Are you looking for auto insurance and still confused by all the different types of auto insurance you can buy from Liability, Personal Injury Protection, Property coverage, Comprehensive, Collision, and many more? Find out a basic description of each to the types available.
Liability
This covers you against injuring other people including other drivers, passengers and pedestrians should you hit them with your car or get into a vehicle accident.
Personal Injury Protection or Medical
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is usually used in no fault states where each driver and their insurance policy are responsible for their own injury claims. Medical insurance is used in at fault insurance states to cover your own injuries in an accident.
Property Damage
Generally lumped in with Liability coverage to cover damage you do to someone else’s vehicle or physical property.
Collision
Is an optional coverage that protects your own vehicle in the case of an accident, even if it is your fault.
Comprehensive
This covers all damage to your vehicle outside of an accident such as vandalism, theft, or damage from extreme weather events like hail, hurricanes or tornados.
GAP Coverage
If you finance a vehicle and that vehicle is then a total write off due to an accident you may owe the finance company the difference between the amount owing on the vehicle and the residual blue book value of the car. There is often a gap which this insurance covers.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist
Even though insurance coverage is mandatory in most states, there are still a large portion of American drivers that do not buy auto insurance or purchase the bare minimum required by their state. There are between 3 to over 20% of drivers that have no auto insurance depending on your state. Uninsured coverage provides liability coverage if you get into an accident with one of these drivers.
Drivers that buy the state minimum required insurance are often underinsured should they get into an accident. If you are in an accident with one of these drivers, their insurance may not cover all your expenses and they personally may not be able to cover the difference. This insurance covers you in this instance.
Other optional insurances include coverage for a rental car reimbursement as well as towing and labor charges.