How much auto insurance coverage do I need?
You need as much coverage as you can reasonably afford.
If you have no assets (a house, other cars, $100,000+ etc),
then a low coverage plan may work for you because if you are
in an accident there is not much they can take from you if
you are sued.
If you have assets and have a wreck, they can
take your house and everything else you own to pay for
hospital bills, court fees, lost work, lawyer fees, damages,
pain and suffering or any other fees or costs they can
squeeze in there. So you should get the largest coverage you can
afford so you can keep more of your belongings in an
accident that goes over your insurance coverage.
An amount
of coverage looks like this $100,000 / $300,000 which means
it covers up to $100,000 per person with a maximum of
$300,000 per accident so that if you run into a car with 10
people in it, the maximum coverage would be $300,000 not
$1,000,000.
You can also save money by getting a higher
deductible. You should try to get a deducible that you could
pay at any point in time if you were to have an accident.
Thus if you do have an accident, you won't go into debt
trying to pay the deductible. If you always have $1,000 on hand then it will reduce
your monthly rate to have that high of a deductible.
The normal deductible is $500.
If you always
have $10,000 on hand, having a deductible that high wouldn't
do you much good because chances are, if you only had a
small accident your insurance would not cover any of the
costs so make sure you don't pick a deductible too big.
What is your deductible now? And if you were in an accident
would you go into debt to have to cover that amount?
What are you currently paying for auto insurance based on
your deductible, ask your friends what they are paying then
get an insurance quote
and verify if you are paying to much or if you can get a
lower price on your auto insurance based on your current
deductible.
Fill out the form to see if it is possible
for you to get better coverage at a better cost. It will
take you a few minutes to fill out the form and it will
save you hundreds of dollars when you find out that you
don't have to pay that much.
In the mean time:
Get a Car Insurance Quote!
Should I get comprehensive and collision
car insurance?
Comprehensive - covers accidental loss or damage to
your auto and not caused by an accident such as fire, theft,
animal collision, and glass breakage. It also covers your
car if your vehicle is stolen (they will provide you a car
for transportation, until it is found), and will pay for the
car (the amount your car is worth) when it determined to be
lost.
Collision - covers damage done to your auto in
an accident that is your own fault.
The cost involved varies but can double the cost of your
insurance. Whether you should get it depends on the condition
of your vehicle. If you a have a newer vehicle worth $10,000+
it would probably be worth your money to cover it in case
you were to have an accident by running into a tree on an
icy road or if you hit a pole while backing up.
If you have
a vehicle worth less than $10,000 it all depends on how
much it is going to cost you and whether you think it is
worth it to spend that kind of money on the car. Most of
the time it would probably be worth it to pay the extra money
considering the overall odds and statistics, but if your car is only
worth $3000 and it costs you $100 extra a month to get comprehensive
and collision and after 2 and a half years of paying for it, you
could buy another car without doing any repairs - you will need to
rethink things.
If you have a car worth $5000 and it
only costs you $25 a month extra, then it would take almost
17 years to get $5000, so it would be worth it. It is absolutely
essential to sit down and think about these costs, take
out a calculator and see how the numbers add up. Take 15
minutes of your life to roughly calculate these costs and
see how it works out for or against your advantage!
Have
you been in an accident before? Did you know most people
have at least 5 car accidents in their life time on average?!
Some people seem to be more prone for accidents than others,
where do you stand in these regards? What kind of options
do you have on your auto insurance right now? What is required
by law in your state? Do you ever feel like you're getting
gouged by your provider or are your payments decent and fair? Would
it matter to you if you could possibly save a little bit or a lot on
what you are currently paying for or would it be a hassle to change
car insurance carriers? You Decide:
Get a Free no obligation Car Insurance Quote!
What should Car Insurance cover?
Different
auto insurance plans cover different things, but here is a list of
some of the most important things to look for and why.
Think about it, does it cover body injury and property
damage, medical costs and fixing the person's car you hit or even other items
you might have damaged (most importantly including your own transportation).
Use of the insurance company's attorneys to defend you in court
for injury or property damage you believe was not your fault and so
you do not have to pay more to hire an attorney - lawyers are
expensive.
Regarding uninsured/underinsured drivers (which is
not uncommon) in case you are hit by a driver without insurance or without
enough insurance, make sure you have enough to pay for your medical bills and
property damage. Optional medical payments coverage in case you are hurt by
being hit by a car while you are walking or resulting from ownership,
maintenance, or use of an auto in various detrimental circumstances!
Also, think about death
benefits in case, you or a family member are killed in an automobile accident.
How many hundreds and thousands of people die each day considering how many
cars are on the road world wide, you would be shocked in disbelief at the statistics! How
many times have you been in a car accident where it was your fault? How many
times where you are in a car accident where it was the other persons fault? How
many days of work did you miss? Did you ever suffer any permanent damage as a
result of the accident? Have you ever been in a situation where you were in an
accident and didn't have coverage or the other person didn't? These are just
some of the questions you might ask yourself, if you ever end up getting into a
car accident.
In the mean time:
Get a Car Insurance Quote!
The price of auto insurance differs based on age (teenagers'
car insurance is much higher than someone 40 years old),
driving records (previous accidents make your insurance
higher), and where you live, can have big impact on the
price. Asking your friends and neighbors is a good start,
but it is not the ultimate solution when looking for the
best choice regarding auto and car insurance.