Here are a few things the Insurance Information Institute wants you to know about your basic auto policy and what is covered.
Bodily Injury Liability
Coverage applies to you, the designated driver/ policy holder and any damages you cause to someone else. You and any other family member listed on the policy are also covered when driving someone else’s car…with their permission!
Liability insurance is extremely important. If you are a part of a serious accident, you may be sued for a large sum of money. Although we hope this would never happen, it may be a good idea to purchase more than the state requirement to protect your most valuable assets.
Medical Payment or Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
This covers any type of injury or loss experienced by the driver or passenger of the vehicle. Anywhere from medical bills, lost wages, and in the worst case scenario, funeral costs, can be covered.
Property Damage Liability
Fairly self explanatory: any damage you cause to someone’s property whether it be their car, a front lawn, or a telephone pole is covered
Collision
This is geared towards you and pays damages done to your car. Even if you are at fault, it covers collision with another car or object, potholes, and flipping over. This is typically sold with a deductible of $250- $1,000 (you know, the higher the deductible the lower your premium). If you are not at fault, the insurance company will try to recover the amount they paid from the other driver’s insurance company. If they are successful, which hopefully they are, you’ll be reimbursed for the deductible.
Comprehensive
This covers the damages done to your car that is not covered by collision. It reimburses loss due to theft, fire, falling objects, contact with animals, etc. This is usually sold with a $100-$300 deductible. Once again, the higher the deductible to the lower the premium- in which case you may want to opt for an even higher deductible. This will also cover cracked or shattered windshields.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
To really put your mind at ease and avoid the situations that make a bad situation worse, this is the coverage for you. This will reimburse you, a member of your family, or a designated driver if one of you is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run 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.
For any questions regarding this topic, feel free to contact Bucci Insurance Group, we are happy to help!