Sunday, January 31, 2010

What Types of Car Insurance are There?

By Stacy Fox

If your policy has you confused, you may be wondering what types of car insurance are there? This article aims to cut through that confusion and detail what you should be looking for depending on your circumstances. Because insurance is necessary for your overall financial security, you want to get this right.

First of all, your state probably has minimum liability insurance. This means that you are required by law to carry insurance for damage done to another person's car or body in an accident. In some states, you can go to jail if you are in an accident and do not have this coverage. But do know that this kind of insurance only protects the other guy - your own vehicle's damage comes out of your pocket.

Now you're probably thinking what happens to your own car if you need to get it repaired or replaced. The answer is that you need collision coverage. This protects you if you are at fault in an accident.

But what happens if the accident wasn't your fault but the other guy wasn't carrying any insurance? In this case, you'll hope you took out Uninsured Motorist insurance which covers your damages in the case that the other driver didn't have coverage.

Finally there is comprehensive coverage. This kind of insurance covers you if there is some kind of problem when you are not in the car. For instance, if a tree falls on your car, comprehensive coverage has got your back. If vandals smash in your windshield, you have protection.

There are of course other kinds of insurance that you might consider getting including work loss, gap insurance, rental car reimbursement, towing ad labor, and custom parts and equipment.

What types of car insurance are there? Well, the important ones include liability, collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist. While there are other parts of some deluxe policies, these four give you the building blocks for your family's financial security.