Vehicle Insurance
Vehicle Insurance
It’s no secret that law requires drivers to have insurance on their vehicles. The ubiquity of car insurance policies has thus helped to illuminate the whole concept for most drivers, who view vehicle insurance primarily as a “just in case” measure that will cover their expenses if they are involved in an auto accident. However, there are actually several different kinds of vehicle insurance available, and you should know about each before outlining a policy for yourself and your car.

Liability Insurance

The most common type of vehicle insurance is liability coverage, as this is the type that most state laws require drivers to have. In fact, if you don’t have liability insurance, most states won’t even permit you to register for a driver’s license, while driving without insurance can cost you that license or even lead to having your car taken away. Having liability insurance is incredibly important, not because it protects you or your vehicle, but because it protects other drivers that might be hurt in an accident you cause.

In the vehicle insurance realm, bodily injury liability coverage pays for any medical expenses incurred by other drivers (or even just passerby) due to an accident that you were at fault for. Property damage liability coverage, meanwhile, pays for damages caused to the vehicle or other personal property of the person affected by the accident you caused.

Collision Insurance

Another type of vehicle insurance is collision coverage. Interestingly, many people think of collision coverage first when looking at insurance policies, even though it is not required by law in the way that liability insurance is. In short, collision insurance protects your car and pays for any damages to the vehicle that may come as the result of an accident, whether you or another driver is at fault. In other words, collision coverage can foot the bill for repairs, major or minor, or can even pay to replace your car if it is totaled.

Even though collision policies are not legally mandated, there are situations where you may be required to hold such a policy. For instance, if you are buying the car with a bank loan, the bank will want to protect its investment and will therefore stipulate that you secure collision insurance on the car prior to driving it. On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of drivers who go without collision insurance, primarily those who have older or more beat up cars that are actually worth less than the cost of the policy.

Personal Injury Protection

Many drivers also secure personal injury protection as part of their vehicle insurance coverage. This type of insurance is particularly essential in states where “no fault” insurance laws are in place, as each driver will always be required in these states to pay his or her own medical expenses – regardless of who caused the accident.

Want to see what else you can get out of your vehicle insurance policy? Contact Linares today and see what we have to offer in terms of car coverage.
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