Pennsylvania’s Superior Court recently ruled that insurance companies must issue a new stacking waiver for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage when a vehicle is removed from a multi-vehicle auto insurance policy.
First of all, what does “stacking” mean when it comes to insurance? Stacking is the combining of underinsured and uninsured coverage limits for all of your vehicles, which creates a higher cap on what insurance carriers will pay out for post-injury care.
What does the new ruling mean for you? The availability of both underinsured coverage AND stacking can dramatically affect the amount of coverage available to you if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident. Pennsylvania’s Superior Court’s ruling was made with the intent to afford the injured drivers the greatest possible coverage.
Here is an example of how stacking works if you have been in a car accident. In this scenario, the at fault driver only has $15,000 in Bodily Injury Liability coverage (Pennsylvania’s minimum and most common coverage). If you have two vehicles which both have underinsured coverage limits of $150,000, stacking affects your limits as follows:
With Stacking: $15,000 + $300,000 = $315,000 in total coverage available.
Without Stacking: $15,000 + $150,000 = $165,000 in total coverage available.
No Underinsured Benefits: $15,000 in total coverage available.
This is important to keep in mind when signing up for car insurance or renewing your current policy.
If you have been in a car accident, contact us for a free consultation so that we can evaluate your potential claim.