Car insurance. It is the thing that you have to buy but do not want to use, so you may not get enough coverage for what you actually need.
Most states require a certain level of car insurance in order to drive a vehicle. However, about 12.6% of drivers in the US do not have any type of car insurance at all.
So, if you find yourself in a car accident with a driver that fits the above, will you be covered? Here are the different types of car insurance available to you.
Personal Injury Protection
This is one that a certain number of states require drivers to have. This is because this type of car insurance will protect you if you end up getting injured in a car accident.
Let’s face it, some car accidents get very ugly. Cars can get totaled on the side of the road, sometimes requiring the jaws of life to get someone out of the car to give them the proper medical attention.
The problem is if you get into a bad enough accident, these costs can add up and put you in financial ruin. With this type of insurance, your medical bills will be covered up to a certain threshold, with that amount depending on your specific plan.
Not only does this cover your medical expenses, but it is also known as no-fault insurance because it will cover these expenses whether you were at fault in the car accident or just the victim of it.
When you need to insure your car online, you can use the services for help. These auto-insurers will cover all types of cars and fatalities.
On top of this, personal injury protection can also compensate you for wages you lose from work because of an injury. So, if you end up having to recover for about a month with physical injuries from a car accident, you have the opportunity to be compensated for those wages with this type of car insurance.
Liability
This is a very basic type of car insurance that is required in almost every state in the country for people with car ownership, because it is the type of car insurance that will cover the damages for any accident that you cause.
However, this is not just damaging the other person’s car. This can also stretch to property damage and potential medical expenses that another person may end up having because of an accident that you caused.
So, let’s say that you cause a car accident that not only completely destroys another person’s car, and that person then has to go to the hospital for a couple of days with a surgery performed. This can add up to tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Without the proper liability insurance, you would be opening yourself up to not only potentially crippling debt but also potentially a civil lawsuit by the victim in order to recover damages that you caused.
Collision
This is a type of car insurance that is recommended for people who have newer cars, rental cars, or cars on a lease. The reason is that this protects you from damage to your own vehicle.
The liability above only covers the other person’s damages, so if someone hits your car and causes legitimate damage, you would not be covered to have that car damaged fixed in that situation.
However, an accident caused by another person is not the only thing that collision can potentially cover you for. If you get in a one-car accident, such as hitting a pole or sliding off the road in bad weather, then this type of insurance can cover you.
So, if you have a car that you are not planning on replacing anytime soon or that you need to give back, this type of insurance would be worth looking into.
Comprehensive
Comprehensive car insurance is slightly different than collision, because this type covers events that damage your car outside of car accidents. One of the biggest examples would be if your car was the victim of a natural disaster.
So, if your car was caught in something like a tornado, hurricane, or flash flood, then any damages related to that would be covered under comprehension car insurance.
Another situation that this would cover your car in is if your car has unexpected damage, such as if a tree fell on it, an electrical wire fell and then created a fire around your car, or if someone simply decided to vandalize your car.
Like collision, you will probably need this coverage if you have a leased car or a rental car.
Uninsured Motorist
One of the worst situations that you could potentially find yourself in is if an uninsured motorist is the one that causes a car accident with your car and gets you injured. The reason why is because if you do not have the proper insurance, like only having liability, then you would have no recourse in this unfortunate situation.
If you are Insured ASAP, then you would have to scramble to find the proper coverage for your situation, or hope that you can find the driver and sue them in court for legal damages.
In most states, it is up to the driver’s liability insurance to cover your vehicle damage and medical expenses in this situation. However, this covers you if the other driver fails to provide the proper insurance coverage for you.
Admittedly, this may be less necessary if you already have both personal injury protection and collision coverage. But, if you are looking for additional coverage or a better package, this may be an option for you.
Choose Your Best Types of Car Insurance
These are some types of car insurance available to you in the insurance industry. Now, you need to review your options and decide which types of car insurance are necessary for you.
For more related information, check out articles in our Finance section.
