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Auto insurance in general, which includes car insurance is an insurance consumers can purchase for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its mainly meant to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of car accidents and also thefts of vehicle. It also includes losses arising due to natural calamities. To have your car insured is mandatory by law. When you insure you get a “policy” which is based on a variety of factors including the type of car you drive, as well as what kind of insurance you want, as these policies are actually a package of different types of insurance coverage. They can be classified as:

Liability – This coverage pays for accidental physical injury of the body and damage to others property. Injury damages include medical expenses, pain or suffering and lost wages. Property damage includes damages to the automobile. This coverage also pays for defense and court costs. State laws fix how much liability coverage you must purchase, but you can also get more coverage if you wish.

Collision – This insurance pays for damages to your vehicle caused by collision with another vehicle or object.

Comprehensive – This coverage pays for losses or damages to the insured vehicle that doesn’t occur in an auto accident. The possible types of damages comprehensive insurance covers include loss caused by fire, wind, hail, flood, vandalism or theft.

Medical Coverage – Pays medical expenses regardless of whose fault it was as long as the expenses are caused by an auto accident.

PIP – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – This coverage pays medical expenses for the insured driver, regardless of whose fault it was, for treatment due to injuries arising in an auto accident.

Uninsured Motorist – Pays for your car’s damages when an auto accident is caused by another driver who doesn’t have liability insurance.

Underinsured Motorist Pays for your car’s damages when an auto accident is caused by someone who has insufficient liability insurance to settle all your claims.

Rental Reimbursement – This type of insurance will pay for a rental car if your rented car is damaged due to an auto accident. Often this coverage has a daily allowance to be paid for at the time of renting a car.

Certain insurance policies club together a number of these types of coverage. Depending on the laws that exist in your state you have to choose the insurance you want for your car. Even though the state may not require extensive insurance, extra coverage may be worth the expense as it is possible that you may be straddled with thousands of dollars because of an auto accident.

The law requires liability insurance for all drivers and vehicles. This means that if you are involved in a serious accident, and it turns out that it was your fault, your insurance company will pay out any claims that are made against you. Extra coverage on your own vehicle, called comprehensive insurance, is optional.

Insurance companies based on a number of risk factors will calculate the price you pay for this insurance. Basically how it works is the more they feel you are at risk of crashing, and the more they think the resulting crash will cost them, the higher the premium youll pay.

Assessment

Common factors that will be to assess the premium are the value of the car youre driving, the safety of that vehicle, the coverage you want, will there be deductibles or limits etc.? How much youll drive the car, how your driving record stands, how long you’ve held your license, your age, and if you are young, also your sex.

The premium is then calculated. Usually there is a flat per car, per year rate that everyone pays, regardless of other factors. The other factors will then alter this rate, generally upwards. So if your car is especially fast or dangerous your rate will be increased by a set amount. If it is very old, your rate goes up. If youve had one or more accidents in the past, your rate will go up. If youre young and male, your rate will go up. The more of these factors you satisfy, the more your rate will be going up.

Discounts

As a sales enhancement, many car insurers offer a “low estimated future mileage” discount to customers who predict that the car’s mileage will be below some stated limit during the next premium period. There is no verification involved and no additional charge if the car is subsequently driven more than the stated amount. This arbitrary discount tends to foster customer belief in the mistaken idea that “miles” are just one of many classification factors used to raise or lower prices from the territorial base rate. In fact, odometer miles (which insurers do not use) are not a factor but a metric – the only valid basis for measuring each car’s consumption of insurance protection in on-the-road use.

The best way to save on car insurance is to shop around, keep a good clean driving record, drive safely, and choose reliable cars that are not known for their power and speed.

Car Insurance Policy What To Know About Car Insurance Before You Shop

The car insurance policy has a lot of legal language that most of us do not begin to understand. The essential parts of the car policy are found in the declarations page that you receive when your policy renews. Car insurers are always competing for each others policyholders. Every car insurance company uses actuaries and underwriters to help determine the rates.

Rating Territory Whether you like it or not, your neighbors and friends in your community help determine the rates in your area. These areas are called rating territories by the insurance companies. If there are high losses and frequency in your area then your rates are going to be higher. The opposite is also true.

Liability Insurance Liability insurance protects you when you are liable in an automobile accident. This is valuable protection for you because this is the portion of the possible that insures you against the highest risk and financial loss. Liability claims because of death and injury are by far the largest. Dont cut yourself short in this area.

Physical Damage Insurance This portion of the car insurance policy pertains to your vehicles. It is a good idea to self-insure in this area by purchasing this coverage with high deductibles. Low deductibles no longer warrant the high premiums for the protection afforded. High deductibles will save you thousands of dollars over the life time of a policy.

