Understanding the Features of Your Car Insurance

By Ajeet Khurana

Most of the people tend to believe that in the process of buying a car, choosing its insurance coverage is as simple as finding the right car. The fact is that car insurance can actually be pretty complicated. Many people simply nod their head and make their monthly insurance payments but they don't really understand what their coverage offers them.

Car Insurance Basics

When you buy your car insurance you will most probably be offered with liability coverage. This is the basic coverage that you will find with any insurance policy and basically what this coverage does is pay for the bodily injury and property damage that is caused to others involved in the accident that you are at fault for.

Bodily injury coverage is what pays for medical bills and lost wages and property damage is what will pay for repair or replacement of the property that you wrecked. This coverage does not pay for the damage that happens to you or your vehicle.

Liability insurance is often broken down into numbers such as 20/40/10, which means that your coverage includes $20,000 in bodily injury, $40,000 in bodily injury per accident, and $10,000 in property damage coverage.

Unlike in liability coverage, a different type of coverage called as collision or comprehensive coverage repairs your vehicle as well as the vehicle and people you have hurt in the accident caused by you. With this type of coverage you won't be able to receive more than the value of your car, but you will get something to put toward repairs or replacement of the vehicle.

This coverage is the most expensive one. But if you select to have a high deductible you will be able to keep your payments down and still have this coverage that you need if you are involved in an accident. Comprehensive coverage will also cover damages to your car such as fire, theft, natural disasters, and/or hitting animals in the road, making this type of coverage ideal.

Multiple other coverage options are available that you might choose to make it a part of your car insurance policy. One such option is medical payment coverage. This coverage will pay for your as well as your passengers medical expenses when you have been involved in an accident.

Heard about PIP? Personal injury protection coverage might also be considered to be purchased by you. This coverage can help pay for those medical expenses but will also help you if you are unable to work, unable to take care of your kids, or if you have to pay for a funeral.

According to me, another type of coverage one can opt for purchasing is the uninsured or underinsured motorist's coverage. This coverage will help you pay for damages if you are struck by an uninsured or underinsured individual.

Other options that you may want to consider are rental reimbursement if you have to rent a vehicle because yours is in need of repair or stolen, towing and labor coverage, and gap coverage, which is coverage that pays the difference between the cash that you receive for a total car and the amount left on the car loan. These are add on features but according me they are really handy when you are in any of these situations.

Free Information For Accident Victims

In his years as a Seattle accident attorney, Chris Davis has seen injury victims make a number of mistakes before hiring a lawyer.  Mistakes that can potentially harm their case and reduce their settlement value. Davis has written several books on Washington accident law which define the legal process and identify some of the most common mistakes that people make. The books translate complex legal and insurance jargon into plain English, providing readers with the opportunity to better understand the accident claims process.

Click here to order your FREE copy of one of these informative books.

Davis Law Group and attorney Chris Davis has been featured in news reports on these local and national news sources: