Car Insurance
Get A Car Insurance Quote In Queen Creek
A lot of people have spent time researching and learning everything about their car but a lot of them don’t know much about car insurance and what it entails. When you buy a lease of a car, it’s important to protect that investment. Getting auto insurance offers reassurance in case you’re involved in an accident or the vehicle is stolen, vandalized, or damaged by a natural disaster. Instead of having to pay out of pocket for auto accidents, people pay yearly premiums to an insurance company that pays all or most costs associated with a car accident.
What Is Car Insurance?
Car insurance is a contract between yourself and an insurance company in which you will pay a specified premium in exchange for protection against financial losses that stem from an accident or other damage to the vehicle. Auto insurance can offer coverage for vehicle damage done to your car and the other driver’s car, property damage or bodily injuries caused by an accident, and medical bills or funeral expenses associated with injuries sustained in an accident. The exact details of what’s covered depend on the minimum coverage requirements of your state and any additional coverage options of your choice. Auto insurance is required by most states and in the event that you get into an uninsured car accident, you will have to pay for the expenses out of pocket while also facing penalties, fines, and possible criminal charges.
Auto insurance provides coverage for property, such as damage to or theft of your car, liability, which is your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage, and medical, which are the costs of treating injuries, rehabilitation, and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses. Auto insurance coverages are priced individually to let you customize coverage amounts to suit your exact needs and budget. Policies are generally issued for a six-month or one-year timeframe and are renewable. The insurance company is tasked to send a notice when it’s time to renew the policy and pay your premium.
Who Is Covered By An Auto Insurance Policy?
Your auto insurance policy will cover you and your family members on your policy, whether driving your own car or someone else’s car with their permission. Your policy also provides coverage when someone not on your policy is driving your car with your consent. Your personal auto policy only covers personal driving, where you’re commuting to work, running errands, or taking a trip. It will not provide coverage if you use your car for commercial purposes like using it for any business deliveries. Personal auto insurance will also not provide coverage if you use your car to provide transportation to others through a ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft. Some auto insurers, however, are now offering supplemental insurance products at additional costs that extend the coverage for vehicle owners that provide ride-sharing services.
Mandatory Car Insurance
Auto insurance requirements vary from state to state. If you are financing a car, your lender may also have its own requirements. Most states require the following coverage:
- Bodily Injury Liability - This covers costs that are associated with injuries or death that you or another driver causes while driving your car.
- Medical Payments or PIP - PIP, also known as personal injury protection, provides reimbursement for medical expenses for injuries you or your passengers have incurred. It will also cover loss of income resulting from a covered accident. Depending on the limits of the policy, personal injury protection could cover as much as 80% of medical and other expenses stemming from a covered accident.
- Property Damage Liability - This reimburses others for damage that you or another person using your car causes to another vehicle or property, such as a building, fence, or utility pole.
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage - This reimburses you for when an accident is caused by a driver who does not have auto insurance or in the case of a hit and run. You can also purchase underinsured motorist coverage, which will cover costs when another driver lacks adequate coverage to pay the costs of a serious accident.
Other Auto Insurance Coverages
While most basic, legally mandated auto insurance covers the damage your car causes, it does not cover damages to your own car. To cover your own car, you may want to consider additional coverages.
- Collision Insurance - This reimburses you for damage done to your car that occurs as a result of a collision with another vehicle or object when you’re at fault. While collision coverage will not reimburse you for mechanical failure or wear-and-tear, it will cover damages from rolling your car or from potholes.
- Comprehensive Insurance - This provides coverage against theft and damage caused by an accident other than a collision, such as fire, flood, vandalism, hail, falling rocks or trees, and other hazards.
- Glass Coverage - This provides coverage from windshield damage which is quite common. Some auto insurance policies include no-deductible glass coverage, which also includes the rear windows, glass sunroofs, and side windows. You can also buy supplementary glass coverage.
With select insurers, you can shop for your car insurance and avail your claim online. You may also be able to avail their cashless garage facility for the repair of your vehicle meaning that you won’t need to pay anything for repair as long as you avail the services at their garage. In case your vehicle gets services at another garage outside of their network, you can still claim reimbursement. Prior to availing your car insurance, make sure to ask as many questions as possible to make sure that the insurance you get is the right one for you.