(ThyBlackMan.com) Car accident statistics are alarming. According to LawCore.com, “On an average, there are more than 6 million car accidents on the roads of the US, annually. More than 3 million people get injured due to car accidents, with more than 2 million of these injuries being permanent. There are in excess of 40,000 deaths due to car accidents every year.”
Since you can’t predict the future, you should protect yourself with auto-insurance because even if you are a defensive driver, you might be involved in an accident.
Legal Requirements
Car insurance is important and the majority of states require that drivers get it. 48 out of 50 states have mandatory insurance laws. The two exceptions are New Hampshire and Wisconsin. However, they still have laws that require drivers to show fiscal responsibility when operating a vehicle on public roads.
The reason why all states require car insurance or a comparable form of fiscal responsibility is because the costs of an accident can be extremely high.
Without adequate car insurance, an at-fault driver might not be able to pay for the medical bills and property damage. Even if he or she were to sell everything they owned, it might still not be enough. The at-fault driver might spend their natural lives trying to pay medical bills, awards to family if there were a fatality, and any repair or replacement costs for property damage.
Car insurance is necessary even if you’re not the at fault driver. Without adequate car insurance, you, as a victim might not be able to pay for your own costs if the at-fault driver did not have insurance. While you might be able to sue them, they might be too destitute to pay your high medical bills and car repair costs. In this case, your own insurance will cover the costs.
While it’s mandatory to get car insurance, states only stipulate a minimum amount. How much insurance is something that varies from state to state. However, since this minimum level of insurance may not be enough to cover all expenses, many drivers buy more insurance than required by law to protect themselves.
A Safety Net
Car insurance is a safety net, a contract between you and an insurance company. You agree to pay a premium while the insurance company agrees to pay you for injury and damage costs in the event of an accident. The exact details on how much you pay for protection and how much you can claim is based on the details spelled out in the insurance policy you buy.
Sometimes special arrangements have to be made with your insurance company. If, for instance, you are driving without insurance, under the influence, have incurred multiple traffic offenses, or have your license suspended, the court may say you need an SR22 insurance policy. Despite the name, this is not actually a type of insurance. It’s actually just a form that your insurance company has to file with the DMV to confirm that you have insurance coverage. Basically, the insurance company is vouching for you.
Types of Auto Insurance
An insurance company offers several types of insurance policies like Bodily Injury Liability, Property Damage Liability, Collision, Comprehensive, and Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
Let’s take a closer look at each one.
Bodily Injury Liability, mandated by all states pays for medical bills, lost wages or income, pain and suffering, funeral expenses, and legal and court costs to defend you
Property Damage Liability is also required by most states. It protects you if you caused an accident. It pays for repairs to the other person’s car or property and repairs to anything you hit on the street like lamps, fences, buildings, and so on.
Collision pays for damage to your vehicle if you are the at-fault driver. If you did not cause the accident, your insurance company will formally ask the other driver to reimburse you for your repair costs. While this coverage is not required by any state, it is required by your lender if you finance your car.
Comprehensive coverage protects you for almost anything that happens to your car, even if the damage is not due to a collision. It can protect you from a collision with wildlife (a deer runs in front of your car), hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, vandalism, and theft. Again, although not required by any state, it is required by lenders for financed cars.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your passengers if your car is hit by an uninsured motorist. It covers medical expenses, as well as anything else you have selected in your coverage.
Protect Yourself from the Unknown
Insurance exists to protect you if an accident should happen. Hopefully, you will never have to make a claim, but if you do, you are legally and financially protected. How much protection you have depends on the type of insurance policy you selected.
Staff Writer; Steve Cox