Auto Insurance
When most people think about auto insurance, they think about damage to their car. The truth is auto insurance covers much more than just your car. Given the sheer number of cars on the road and the distractions drivers deal with every day, the chances of being involved in a car accident are plentiful.
It’s important to understand what your coverage options are, not just for your car, but for you, and the people who may be injured as a result of your negligence.
A lot of people don’t realize that having great coverage doesn’t necessarily mean having higher insurance premiums. Because Bayle & Associates Insurance is 100% independent, we can take your current coverages and compare them with a wide range of insurance providers to see who offers you the best deal possible.
No two insurance contracts are the same, and while two policies side-by-side might look the same, the fine print behind the cover page can vary from company to company.
Important Auto Insurance Coverages:
When you browse through your policy, you may see certain coverage options and wonder exactly what they are or why they’re on your policy. Let us clarify a few of the more common ones for you:
Collision Coverage — This is the part of your policy that covers your car in the event you damage the car itself somehow, as a result of an accident with a fixed or moving object like another car, a curb, a house, a guard rail, etc.
Comprehensive Coverage — This coverage also protects your car, but in the event that something else damages your car, that is not a fixed, or moving object. For example, fire, theft, a rock that cracks your windshield while you’re driving on the highway, an animal you might hit, hail, and so on.
Property Damage — Suppose you damage someone’s car in an accident, or a guard rail, a house, or some other property that belongs to someone else. This is the part of your policy that compensates the other person for that damage
Bodily Injury Liability — This coverage protects your financial interest in the event you injure another party in an accident. This is the part of your policy that pays that other party for their medical bills and related expenses. Due to the high cost of medical care, it’s dangerous to carry liability limits that are too low.
Un-insured & Under-insured Liability — This coverage pays you in the event that you are injured by another party, and if the other party was either unidentified or they weren’t carrying a high enough limit of Bodily Injury Liability to cover your expenses. This is also a very important part of your auto policy because you have zero control over how much insurance other people are driving around with.
Common Auto Insurance Rating Variables:
Age — Insurance companies use your age in their overall rating algorithms. Drivers who are under 25 and over 65 typically don’t get preferred rates because statistics show that those two age demographics have the most loss frequency and are therefore more at risk for financial loss due to an auto accident.
Credit — Credit is a metric that has been used in insurance scoring for many years. The better your credit, the more favorable your rates will usually be.
Car — The type of car, engine size, safety features, etc. are all part of the rate of course.
Driving History — Your driving record and loss history play a substantial role in the price. If you have a spotty driving history, or multiple moving violations or accidents, chances are you won’t get a preferred rate until those things fall off your record.