5Types of Car Insurance Coverage Explained

So you’re walking back to your car after a long day at work and you find that there’s a big scratch on the side of your car door. You’re pretty sure someone vandalized your car while you were away. It’s natural to get pissed in situations like these and if you’re like most drivers, would ask whether your car insurance will cover the damage to your vehicle.

Nightmare situations like these are what make car insurance important to car owners. It’s not just a scratched or dinged car door that could happen to your car. Having your car stolen, or worse, getting involved in a car accident that puts you and the lives of your passenger in mortal danger are other events where a car insurance can be really useful.

To know whether you’re protected financially by your insurance company should these events happen to you, you need to know about the different types of car insurance coverage. This can help you decide on what coverage to get when you apply for car insurance or have it renewed. Here are five types of car insurance coverage you should look into.

1. Liability Insurance

Most countries make liability insurance mandatory for car owners so this is a pretty basic car insurance coverage that you could get. Should you be involved in a covered car accident that you are responsible for, liability insurance will cover the cost of the damaged property or the medical bills of people injured in the accident up to a certain amount as specified in your policy.

2. Comprehensive Coverage

If you get a car insurance with comprehensive coverage, you can make a claim should you fall victim to someone scratching your door while you left it parked outside. This type of coverage covers a wide range of losses that are not caused by an auto accident. If you’re still paying your car, your lender could require you to get comprehensive car insurance.

3. Collision Coverage

As its name implies, you can make a claim from your insurance company for the cost to repair your car should you get into a car accident. If the cost of the repair exceeds the value of the car, (or in other words your car is “totalled”)  then this type of coverage will pay the value of the car.

4. Personal Injury Protection

Road accidents are one of the major causes of death in many countries around the world. The medical bill for drivers and passengers involved in car accidents can be quite significant so getting a car insurance with personal injury protection cover can help protect your finances should you get into an accident.

5. Rental Car Insurance

If you fly frequently and drive a rental car, you might want to consider getting a car insurance that has rental car cover. This is usually an optional cover so if you don’t see yourself driving a rental car in the future, then you might want to leave out this cover to bring down your premium.

A car is an important investment. By getting comprehensive car insurance, you do more than protect that investment—you also spare yourself from the stress and the worry in case of unexpected events.

[Source: http://blogs.rediff.com/carinsurance/2015/12/08/sanjay/]