Auto Insurance...
What is covered by a basic auto policy?Liability Insurance (PL/PD) is required by the State to drive your vehicle and includes:
1. Bodily Injury Liability
This coverage applies to injuries that you, the designated driver or
policyholder, cause to someone else. You and your covered family members listed on
the policy are also covered when driving someone else’s car with their
permission.
2. Property Damage Liability
This coverage pays for damage you (or someone driving the car with your
permission) may cause to someone else's property. Usually, this means
damage to someone else’s car, but it also includes damage to lamp
posts, telephone poles, fences, buildings or other structures your car
hit.
In its simplest form Full Coverage
include Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability, along with
physical damage to your vehicle. Physical Damage includes Comprehensive
and Collision coverages.
3. Comprehensive
This coverage reimburses you for loss due to theft or damage caused by
something other than a collision with another car or object, such as
fire, falling objects, missiles, explosion, earthquake, windstorm,
hail, flood, vandalism, riot, or contact with animals such as birds or
deer.
Comprehensive insurance is usually sold with a $100 to $1,000 deductible,
though you may want to opt for a higher deductible as a way of lowering
your premium.
Comprehensive insurance will also reimburse you if your windshield is
cracked or shattered. Some companies offer glass coverage with or
without a deductible.
4. Collision
This coverage pays for damage to your car resulting from a collision
with another car, object or as a result of flipping over. It also
covers damage caused by potholes.
Collision coverage is generally sold
with a deductible of $250 to $1,000—the higher your deductible, the
lower your premium.
Even if you are at fault for the accident, your
collision coverage will reimburse you for the costs of repairing your
car, minus the deductible. If you're not at fault, your insurance
company may try to recover the amount they paid you from the other
driver’s insurance company. If they are successful, you'll also be
reimbursed for your deductible.
Additional Coverages Can Include:
5. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
This coverage will reimburse you, a member of your family, or a
designated driver if one of you is hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver.
Underinsured motorist coverage comes into play when an at-fault driver
has insufficient insurance to pay for your total loss. This coverage
will also protect you if you are hit as a pedestrian.
6. Medical Payments or Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
This coverage pays for the treatment of injuries to the driver and
passengers of the policyholder's car. At its broadest, PIP can cover
medical payments, lost wages and the cost of replacing services
normally performed by someone injured in an auto accident. It may also
cover funeral costs.
7. Towing 8. Rental 9. Gap 10. Accidental Death
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