Auto Insurance Options! Who Needs it!

In the old days no one had auto insurance. So when Grandma drove the model T into the neighbors’s cow, it left grandma walking and all the kids in the neighborhood didn’t have milk for a month. They say all that walking and going without milk built character. Well, if your family is like mine, there’s just a little bit too much character there, if you know what I mean. So thank goodness today everyone has to have auto insurance, so when grandma has an accident she doesn’t have to walk and the kids up and down the street get their milk.  But like all things in this day and age you need to be familiar with some terms to get the insurance that is right for you. So let’s look at the three types of auto insurance.

1. The first type of auto insurance is liability.

This covers the damage that you do to other people’s property. So if you followed in Grandma’s tracks and hit a cow, you would be walking. But the cow would no doubt get the hip replacement it needed thanks to your insurance. Liability insurance is the basic coverage called for in most states. It is designed to protect every one on the road from the mistakes other drivers can make. There are limits to how much a policy will pay but no matter the extent of the damage, be it another car or a cow, the insurance company will provide the “moooolah” to cover repairs. You will only be responsible for the ‘deductible’ which is the amount you agreed to pay when you acquired the insurance.

2. The second type of insurance is called collision.

It takes care of the damage done to replace or repair your automobile. So if grandma had purchased collision coverage, she wouldn’t have been quite the character she turned out to be because she would not have had to walk so far. Collision is important because most of us could not afford to replace our car if something happened to it. So it just makes good sense. But in some cases you are required to have collision. If you have a loan on your car, the bank will insist that your car is well insured and includes collision coverage in addition to other coverages. Collision insurance is a good idea because you probably already have enough character but not enough money to replace your car 

3. The third type of auto insurance is called comprehensive.

It provides coverage for damage that might occur to your car from non-accident events.  This type of coverage would protect your car from vandalism and theft.  It’s the type of insurance that Grandma should have had when she hit the cow because it protects against the damage done from hitting animals like deer or an occasional cow. The bank wants you to have comprehensive because it protects their investment from just about everything.

So get the auto insurance that is required by your bank and your state so you don’t turn out to be  one of those ‘characters’ in your family, that everyone rolls their eyes over.  It only take a minute to make sure you have the right insurance for you and your car.  So get the right car insurance and by all mean, watch out for Grandma!