Wisconsin insurance laws have changed and will have an impact on many auto, motorcycle and umbrella policyholders. The policy changes will take place this month and are as follows. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.Auto and Motorcycle
· Effective Nov. 1, 2009 the lowest bodily injury limits will be 50,000/100,000 and 15,000 for property damage. The lowest Combined Single Limit (CSL) will be 300,000.
· Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverages will both be mandatory with minimum limits of 100,000/300,000. These coverages cannot be rejected. The new law allows stacking of the limits for up to three vehicles in the event of a loss.
· The minimum limit for Medical Payments will be $10,000, but this coverage is optional and may be rejected. If you wish to reject the Medical Payments Coverage, you may do so by contacting your insurance agent.
· For policy renewals with a renewal effective date on or after Nov. 1, where the existing policy limits are below the minimum limits, your insurance company will increase the policy limits to those new minimum limits as described above. This will include insureds that previously rejected UM, UIM and/or Medical Payments coverages. Rates will be adjusted accordingly. Insureds with a liability CSL less than the new required limits will be changed to 50/100/15. Insureds with a UM or UIM CSL less than the new minimum limits will be increased to 300,000 CSL.
Umbrella
· Effective Nov. 1, 2009, companies will offer Excess Uninsured Motorist and Excess Underinsured Motorist coverage on their personal umbrella policies. These are two separate coverages and may be accepted or rejected separately. If coverage is selected for both Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist coverage, the limits must match.
· Existing policyholders that already have Excess UM/UIM coverage on their policy at the $1,000,000 policy limit will have the coverage changed to $500,000 pervehicle. All other existing policyholders will have $300,000 per vehicle added to their policy. If you do not wish to have the coverage or want to change the amount, you will be directed to contact your agent to sign the appropriate form. The new law allows stacking of the limits for up to three vehicles in the event of a loss.
· For all companies, the underlying auto/motorcycle UM and UIM coverage must be at least $250,000/$500,000 or $300,000 CSL. If you have any less coverage on the underlying auto/motorcycle, you will face a gap in coverage should a loss occur and a claim is presented on the umbrella.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 262.781.4000 or justinstaebler@zingenbraun.com