Car Insurance Discounts There a number of discounts in car insurance, Vehicles with air bags, seat belts, anti-lock brakes, and anti-theft devices all have discounts. Senior drivers can receive retirement discounts. Young drivers with driver training education receive discounts. Some companies give good student discounts for the young driver with a 3.0 grade point average.

Its also important to have certain information available when shopping for car insurance. The vehicle identification number for all vehicles, the drivers license number for all drivers, and your current insurance information will make your shopping easier.

When it comes to car insurance, there are a couple of traps you can fall into. The contracts are complicated and extremely difficult to understand, and thats if you even have the time to read them. The fact is that most people dont read insurance contracts and there is a significant information shortage when it comes to consumers and the contents of their own insurance contracts.

One of the problems with this information gap is that it can lead to wasted money. Every time you rent a car you are asked what kind of insurance you would like. The options are generally to take none, which costs nothing, or you could cover liability insurance, which should cost about $10 per day. Then you have a variety of options to cover the rental cat itself, prices for which vary from company to company and state to state. The full coverage option, which includes liability, passengers, and the rental car usually, comes to about $25 to $30 a day. Most people genuinely dont know what option they should be taking.

Liability

Liability insurance is the only insurance you are required by law to take out. All the others are optional. Thats the first and most important thing to remember when youre at the rental desk, and the total price for your two-week vacation car is quickly adding up and up. The other thing to know is that in many cases, you will be covered, to some extent by your existing car insurance. You will have to check your insurance policy to make certain, but for the vast majority of drivers, they will have liability insurance by virtue of their own car insurance, and this will carry over to the rental car.

It is however, unlikely that full or comprehensive coverage will carry over from your own car insurance. This is because comprehensive insurance is calculated based on the value of your car. Insurers dont want to be in a position where they set your policy based on your say, $15,000 vehicle, and then have to pay out when you crash a $40,000 rental. So your policy will state that only liability insurance is provided when you rent.

Credit Card Cover

You may still require no insurance from the rental company however. This is because many credit card companies, including both visa and MasterCard, offer this insurance if you pay for the rental with one of their cards. This is a major benefit of using a credit card and should not be wasted. Again you should check with your credit card provider what they cover, but the bottom line is, if your own insurance covers liability, and your credit card covers the rental car, why pay a couple of hundred dollars for extra insurance when youre already covered?

If you are in doubt as to your insurance, it is wise however to take the rental companys policy, especially liability.

Car insurance is basically insurance that drivers can purchase for any kind of vehicle in order to protect against losses sustained in traffic accidents. Auto insurance policies are, in reality, a bundle of different coverages. This insurance will usually cover the insured party, the insured motor vehicle, and any third parties involved. Different policies will identify the situations in which each of these entities is covered.

Below are the specific coverages involved when you purchase car insurance.

- Liability Insurance: Liability coverage is the most basic and foundational coverage in car insurance policies and is required in most states. This coverage ensures that if you are the one at fault in an accident, your liability insurance will pay for the physical injury and property damage expenses of any third parties involved. This coverage includes legal bills. Remember that third parties can sue you for pain and suffering damages. Minimum insurance may not sufficiently cover you in more extreme cases, which is why many people recommend that drivers purchase more than the state minimum required. Liability coverage limits are usually conveyed with three numbers. For example, liability limits of 20/50/10 indicate that there is coverage of $20,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 in bodily injury coverage per accident, and $10,000 in property damage coverage per accident.

- Collision Coverage: In the case that you are in an accident, collision insurance will pay for the repairs that your vehicle requires. Collision coverage is usually the most expensive coverage that you will have to pay for. Insurance companies will declare a vehicle totaled or a write-off if the replacement would be cheaper than the repairs needed.

- Comprehensive Coverage: This coverage will pay for any damages to an automobile that were not caused by an accident. Qualifying damages include damages arising from carjackings, vandalism, natural disasters, and hitting an animal.

- MedPay, PIP, and No-Fault Coverages: MedPay will pay for the medical expenses of you and anyone else in your car after an accident, regardless of whose fault the accident was. PIP (Personal Injury Protection) and no-fault coverages are other forms of medical payment protection. They are broader than MedPay and may be required in certain states. These expanded coverages cover child care and lost wages.

- Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists Coverages: UM (Uninsured Motorists) coverage will pay for injuries you have sustained if you are involved in a hit-and-run by a driver who does not have auto insurance, and is mandatory in many states. UIM (Underinsured Motorists) coverage will pay for you if the driver who hit you creates more damage than their liability insurance can cover.

- Supplemental Coverages: Rental reimbursement is an add-on that will cover rented vehicles in case of damage or theft. Auto replacement coverage ensures that your automobile will be fully repaired for replaced even if the costs are more than its depreciated value. Coverage for towing and labor covers you in case of an auto failure on the road where towing is necessary. These supplemental coverages are usually offered as separate items or included in larger policies.