E S O R B U P I S C E S U N S W V O P O M S T R E P T F O Z G I W B D V H R V N H V E D D J U Z U O E
Inspired by The New York Times
INGREDIENTS • 4 cups ripe strawberries • 1/2 cup and 3 tbsp sugar, divided
• 5 tsp baking powder • 1 1/4 cups butter • 3 cups whipping cream • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract • 2 tbsp sugar (optional)
• 4 cups flour • 1/4 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS 1. Rinse, hull (remove green stem), and slice strawberries. Using a fork, gently crush a quarter of the strawberries to release their juices. Mix with remaining berries and 1/2 cup of sugar. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes. 2. Heat oven to 450 F. 3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, 3 tbsp sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add 3/4 cup of softened butter and rub into dry ingredients. Mix in 1 1/4 cups cream to form a soft dough. 4. Knead dough for 1 minute, then roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out an even number of rounds (2 per serving). 5. Grease a baking sheet with butter and place half of the rounds onto the sheet. Melt remaining butter and brush a little on each round. Place the remaining rounds on top. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden brown. 6. Remove shortcakes from oven and carefully pull them apart. Brush the insides with remaining melted butter. 7. Beat remaining cream until it starts to get frothy. Add vanilla (and 2 tbsp sugar if using) and beat again until firm peaks form. 8. Place bottom half of shortcake on a plate, and top with a large spoonful of strawberries. Cover with top half of shortcake, then top with more berries and a dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately to your special someone.
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