So, it's embarrassing to admit that my husband and I had a little dispute last night about what Liability for Property Damage actually covers last night. It's only embarrassing because...well, I'm the one that works in the insurance industry, and despite that...I was the one that ended up being wrong.
Regardless of who was right and who was wrong, I have all my facts together now and thought I'd share "Insurance 101" with you so that you are all aware of the coverage you're really getting.
Here's the breakdown:
Liability for Bodily Injury: This covers any damages that you, or a person you gave permission to drive your vehicle, caused by an accident on another person. This is obviously a very important coverage seeing as medical expenses can be quite costly! Make sure you are well covered!
Liability for Property Damage: This covers any damages that you, or a person you gave permission to drive your vehicle, caused by an accident on any property. This includes other vehicles, fences, businesses, walls, homes, poles etc....anything that your vehicle can come in contact with.
Medical Payments: This is coverage that pays for medical expenses when you are injured driving your vehicle or as a passenger in your own vehicle. Different from liability for Bodily Injury, this covers YOUR medical expenses while bodily injury covers the other party involved when you're liable.
Collision: This covers your vehicle when damaged in an accident, whether it's a single car accident or multiple. It will replace the value of the vehicle minus the deductible if the car is totalled. Deductibles range from 250 to 2500. Talk to your insurance agent to discuss the right deductible for you since it affects your yearly premium, but also your out-of-pocket expenses if an accident was to occur.
Comprehensive: This covers any damage other than collision including theft, vandalism, fire, hail, hurricanes, flooding etc. This coverage also has a deductible.
Uninsured Bodily Injury and Property Damage: These coverages cover you if you were involved in an accident and the other party was not insured. Although there is a state minimum limit for liability in RI, many people on the roads are still uninsured or even underinsured!
Underinsured Motorist coverage would cover you when the other party is at fault but the medical expenses and/or property damage exceeds the amount that he's insured for.
There are also other coverages such as Towing and Rental which would help out with the expense of having your car towed from an accident site or with having to rent a car if your vehicle is totalled. These coverages usually has a maximum that it will cover. For instance, a max of 40 days or $1200 for Rental, or $75 for Towing.
So, hopefully this was an enlightening lesson for you! As enlightening as insurance can be, I guess! And maybe I've cleared up someone else's marital disputes about whether or not you should remove comprehensive and collision from your ten year old vehicle.
Have a nice day everyone and contact PODMASKA INSURANCE AGENCY for all your insurance needs ranging from HOME, AUTO, BUSINESS, RENTERS, UMBRELLA, MOTORCYLE, LIFE and MORE!
WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED!
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