Understanding auto insurance policies shouldn’t need to involve dictionaries and frantic online searching for explanations. It’s just about working with the right combination of facts and information, or having an insurance agent that you know, like and trust. If you’re looking for straightforward facts and advice to help you understand car insurance, look no further! Below are the essentials that you need to know.
The basics of car insurance
There are quite a few car insurance terms to be aware of, to help understand what you have, need, or want, but it all starts with a simple yet helpful understanding of what they all are. You’ll also want to know how they are all different from each other, too! Let’s go.
Liability car insurance
This is the “bare bones” insurance that you can have when you put your car on the road. This insurance is going to protect anyone that you might run into and need to submit a claim.
The first part of this kind of insurance is property damage. You would have a specified maximum of damage that your insurance policy would cover if you caused property damage to the car or property that you hit.
The second part is bodily injury. This is coverage to a specified amount that covers any injury to the people in the other car resulting from a collision or accident. This could be directly from the accident or later injuries or complications that pop up later on.
Uninsured car insurance
This kind of coverage isn’t always required, but it’s an important type of coverage to have! It is specifically for situations when you are involved in a car accident where the other driver is at fault, but they don’t have coverage. Having this on your policy means that you won’t have to pay for damage and injury out of pocket like you would if you were hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver.
Personal injury insurance
This kind of insurance covers any injuries that happen in your car if you are in an accident. Where the above option just covers the other car, this kind of insurance covers injuries and other complications for yourself and everyone else in your vehicle.
Comprehensive insurance
If you have this kind of insurance, you’ll be protected from repair costs from incidents involving weather damage, vandalism, animal-related damage and etc. This is damage that occurs when you’re not driving your car. It covers a lot of damage other than that caused by a collision.
Collision car insurance
This kind of car insurance would refer to colliding with something other than another vehicle. For example, a tree, a lamp post, a garbage can, etc. This is where those non-vehicle incidents are covered.
Emergency or Roadside Assistance insurance
This is pretty simple, and it refers to coverage for emergency services such as a flat tire, running out of gas, requiring a tow, etc.
While there are many parts of car insurance to know about, breaking them all down into simple categories like this helps you to know what you’re paying for, what you need, and how to understand the protection that is available to you! Keep in mind that having auto insurance IS required in the State of Texas. No, you aren’t required to have all of the above, but most of it and there are minimum amounts that you are required to have. This usually depends upon the vehicle and whether you have a note from a bank on this vehicle too, as they want to protect their property.
Let Paula Smith Insurance help you with any and all of your car insurance questions such as what to do if involved in an accident or other basic insurance questions, by calling (281) 488-8880.