Understanding Car Insurance

“Earth, wind, air, and fire.” “Emceeing, DJing, breaking, and graff.” “Liability, medical payments, uninsured motorists, and damage to your auto.” Somehow the four elements of car insurance don’t have the same ring to them as the four elements of hip-hop. Then again, maybe people would learn more about car insurance if there were a show like “Wild & Out” for insurance agents. I can see it now: Two insurance men take the stage and “battle” to give the judge the best rates. Surely, the essential thing for any freestyle insurance champion would be to understand the four elements, as outlined below.

Part A - Liability Coverage

The first and most important car insurance coverage is liability. Liability coverage protects the “insured” against lawsuits from people and property injured by his or her actions. For example, if you ran a red light and hit an old lady in a Cadillac, your liability coverage would pay for the lady’s bodily injuries, as well as the property damage to her Caddy.

There are normally “split limits” to liability coverage. For example, you could have liability coverage with a bodily injury limit of $100,000 / $300,000; and a property damage limit of $50,000. The $100,000 of bodily injury refers to the maximum amount payable to each person, and the $300,000 is for each accident. The property damage limit is for each accident. So, if the old lady with the Cadlliac had three passengers, and she and each of the passengers suffered $150,000 worth of damages, your car insurance company would only pay for the first $100,000 on three of the victims. You would be responsible for all of the rest.