Automobiles like cars and buses drive to and fro on our streets and highways. They are a very efficient way to transport people and goods from one location to another.
On the highway or a nearby street, anything can happen, ranging from theft to fatal accidents. Consider this scenario; you lend your friend your car for a short trip to collect an important package. After an hour, you got a call from the police station about your vehicle being involved in an accident. Your friend drove into a new shop, destroyed properties, and injured someone, and the shop owner is suing the car owner for damages. What will you do?
Rather than paying out of pocket for car and property repair, medical bills, and legal fees, you could set up auto insurance to cover all the expenses without needing to dip your hands in your pocket.
What is automobile insurance?
Automobile insurance safeguards your vehicle in case of unforeseen circumstances like accidents and theft.
When you insure your automobile (car or cars), you will be required to set up a contract between you (owner of the insured car or cars) and the insurance company (insurer). The contract is called an auto insurance policy, which stands as an agreement that you will be reimbursed for any financial loss due to accidents or theft. In exchange, you will have to pay an annual or a monthly premium.
Personal auto insurance is mandated by most states for the victim’s safety, the property damage repair, and your benefit also.
What does auto insurance cover?
Financial reimbursement for what? Automobile insurance can cover property, health bills, and legal fees.
Property coverage
If you hit a streetlight, for instance, and you damage your car also in the process, the insurance company will reimburse you with payment for damages to your vehicle. Also, in the event of car theft, the insurance company will refund you the current market value of your car.
Medical coverage
If you or someone else involved in the accident were injured, the insurance company would reimburse you for medical expenses, treating wounds, rehabilitation, and funeral expenses.
Liability coverage
If you are being sued for bodily injury and property damages due to the accident, your insurance agency will cover all your legal fees
Auto insurance is a wise investment; it saves you from spending extra by giving you a solid financial rescue. You get to pick a plan that suits your situation and budget.
Not everyone’s situation is the same; your version of an accident might be fire, thunderstorm, hurricane, or flooding. You get to stipulate all these in your auto insurance policy as one of the instances to be covered, and you pick a plan that suits your budget.
Auto insurance options
You could choose from various auto insurance options; they specify what they cover to the latter, some are state mandatory, and some are optional.
No fault coverage (Personal injury protection)
No fault coverage, also called PIP, is a special type of insurance coverage that covers medical bills if you were involved in a car accident while you have a passenger. If your passenger dies, this coverage can reimburse you for funeral expenses.
Also, if, due to the injury, you are unable to work, the PIP coverage will reimburse you with your lost wages, tips, earnings, compensation, vacation pay, bonuses, and many more.
Bodily injury Liability coverage
If you injured someone during a car accident, this auto insurance coverage would cover their medical bills for treatment, surgery, and hospital visits.
Property damage liability coverage
If you hit a car or an object, tree, streetlight, pole, or shop, this type of auto insurance coverage covers repairing or replacing the damaged property.
Collision coverage
In a situation where your car was involved in a collision with another vehicle or an object like a pole, streetlight, or a fence, this auto insurance coverage will reimburse you for your car’s repair or replacement.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
If you were involved in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured car (either the vehicle has insufficient insurance or no insurance coverage), this type of auto insurance coverage will cover the expenses.
Comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive coverage is a type of auto insurance that helps you cover the repair or replacement of your car when risks (events of a natural disaster) like fire, flooding, vandalism, theft, or animal damage.
What affects your auto insurance premium
Your auto insurance premium is the amount you pay annually or monthly to continue your insurance plan.
Your auto insurance premium cost depends on some instances such as safety features you installed in your car like anti-theft features (alarms), the state of your vehicle (well oiled, mentioned, and in good condition) if you have a safe neighborhood, if you are young, and if you have good driving records, your auto insurance premium will reduce. If not, it will increase to cover the inevitable unforeseen circumstances.
As a car owner, if you’ve been involved in many car accidents and have received several speeding tickets if you opt for an auto insurance premium, your premium will be higher than those with a clean record.
If you are too young with less driving experience or too old, your auto Insurance premium will also increase.
Conclusion
Auto insurance takes that financial burden off of you and lets you breathe easy. Insurance agencies are your partners in creating a safeguarded future. They protect you, your family, and the accident victims by reimbursing lost wages, health bills, lawsuits, and properties.
A good insurance agency like JMJ Insurance helps you set an auto insurance plan for your needs and according to your budget.
If you have any questions, book a consultation with JMJ Insurance to understand the terms of your insurance policy. Learn insurance mistakes, and ask questions about what is and isn’t covered under your policy, your premium, deductible, and any more relevant information. With excellent customer service and excellent experts to help you, they’ve got you covered.