Auto Insurance: Coverage and Limits

If you bought a new or used car, you need auto insurance. In addition, there are many types of coverage that you may need, beyond the minimum requirements.

Auto Insurance: Coverage and Limits

• Liability: Any type of insurance policy that protects an individual or business from the risk that they may be sued and held legally liable for something such as malpractice, injury, or negligence. Liability insurance policies cover both legal costs and any legal payouts for which the insured would be responsible if found legally liable. Intentional damage and contractual liabilities are typically not covered in these types of policies.
• Bodily Injury: Damages to the third party when insured is at fault: Medical bills, loss of income, pain, and suffering, and other results of the physical harm incurred.
• Property Damage: Physical injury to tangible property (third party) when insured is at fault: including loss of use of such property. This coverage is mandatory in the state of Florida. (Damages to another vehicle, house, electrical poles, a fence, etc.).
• Medical Payments: Pays expenses incurred for necessary medical and funeral services to persons injured by accident, without regard to fault or legal liabilities.
• Uninsured Motorists: This coverage is a form of coverage to pay compensatory damages for bodily injuries, under one’s own policy, for amounts which would otherwise have been recovered from the liability insurance of another (when the injured is NOT at fault). Uninsured Motorists is not intended to duplicate payments otherwise available.
• Stacked or Non-Stacked: Stacked coverage means the coverage limits provided for two or more vehicles are added together to determining the limit of insurance coverage available to an injured person in any one accident; while the Non-Stacked is available to a person injured while occupying a motor vehicle is only the limit applicable to that motor vehicle.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Personal injury protection (PIP) can cover expenses related to injuries you sustained in a covered accident. These expenses can include medical and hospital bills as well as expenses not covered by your health insurance. Coverage will vary depending on the state you live in, and it can be a great supplement to your health insurance. The law requires that PIP insurance be carried by the owners of motor vehicles, and imposes penalties for failing to do so.
• Comprehensive: Cover the damages to the insured’s vehicle for Other than Collision like fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects (hail), explosion, windstorm, flood, contact with animal or bird, breakage of glass.
• Collision: Upset (overturn) or impact with another object.