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USED CAR INSURANCE AREA |
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INSURANCE COMPANIES BY STATE
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| Insurance Basics Chart Of Fees And Other Cost Factors |
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| $500 deductible |
$1,000 deductible |
More than 1 car |
| Anti-Theft Devices |
Air Bag |
No Accidents in 3 Yrs |
| No Violations in 3 Yrs |
Low Annual Mileage |
Drivers over 50 |
| Driver Training Course |
Automatic Seat Belt |
Anti-Lock Brakes |
| Auto and Homeowners Coverage with the Same Company |
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Types of Mandatory coverage:
Bodily injury liability.
If you injure someone in a car accident, this coverage pays that
person's medical and rehabilitation expenses, and any damages for which
he or she may sue you. In most states, you must buy coverage of at
least $15,000/$30,000 (the $15,000 pays for injuries to one person; the
$30,000 is the total available per accident).
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Property damage liability.
If you're at fault in an accident and you damage someone's property,
this coverage pays to fix it. In most states, you must buy $5,000 worth
of coverage. Many standard policies include a higher limit-often
$25,000. (Of course, if you total a new Mercedes, you'll need more).
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Medical benefits.
This coverage pays medical bills for you and others covered on your
policy, no matter who was at fault in the accident. In most states, you
must buy at least $5,000 worth of coverage. The typical driver buys
$10,000.
In addition to the mandatory coverage , you may want:
Collision. It's all well and good to pay to fix someone else's car, but this coverage will pay to fix yours.
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Comprehensive.
This coverage pays for theft, as well as damage to your car from
"hazards," including fire, flood, vandalism or striking an animal.
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Uninsured/underinsured motorist.
If you're injured in an accident and the person who hits you doesn't
have enough insurance -- or any insurance -- you'll be glad you have
this coverage. It will pay for your losses and damages, including your
medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
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Understanding Your Auto Insurance: 4 Important Terms You Ought To Know About Your Insurance Policy
When
you get an automobile insurance policy, you might be confused by all
the jargon and “legal-eeze” the policy has in it. However,
understanding your auto insurance policy isn’t as hard as you might
think. By knowing a few simple terms, you will have a real
understanding of what it is your insurance carrier covers and doesn’t
cover, in the event of an accident or something more. Now, the terms
you need to know are:
- Collision
- Comprehensive
- Property Injury Liability
- Bodily Injury Liability  Understanding Your Auto Insurance Coverage: 4 Terms That Often Confuse Folks
In understanding your auto insurance, you need to know what each term means.
1 – Collision Coverage
Collision
coverage is wonderful to have should you get into an accident and need
repairs or replacements for your vehicle. Now, you can choose the
deductible level you’re comfortable paying for. Keep in mind that the
lower the deductible, the higher the premium is going to be and vice
versa. The common deductibles are:
- $250 deductible
- $500 deductible
- $1,000 deductible
This
insurance is similar to medical insurance. You must pay the deductible
first before the insurance company pays for the remainder of the
balance for the repair.
2 – Comprehensive Coverage
Understanding
your auto insurance means you also need to know what comprehensive
coverage means. Comprehensive coverage covers damage that’s been caused
by certain natural disasters, falling objects, vandalism, theft,
etc. Just like the deductibles in the collision coverage, the
more out of pocket you can handle, the lower your insurance premium is
going to be.
Besides the comprehensive and collision coverage
you should have, you should also have liability coverage. Why should
you have liability coverage? In understanding your auto insurance, you
need to understand what liability coverage is.
You’re driving
down the road and begin to slow down. However, your foot slips off the
brake pedal and hits the acceleration pedal instead. The next thing you
know, you run right into another vehicle. Liability coverage will pay
for the damages you caused with your vehicle. The liability coverage
will cover both property and injury damage.
Liability Coverage: Property Damage
Property
damage on liability coverage means repairs to things you might have hit
with your vehicle are fixed or replaced such as another vehicle,
building, mailboxes, etc. And, liability coverage will protect you
should the other party decide to sue you for the damages.
Liability Coverage: Bodily Injury Coverage
You
never want to be without bodily injury coverage. If you’re in an
accident that is your fault and you injure someone in the process, you
are responsible for the costs of their lost wages, hospital bills, etc.
However, if you don’t have bodily injury coverage, you’d be paying for
this yourself. This coverage could save you tens of thousands of
dollars in case someone decides to sue you. Most states demand that
people have bodily injury coverage on their insurance policies.
Yes,
all policies have their limits and have various degrees of coverage.
However, when understanding your auto insurance, it’s important to know
what you’re paying for and why it’s so important. Nobody wants to be in
an accident so make sure you’re prepared for it by having the right
insurance coverage.
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Ways To Lower Your Insurance |
Here are some basic ways to lower your monthly payment:
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COMPARISON SHOP The
insurer you select should offer both fair prices and excellent service.
Quality personal service may cost a bit more, but provides added
conveniences, so talk to a number of insurers to get a feeling for the
quality of their service. Ask them what they would do to lower your
costs. Check the financial ratings of the companies too. Then, when
you've narrowed the field to three insurers, get price quotes.
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ASK FOR HIGHER DEDUCTIBLES Deductibles
represent the amount of money you pay before you make a claim. By
requesting higher deductibles on collision and comprehensive (fire and
theft) coverage, you can lower your costs substantially. For example,
increasing your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce your
collision cost by 15% to 30%.
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DROP COLLISION AND/OR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE ON OLDER CARS It
may not be cost-effective to have collision or comprehensive coverage
on cars worth less than $1000 because any claim you make would not
substantially exceed annual cost and deductible amounts. Auto dealers
and banks can tell you the worth of cars.
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ELIMINATE DUPLICATE MEDICAL COVERAGE
If you have adequate health insurance, you may be paying for duplicate
medical coverage in your auto policy. In some states, eliminating this
coverage could lower your personal injury protection (PIP) cost by up
to 40%.
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FIND OUT ABOUT AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT OR AIR BAG DISCOUNTS You may be able to take advantage of discounts on some coverage if you have automatic seat belts and/or air bags.
FINDING CHEAP CAR INSURANCE FOR WOMEN IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK If you’re a young woman driver, auto insurance providers are generally willing to offer you a lower quote.
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AUTO INSURANCE INFORMATION