Indeed, auto insurance is an essential purchase. Understanding the coverage of your policy is important to ensure that you have the necessary protection that you need when a loss occurs.
Who Can Benefit from an Auto Insurance?
Car accidents can lead to great financial loss and economic security. This financial loss includes medical bills, property damage, and legal costs in the case when a lawsuit arises. Anyone who owns a car must purchase auto insurance so that they can have these financial protections. For a car insurance quote, make sure to contact your trusted insurer now.
The majority of the states require that the owner of the car buy auto insurance or provide proof of their financial responsibility. Furthermore, your car insurance lender may require you to buy auto insurance to protect them against damage to a financed vehicle.
Liability Coverage
The majority of the liability insurance policies have three major parts. It contains the liability insurance for property damage, liability insurance for bodily injury, and the uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. For a car insurance quote, make sure to contact your trusted insurer now.
Bodily Injury Liability
This one will not protect you or your car directly. If you have caused an accident and other people are injured because of your fault, this type of insurance at Hong Leong Assurance will protect you against their claims for damages. Examples are medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
Property Damage Liability
This coverage from Hong Leong Assurance will pay for any damage you have caused to the property of other people. Examples would be damage to another car, tree, fence, or any other object due to a collision.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Meanwhile, this one will pay you if a hit-and-run driver injures you. This is also true if the driver does not have any car liability insurance policy. This coverage will take the place of the liability insurance in the case where the driver did not have a policy.
Underinsured coverage will apply when another driver is at fault and whose limits of liability are lower than the damages sustained. Your underinsured motorist coverage will provide you with an additional amount that is up to your policy limits. This can provide for property damage and bodily injury. Sometimes, you will be required to buy separate coverage for both property damage and bodily injury.
When buying liability coverage, you must determine the amount of coverage that you need to protect yourself whenever a loss occurs. The coverage is oftentimes sold with a person and total per loss maximum amount.
For example, 100/300/50 coverage means that you have a $100,000 insurance for bodily injury liability, $300,000 for the total bodily injury liability, and $50,000 property damage liability.
Some states have no-fault laws. This means that there is no need to know who is at fault to receive the payment for injury claims. Every party would seek recovery from his insurer instead of filing a case in the court.
Meanwhile, no-fault will not eliminate the risk of you being sued in court. But the no-fault laws will place restrictions on when a suit can be forwarded in the court. There are two types of coverage that are provided for under a no-fault system. These are residual bodily injury and personal injury protection.
Personal Injury Protection
This coverage will pay you or your relative riding in your car for a minimum amount for each person regardless of who is at fault. The level of benefits will vary for each state. The coverage will include medical expenses, rehabilitation, work loss benefits, funeral expenses, and the survivor’s loss benefits.
Residual Bodily Injury Liability
This coverage will protect your family or other people in your car if you are being sued because of injuries that you have caused unto others. The no-fault laws have thresholds that can open a suit. These thresholds can be based on a specific dollar amount that can clearly define injuries.
Coverage for your Automobile
There are two main types of coverage that you can opt to have for your car:
Collision Coverage
This one will pay for the physical damage to your car. This can result from your car colliding with another object like another car or a tree.
Comprehensive Coverage
This one will pay for damage to your car from all other losses other than collision. Some of the covered losses under the comprehensive coverage include fire, theft, weather-related problems, vandalism, and others.
When buying a comprehensive coverage or collision, you will need to determine your deductibles. Deductibles refer to the amount of money that you agree to pay to the insurance company on payment on a loss. In general, the deductible amounts are $250, $500, or $1,000.
Things to Do During a Car Accident
During a car accident, you must remain calm. Call the authorities and inform them of the injuries you have experienced. Regardless of the situation, make sure to report the incident to the police. Check for any injuries and administer first aid. Then, make sure to take evidence and notify your insurance company immediately.