Understanding Your Auto InsuranceBy Tom McKnight
Reading auto insurance policies can be like trying to decipher advanced calculus. It's really not that difficult if you understand a few basic terms. Collision, Comprehensive, Bodily Injury Liability and Property Injury Liability are the main terms you need to fully understand.
You'll appreciate Collision Coverage in the event you need repairs or replacements if your vehicle collides with another vehicle or property. The higher the deductible you elect, the lower your premiums will cost you. If you're at fault for something, well of course it would still be an accident, as I doubt you'd plan to run into that guard rail, but how much would you be able to afford to pay out of pocket for repairs? $250? $500? $1,000? Just like medical insurance, you'd have to pay that deductible amount first and then the insurance company would pay for the remaining charges for the repair.
Another term to become intimately familiar with is Comprehensive Coverage. This is the coverage that pays for damage caused from falling objects, fire, certain natural disasters, theft and vandalism. Deductibles work the same way as with Collision; the more out of pocket costs to you, the less your insurance premium.
In addition to knowing how much Collision and Comprehensive coverage you have, you'll want to know about your liability coverage. Let's say you rear-end another driver. Or your foot slips off the brake onto the gas pedal and you plow down a mailbox. Your liability coverage will kick in and pay for the damages that you caused with your insured vehicle. You liability coverage will, or could, include bodily injury (people) and property damage.
You don't want to go without Bodily Injury Coverage. If you were at fault in an accident and others involved needed to go to the hospital and/or lost wages from missing work, those costs would come out of your pocket if you are not insured with Bodily Injury Coverage. It doesn't take a genius to know how quickly those amounts can add up. This type of coverage can also help you in the event the other party takes legal action against you. Many states require you to carry Bodily Injury Coverage.
The other part of liability includes Property Damage coverage. Can you imagine how much it might cost should you accidentally drive into the side of someone's home? You wouldn't want to be caught without property damage insurance should you need to pay for repairs to another vehicle, building or anything else you might hit. As with Bodily Injury coverage, Property Damage coverage also helps protect you in the event of a related lawsuit.
Every policy will have its limits and various degrees of coverage. It's important that you understand the basics of what you are paying for and why it is necessary. No one plans for an accident, be prepared!
|
How Credit Scores Can Boost Home Insurance Premiums
Got so-so credit? You are likely paying more in premiums than people with excellent credit.
Big or small, Maryland banks try to stand out in market
Banks in Maryland are coming up with new services and special offers as a way of surviving and thriving in what all agree is a competitive market.
Taking out insurance for fantasy players is going a bit too far
Quick question. Did your insurance premiums go up in the last year? No, not car, health or dental. Well, technically I guess it would be considered health insurance. If you drafted Wes Welker ? who recently suffered his third concussion in 10 months ? or Rob Gronkowski ? who has suffered everything from a bum hip and busted ankle to a broken forearm and torn ACL/MCL in the last three years ? you ...
Maryland father charged in boy's death in hot car
LEXINGTON PARK, Md. (AP) ? A father forgot to drop his 17-month-old son off at day care at the Maryland naval base where he works and left the toddler in his car seat for more than 6 hours, wh?
San Antonio No. 2 in tailgate thefts
Nationwide, there were 1,921 insurance claims citing stolen tailgates off of pickup trucks between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2013.
Dad in hot-car death case indicted on murder, child cruelty charges
Justin Ross Harris, a Georgia man accused of intentionally leaving his toddler in a hot car for seven hours in June and sexting with multiple women as the boy died, was indicted Thursday on eight charges, including murder and child cruelty.
Ways to Waste Your Money - Slide Show
These dates are just manufacturers' best guess of when food is at peak quality and are not related to safety, according to Emily M. Broad Leib, director of the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic. To learn more, see Confusing Packages Lead to Wasted Food, Money. Paying Checking Account Fees Yes, it is getting harder to find a free checking account with no strings attached. Community ...
30 ways to waste your money
Almost all of us have holes in our budgets that can quickly add up to big bucks.
Maryland, Virginia, D.C. see historic declines in auto thefts
Auto thefts saw major declines in the D.C. area in 2013, but AAA says it's no reason for drivers to let their guards down in the summer when most vehicle thefts occur.
Keep Your Money Out of the Mattress: Investing for the Short Term
But stow that cash in the wrong place, and you'll be facing a different sort of emergency: losing money you thought was there. Beyond a few hundred or a thousand dollars in bills, it's not smart to build up a cash hoard at home, says Michael Guillemette, assistant professor of personal financial planning at the University of Missouri at Columbia. How would you prove it?" Guillemette says ...
|
