This car insurance commercial that I found on YouTube really cracks me up. It sort of embodies the confusion that most people feel when they are trying to hash out their car insurance policy with their company, and everything seems both repetitive and lost on them every time. I’m going to try to help make this feeling a little better by giving you a short guide to different types of car insurance coverage that you might need when you go to get your policy.

• Comprehensive.

Comprehensive coverage is often required if you are financing a vehicle, but is to required by law in any state. This covers any damage or loss of vehicle in the event of a natural disaster, such as a flood or fire, or in the case of theft or vandalism. These are basically accidents that do not involve driving.

• Collision.

This is another type of coverage that might be required by your financer. Collision covers the damages or total loss of your vehicle of you get into a car accident with somebody else and you are the at fault driver.

• Gap insurance.

Third in the financer trilogy, gap insurance picks up where all of your other coverages leave off. In order to get this type of coverage, you have to have the max limits on all of your other coverage. This could be a lot of help if you total a car that you’re still paying on, because the value is often less than what you still owe.

• Liability.

This is the basic car insurance coverage that is required by most states. Liability encompasses three types of coverage, for injury or death to one or more persons, and for property damage. It covers the other driver in the case of an accident in which you are at fault.

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

When a driver causes an accident and does not have enough insurance, or any at all, to cover your damages, this type of car insurance coverage kicks in.

• Personal injury protection.

This is very popular in no fault states, and where it is not required might not be necessary if you have health and life insurance. It kicks in before the other driver’s liability does, and covers you if you are at fault. It handles medical expenses, wage loss, and death.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I know what you’re thinking. Tell me everything! Patience, now. Fraud is a difficult subject, and it is one that you have to be very sensitive to when you want to stay above the water in car insurance. You might think that it doesn’t affect you directly, but some kinds of fraud can end up with you implicated as an accomplice to the crime, even if you never had a hand in any of it. Even if you do end up being proved innocent, the court costs are phenomenal, and it’s just another good reason to keep aware of fraud.

So how can you protect yourself from fraud? The first step is to

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

This will help you if you are involved in repair shop fraud, for one. The way that this kind of fraud happens is when repair shops report the details of what about your car needs to be fixed incorrectly, so that they end up being paid more for repairs that they didn’t do or being paid too much for repairs that they did do. Documenting isn’t the only way to stay on top of this. You should shop around for a repair shop if given the option, and thoroughly discuss the problems with your vehicle with the repair shop so that it is clear what is getting fixed, why, and what is being charged from the beginning.

Another example of fraud where documentation comes in hand is when someone else instigates an accident with you on purpose. Keep track of their story at the time of the accident, in case it changes later. Take pictures of the vehicles, so that they can’t claim bogus repairs. Make sure you get a police report. Or avoid it all by practicing defensive driving.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

If I have car insurance, then I can’t get sued, right?

Rupert

Wrong.

Unfortunately, the possession of an auto insurance policy does not keep you from getting sued in the event of an accident. There are some states where you cannot be sued, and these are called no fault states. In those states, suing is prohibited for car accidents regardless of who is at fault. Most states, however, are tort law states, and some even have a mixture of no fault and tort law, so depending where you live the answer to this question could be different.

On the bright side, if you do get sued you aren’t exactly just left in the lurch. Having car insurance, you will be provided with the money and resources from your policy to help you defend yourself against the lawsuit, so it is definitely advisable to be insured on your auto for that protection and much, much more. Always get a free auto insurance quote so you can find out which car insurance company offers you the best help for the best price.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.