Most people approach buying auto insurance and home insurance with great trepidation. After years of dealing with customers, I understand that apprehension; most consumers don’t buy insurance all of the time, and when you don’t do something very often it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the confusing terms and unfamiliar coverage that you are offered when you shop for insurance. I do want to caution you; when you are shopping for auto insurance price is certainly a factor, but insurance coverage is the most important consideration.
So today I am going to unconfuse you. Today is auto insurance, we will deal with home insurance next time.
All policies start with “Liability” coverage. This is your liability to others; if you are in an accident and at fault, this coverage will pay for the bodily injury and property damage of the people you ran into while you were texting, or eating, or whatever you were doing instead of driving. This coverage is generally denoted with three numbers, as follows; 30/60/25
The first two numbers represent the Bodily Injury coverage “Per Person/Per Accident”
The third number is the property damage coverage to others – the damage you can do to their property.
The higher these three numbers, the less you have to worry about. In our agency, we always recommend higher auto insurance liability coverage, not just because higher coverage will protect you better, but by having higher auto insurance liability limits you will save money on insurance premiums in the long run.
Next on the auto insurance we generally have “Uninsured/Underinsured” coverage. This is split like liability, but it is coverage for you and your passengers in the event of an accident with someone who either doesn’t have insurance – or more likely, doesn’t have enough. Higher coverage is always what we recommend here as well.
After that, we have PIP – or Personal Injury Protection. Personal Injury Protection coverage is the part of your auto insurance that covers you for lost wages and/or medical bills in the event of an auto accident. The nice thing about personal injury protection coverage on your auto insurance policy is that it will cover you even if you are not in your car.
After PIP we come to your deductibles. This is the auto insurance coverage that most people pay the most attention to – because if you use your auto insurance the deductible is that you pay. You actually have two types of deductibles; comprehensive and collision. Your comprehensive deductible covers anything other than collision, and collision coverage is pretty self-explanatory. The deductible represents the amount of the claim that you must pay for before they repair or replace your vehicle. Lots of people advise higher deductibles, and if you can pay a higher deductible without it putting you out on the street, then save some money upfront. However, look at all of your pricing options before you choose a high deductible, because it might not save as much as you think.
Finally, you have towing and rental reimbursement. On your auto insurance. Most companies now offer “roadside assistance” as part of their towing coverage, so be sure and ask about that. I also recommend paying a couple of extra dollars for higher rental reimbursement coverage, to make sure you don’t end up renting a budget option if you have an accident.
Different states may have different options for your auto insurance coverage, but the coverage I have touched on here are some of the key things you need to think about when you shop for auto insurance coverage. Now, you could take the knowledge I have shared with you here and do a bunch of your own shopping, or you could call the best insurance agency in Dallas and let one of our experienced advisors discuss your auto insurance coverage options with you and help get you the right coverage.