Understanding Car Insurance Options
Although most people make their automobile insurance payments every month, many have truly no idea of what they are actually purchasing or exactly what they are actually paying to protect. Most think Car insurance pays to fix your car in case of an accident. That is accurate as far as it goes, but the whole truth is that your automobile insurance policy covers you and your household members for many more things than just your car.
Believe it or not; when you purchase car insurance, there are only two areas of the policy form which truly protects “your Car;” That’s the Comprehensive and Collision components of your coverage.
Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive coverage pays to repair your vehicle for perils like having your car catch fire, or when you park at the shopping mall and find upon exiting that your car has been stolen. Comprehensive also covers your car if you emerge from the mall to find that some creepy vandal has used the key from his piece of junk car to etch scratches on the side of your vehicle. Your Car insurance carriers also may consider a collision with a deer under Comprehensive. Comprehensive will also cover you for windshield damage from a flying stone or bird strike.
Collision Coverage
Collision Damage coverage pays for the Physical damage to your vehicle. Regardless of whether an accident is your fault or not, your carrier will pay to repair your vehicle – minus the deductible you agreed to when you purchased your policy.
Property Damage Coverage
The Property Damage Coverage portion of your policy pays for damage you have caused in the event of an At-Fault Accident. The maximum amount of Property Damage the carrier will pay for is determined by the limit you agreed to when you purchased your policy. Property damage can include damage to another car or other property like a home owner’s back yard fence or a utility pole. The state minimum in most states is $5000. Many carriers also offer Property Damage limits that pay as high as $100K.
Liability Coverage
Another coverage which covers the driver and occupants of the other car is Liability Coverage. Liability Coverage pays the Medical bills for the occupants of the vehicle your car hit or that was determined to be not-at-fault. Again; the maximum amount paid by your insurance company is determined by the limit(s) you agreed to purchase. The minimum in many states is $15,000 per person, $30,000 if more than one person is injured.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
What if you are involved an automobile accident and the other driver is at fault? And, to make matters worse, what if the other driver has no auto insurance coverage or has coverage but may not have a sufficient insurance limit to pay for your vehicle or damaged property? Making matters even worse, let’s say you don’t have Comprehensive and Collision coverage on your policy to pay for repairs to your car. Purchasing Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) may make a huge difference in making you whole again. Depending on the state you live in and that state’s laws, UM and UIM can be accessed to pay for the damage to your car and/or Medical bills if the at-ault driver has insufficient insurance coverage or no coverage at all.
Additional Coverage Options
There are many other coverage options available for purchase within an auto insurance policy as well. For a small additional monthly premium, coverage for Loss of Income, Accidental Death, Rental car and Towing are available. If, after reading this you have any further questions regarding what coverages belong in your auto insurance policy, I invite you to call me personally at please me a call at 1-800-807-0762 ext. 206.
-Mike
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
Hey very nice blog!!….I’m an instant fan, I have bookmarked you and I’ll be checking back on a regular….See ya
I found what I was looking for.Making matters even worse, let’s say you don’t have Comprehensive and Collision coverage on your policy to pay for repairs to your car. Somtimes it takes so much effort to find even tiny useful piece of information. Nice post. Thanks
I usually don’t post on Blogs but ya forced me to, great info.. excellent! … I’ll add a backlink and bookmark your site.