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A basic auto insurance policy provides the following
protection coverage for you and your vehicle:
1. Bodily Injury Liability
This coverage applies to injuries that you, the designated driver
or policyholder, cause to someone else. You and family members listed
on the policy are also covered when driving someone else’s
car with their permission. This coverage applies for the limits
chosen whether you are driving:
- your own auto, pickup or van scheduled on the
policy
- a temporary borrowed auto, or
- a rented auto
2. Property Damage Liability
This coverage pays for damage you (or someone driving the car with
your permission) may cause to someone else’s property. Usually
this means damage to someone else’s car, but it also includes
damage to lamp posts, telephone poles, fences, buildings or other
structures your car hit.
3. Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
If you, your family or any passengers in your auto are injured in
an accident, your necessary medical, hospital, and funeral expenses
are covered under Personal Injury Protection (PIP) subject to specified
limits. PIP also pays a percentage of your income or your passengers’
incomes should you or your passengers be unable to work due to a
covered injury.
4. Damage to Your Auto
States do not require that you purchase collision or comprehensive
coverage, but if you have a car loan, your lender may require you
to carry it until your loan is paid off.
- Collision
This coverage pays the Actual Cash Value (ACV) for damage to your
car resulting from a collision with another car or object, or
as a result of flipping over. Even if you are at fault for the
accident, your collision coverage will reimburse you for the costs
of repairing your car, minus the deductible. If you’re not
at fault, your insurance company may try to recover the amount
they paid you from the other driver’s insurance company.
If they are successful, you’ll also be reimbursed for the
deductible.
- Comprehensive
This coverage reimburses you for loss due to theft or damage caused
by something other than a collision with another car or object,
such as fire, falling objects, explosion, earthquake, windstorm,
hail, flood, vandalism, riot, or contact with animals such as
birds or deer. Comprehensive insurance will also reimburse you
if your windshield is cracked or shattered.
5. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
This coverage will reimburse you, a member of your family, or a
designated driver if one of you is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run
driver. Underinsured motorist coverage comes into play when an at-fault
driver has insufficient insurance to pay for your total loss. This
coverage will also protect you if you are hit as a pedestrian.
Bodily Injury (BI):
If you or other passengers in your insured auto suffer injury
or death from an uninsured or underinsured driver, your policy
will pay, up to the limits shown for Uninsured or Underinsured
Motorist Bodily Injury, sums you are legally entitled to recover.
Property Damage (PD):
If your auto or other covered property is damaged by an uninsured
or underinsured driver and requires repair or replacement, your
policy will pay up to the limits shown for Uninsured or Underinsured
Motorist Property Damage.
Possible auto insurance premium
discounts:
- Account Discount (Auto & Homeowners
coverage with same company)
- Experience Discount (drivers with
good driving records)
- AAA Member Discount (active members
of AAA Auto Club)
- Mature Driver Discount (drivers age
55+)
- Good Student Discount (youthful drivers
in high school or college with a grade average of
3.0, B or better)
- Multi-Car Discount (for drivers with
two or more autos)
- Vehicle Discounts (based on the features
of your auto)
- Preferred Customer Credit (new customers
who have had continuous insurance for 3 years and
good driving records)
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Auto insurance F.A.Q.
Q: Do I have to buy auto insurance?
A: Almost every state requires you to have auto liability
insurance before you can legally drive a car. All states,
however, have financial responsibility laws. This means
that either you must purchase a minimum amount of liability
insurance or prove that you have set aside enough money
to pay for the damage you may cause in an accident.
Q: Do I need insurance to rent
a car?
A: Yes, when renting a car, you do need insurance. If
you have adequate insurance on your own car, including
collision and comprehensive, this may be enough.
Find out how much coverage you have on your own car.
In most cases, the coverage and deductibles you have
on your personal auto policy would apply to a rental
car, providing it’s used for pleasure and not
business. If you don’t have comprehensive and
collision coverage on your own car, you will not be
covered if your rental car is stolen or if it is damaged
in an accident.
If you don’t have auto insurance,
you can buy coverage at the car rental counter.
Rental agencies often offer the following coverage:
- Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
This coverage relieves you of financial responsibility
if your rental car is damaged or stolen. It may be
void, however, if you cause an accident by speeding,
driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated.
If you have comprehensive and collision on your own
car, you may not need to purchase this coverage. Purchasing
the insurance the rental car agency offers may save
you some headaches. If someone hits your rental car
while you’re on vacation, some states require
you to pay for ‘down time’ when the rental
car is in the shop being repaired, unless you have
purchased insurance from them. Also consider the size
of the vehicle you’re renting. Most personal
auto policies have a vehicle weight limit, so if you’re
renting a moving truck or a significantly larger vehicle
than the one you have insured, you may want to purchase
the rental car insurance to be sure you’re covered.
- Liability Insurance
This provides excess liability coverage of up to $1
million for the time you rent a car. Rental companies
are required by law to provide the minimum level of
liability insurance required by your state. Generally,
this does not offer enough protection in a serious
accident. If you have adequate liability coverage
on your car or an umbrella policy on your home/auto,
you may consider forgoing this additional insurance.
Q: What if I lease a car?
A: If you lease a car, you will still need to buy your
own auto insurance policy. The auto dealer or bank that
is financing the car may require you to buy collision
and comprehensive coverage. You’ll need to buy
these coverages in addition to the others that may be
mandatory in your state, such as auto liability insurance.
Q: Will my insurance cover a rental
car after an accident?
A: Many drivers don’t think about their insurance
coverage until after they have an accident and call
their insurance company to file a claim to help pay
for car repairs, a rental car, and other expenses.
Unfortunately, many insured drivers are
surprised to find out that their auto insurance does
not automatically cover the cost of a replacement rental
car after an accident. Since the average car is in the
repair shop for two weeks after an accident, it can
cost as much as $500 to rent a replacement car. But,
some insured drivers pay little or nothing to rent a
car because of an inexpensive but often overlooked option
known as rental reimbursement.
Rental reimbursement coverage is available
for only $1 or $2 a month with almost every auto insurance
policy, but it is bypassed frequently by those who believe
they will not have a car accident or those shopping
only for the lowest cost premium. The cost of a rental
replacement car adds up fast, so even if you don’t
have an accident for eight or nine years, the coverage
pays for itself when you need it most.
Sometimes working out the details of a
claim with the auto insurance company can take time.
Even if the accident is the other driver’s fault,
you may need to wait several days or longer to get the
other insurance company to agree to pay for a rental
car. With rental reimbursement coverage, there is no
waiting. |
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PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2005-2008 English Insurance Group, LLC
20016 Cedar Valley Road, Suite #203, Lynnwood, WA 98036
Phone: (425) 673-7948 Fax: (425) 673-7942
IMPORTANT NOTE: This Web site provides only a simplified description
of coverages and is not a statement of contract. Coverage may not
apply in all states. For complete details of coverages, conditions,
limits and losses not covered, be sure to read the policy, including
all endorsements, or prospectus, if applicable. Please feel free to
contact us for further information. |
