What are you covered for on your auto?

 

As insurance agents, sometimes we ask silly questions like:

 

Would you like full coverage or liability only on that vehicle?  How about loss of use or transportation expense (aka... rental car coverage)?

 

As a consumer, do you truly understand what these questions are asking, or do you pretend to know and end up making a huge mistake?  Most people have been in a situation at some point in their life where they don’t quite understand something, but they don’t want to admit that they don’t know.  Then they end up purchasing a service or product that they don’t need all because of some pressure.  Here at TAG-RH Agency, we take pride in helping our clients understand what it is they are purchasing.  We want our clients to feel comfortable purchasing products that will protect themselves and their families while knowing that they have made the correct decisions.  To help you understand some of these coverage's please see the following:

 

• Auto Liability insurance – includes: Bodily Injury coverage and Property Damage coverage.  Auto liability insurance is the basic insurance coverage that covers injuries or damage to other people or property if you're at fault for an accident.

• Medical Payments - this coverage generally pays for medical costs after you are hurt in a car accident, regardless of who is found at fault for the accident.  Additionally, medical payments insurance may help pay for: Funeral expenses or injuries sustained by your passengers.

• Uninsured/Under-insured Motorist Bodily Injury - (UM or UMBI) covers you, the insured members of your household (resident relatives), and your passengers for bodily/personal injuries, damages, or death caused by an at-fault driver who doesn’t have insurance (uninsured) or, in some states, by a hit-and-run driver.  These coverage's also typically protect you and your insureds when riding in someone else's vehicle, riding a bicycle or are a pedestrian.

• Uninsured Motorist Property Damage - (UMPD) covers your car, up to your chosen limits, if you are hit by an uninsured driver.

• Collision - helps pay to repair or replace your car if it's damaged in an accident with another vehicle or object (this coverage is optional if your vehicle is paid off).

• Comprehensive - helps pay to replace or repair your vehicle if it's stolen or damaged in an incident that's not a collision.  It typically covers damage from fire, vandalism, or falling objects (like a tree or hail).

• Loss of use (rental car) - provides you with a replacement vehicle or reimburses you for your transportation costs, while your vehicle is being repaired or replaced after being damaged by an insured peril.

• Roadside Assistance - helps drivers when their vehicle breaks down.  Adding roadside assistance to your policy will get you: towing, battery service, flat tire service, fuel delivery, and lockout service.

• GAP – this is a type of auto insurance that car owners can buy to protect themselves against losses that can arise when the amount of compensation received from a total loss does not fully cover the amount the insured owes on the vehicle's financing or lease agreement.