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Insurance Matters

Auto Insurance Made Easy

(NAPS)—Understanding insurance can often be like trying to learn a foreign language. Many find it confusing and intimidating.

Fortunately, there’s help. Here is a quick reference designed to help you understand some of the most common kinds of coverage’s. The reference was put together by The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies.

Liability

Covers bodily injury and property damage (BI/PD). This covers your legal liability, up to the dollar limits you select, for damages caused to others in a covered vehicle accident. In most states today, liability insurance is mandatory.

Under BI/PD, your insurance company pays for damages to an injured person and for property damage that you are legally obligated to pay as a result of an accident. If your policy covers you in the event you’re sued after an accident, your insurance company will pay for a lawyer to defend you.

Liability limits generally appear as three numbers, for example, 25/50/25 or 100/300/100. The first number refers to the maximum amount, in thousands, that your insurance company is obligated to pay for bodily injury per person. The second number is the maxi-mum that would be paid out for bodily injury per claim and the third number represents the maxi-mum amount your insurance company is obligated to pay for property damage you cause.

Collision

When you buy collision coverage, your insurance company pays for damages if your vehicle collides with another vehicle or object. Collision coverage involves a deductible amount you select when you purchase your policy. This amount is what you are required to pay before your insurance company starts picking up the tab. Remember, the deductible amount is the amount you need to pay in the event of a claim.

Comprehensive

Covers dam-age caused by events other than a car collision—such as fire, theft, vandalism, hail or flood. It also covers damage caused by your vehicle colliding with an animal. And if your car is stolen, it will cover the cost of a rental, subject to a daily limit. Like collision coverage, a deductible usually applies.

Medical Coverage

Depending on the state in which you live, you may have available to you Medical Payments coverage or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. While these both work differently, they provide coverage for medical care provided to you as a result of a car accident.

Did You Know?

Liability insurance is for bodily injury and property damage. This covers your legal liability, up to the dollar limits you select, for damages caused to others in a covered vehicle accident. In California today, liability insurance is mandatory.

 

Four Questions to Get the Right Auto Insurance

Using the right tool for a job is key to success in any profession. Experts say the same principle applies when selecting an auto insurance policy. Having the right type of policy can help ensure that you, your employees and your business are all protected in the unfortunate event that one of your vehicles is involved in an accident.

 

If you’re a business owner and you or your employees use a vehicle for business-related deliveries or to carry certain materials to and from a job site, you may need a commercial auto insurance policy that’s tailored to more closely suit the needs—and risks—of a business vehicle operator.

 

Here are some questions that can help you determine if you might need a commercial auto policy instead of a personal auto policy, courtesy of U-Drive Insurance Brokers Inc.:

 

• Do you need more liability coverage than your personal auto policy provides? Generally, a commercial auto policy provides higher limits of liability, but less or no coverage in areas that are typically not associated with commercial auto risks.

 

• Do you need special coverage for situations associated with con-ducting business? Commercial auto policies also usually offer certain coverage’s—such as hired and non-owned auto coverage and coverage for towing a trailer for business use—that are not available with personal auto policies.

 

• Do you need to list any employees as drivers? You can do this with a commercial auto insurance policy.

 

• Do you use your vehicle for business purposes? If you use your vehicle for things like pizza or newspaper delivery, catering, door-to-door consulting service, landscaping or snowplowing service, logging business, day care/church retreat van service and/or farm-to-market delivery, you might need a commercial auto policy.

 

U-Drive Insurance Brokers Inc. is an independent insurance agency – trained, licensed insurance professionals who offer personal service and advice. We can help match you with the type of policy that best suits your needs and those of your company.

Fact vs. Fiction: Uncovering auto insurance myths (March 2008)

Like a teenager eager to try a new video game, playing before reading the rules, many drivers buy insurance without really understanding what they’re buying.

In the rush to feel “covered,” they can skip the details. That can lead to frustration.

Following are five insurance myths heard by some of the more than 13,000 claims people at Progressive, one of the country’s largest auto insurance companies:

 

Myth: I bought “full coverage” so everything’s paid for.

Reality: There is no such thing as “full coverage.” In most states, only liability insurance is mandatory. There are a lot of other coverage options out there, so select what you need and can afford based on your personal situation.

 

Myth: I need three estimates before my wrecked vehicle can be repaired.

Reality: Not necessarily. Very few insurers actually require this, although some might. If you decide to use a shop that’s in an insurance company’s “network” of pre-approved shops you may just have to get an estimate from that shop.

 

Myth: My insurance premium always increases if I’m involved in an accident.

Reality: It depends. Your rate can increase, decrease or stay the same. The information about your accident is combined with other information about you, your car and your driving history to determine your rate.

 

Myth: If I lend my car to someone and he/she crashes it, I’m covered.

Reality: Not so fast. If you or your friends don’t have optional physical damage coverage’s, damage to your vehicle generally won’t be covered.

 

Myth: If I buy a new car, my auto insurance company automatically knows; and my new car is covered.

Reality: No. Most insurance companies require that you notify them or your agent within a specified number of days. Generally, you have 30 days to add the new vehicle to your policy.

“Insurance can be complicated,” says Chuck Crist of Progressive. “It’s not something people deal with every day. So the more informed you are, the better choices you’ll make.”