ensures additional protection beyond the other driver’s policy. Pennsylvania also allows for stacking, a powerful option that increases your UM/ UIM protection when you have more than one vehicle or policy. With intrapolicy stacking, you multiply the UM/UIM limits on a single policy by the number of vehicles insured under it. For example, if your policy lists three cars with $100,000 of UM/UIM per vehicle, stacking gives you $300,000 in total protection. You can also have inter-policy stacking, which lets you combine UM/UIM coverage across multiple separate policies—for instance, if you insure different vehicles or household members under different policies. In short, UM/UIM coverage and stacking provide critical protection when other drivers are uninsured or underinsured. At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we help clients understand their coverage, identify potential stacking options, and make sure they—and their families—are fully protected before and after a crash. Bad Faith vs. Hard Bargaining: How Can I Tell If My Insurer Is Acting Unfairly? Insurance companies are supposed to protect you—but too often, profit comes first. They make money by collecting premiums, not by paying claims, and sometimes use delay, denial, or underpayment tactics to protect their bottom line. When this happens, Pennsylvania law gives you powerful tools to fight back. Under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371, if an insurer acts in bad faith, courts can award punitive damages, interest, attorney’s fees, and court costs. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Rancosky v. Washington National Insurance Co. defines bad faith as when (1) the WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM 21 The first 72 hours after a crash are critical. What you do, or don’t do, can make all the difference in protecting your rights.
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