Which Type Of Car Insurance Should You Purchase?
December 28, 2009 by Clare Leith
Filed under Car Insurance
Anyone that drives a vehicle should have car insurance. Car insurance is required by law in every state of the United States. In many cases, however, the state minimum amount of insurance is not enough to cover the needs that drivers of autos have.
Even though your state probably requires that you have liability insurance, the amount that is required may not be enough to meed your real needs. Vehicle prices and the cost of medical care have increased rapidly over the past decade and state laws have not kept pace with inflation. It is very likely that if you were to total another person’s vehicle or cause someone to go to the hospital as a result of an auto accident, that the bill could be more than the amount of your state’s minimum liability cost.
In addition to liability insurance, if you owe money for your car, the loan company may require that you have full coverage insurance. Full coverage is actually comprehensive and collision coverage. Comprehensive insurance pays for damage to your vehicle that results from the breaking of glass, vandalism or theft. Collision pays to repair or replace a vehicle that is involved in an accident.
The finance company will get the first money that is paid for the vehicle that is totaled. Any value left after the loan is paid in full goes to the vehicle owner as a down payment on the next vehicle. In order to purchase a new vehicle, you will need to secure new financing.
Sometimes, especially in cases where there are low down payments made, there will be a gap between the amount you still owe on a car that is totaled and the blue book value. Insurance companies pay the blue book value, so you can be left owing money on a totaled vehicle unless you purchase gap insurance. Gap insurance pays the difference between what the insurance pays for the blue book value and the amount owed on the vehicle.
If you own an antique vehicle, then you will want special insurance for that vehicle. Antique and specialty vehicle insurance often requires that your vehicle be parked in a garage overnight and limits the number of miles that you can drive the vehicle in a year. It does cover loss if you are showing your vehicle in a car show and suffer a loss. Antique vehicle insurance does not include liability, so you will need to be sure that you have the required coverage before taking your car on the public roads.
It is easy to get car insurance quotes, either off the internet or from a local insurance agent.
If you drive a car, you are required to have Car Insurance. The statutes in every state require you either have Car Insurance or proof of your financial responsibility in case of an accident. Car Insurance quotes are thus of utmost importance.