Things You Must Consider Before Purchasing Car Insurance

By: Brian Garvin And Jeff West

After you buy your car, but before you run out and sign up for car insurance, it is a good idea to learn how car insurance works. Knowing how the insurance works is the best way to make sure that you get the car insurance that is right for you. After all, you don't want to pay too much for a bunch of things you might not need, right?

There are a variety of different coverages that are involved in insuring your car: liability, collision, comprehensive, medical coverage, personal injury protection, uninsured motorist, under insured motorist and rental reimbursement.

Different states have different requirements, so make sure that you know which types of coverage are required by your state. Most states require at least liability coverage, but it varies from there. Often, insurance companies will combine a lot of these different kinds of coverage.

It is also important to note that it might not be the best idea to go with the minimum insurance required by your state. You never know what might happen on the road and the last thing you want is to end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills because you skimped on your auto insurance. This isn't to say that you should buy tornado insurance in Hawaii, but think about what you might encounter on the road, and what you want to have covered.

For example, if you are in an accident and cannot drive your car, would you like to have a rental car provided by your insurance company? Do you want extra warranties for labor and parts in the event that your car breaks down? If you have leased your vehicle, you will want to invest in gap insurance. This is insurance that will pay the difference between what you still owe on the lease and what your car insurance covers in the event that the car gets totaled.

Think about the car you just bought. If it got completely totaled, could you afford to get it replaced? If you can't, you will probably want to get collision and comprehensive coverage in your car insurance. Depending on how much your car is worth, it might even be worth the extra money to make sure that your car gets replaced in the event of a serious accident.

You should also look at your health insurance and homeowners insurance to see what kinds of coverage include damages involving a vehicle. Sometimes you will already be covered for something that you might have been tempted to add to your car insurance.

The best way to decide what kind of car insurance to get is to look at what kind of car you have, your budget and your environment. You will obviously want to have more inclusive insurance if you live in a crowded area where thefts and accidents are common. You might be able to get away with less if you have a less expensive car or you live in a low crime, low accident part of the country.

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