What Personal Auto Insurance Usually Covers
- Bodily Injury. Covers you for bodily injury or death from an accident for which you’re at fault and often covers associated legal defense expenses.
- Property Damage. Protects you if your vehicle accidentally damages another person or business’s property.
- Medical Payments. Whether you are at fault or not, this usually pays medical expenses of the driver and passengers in the vehicle that are in an accident.
- Uninsured Motorists. This pays for injuries and sometimes certain property damage when involved in an accident with a driver who is uninsured. This will also usually cover hit-and-run accidents.
- Comprehensive. This covers vehicle damage resulting from flood, fire, vandalism, theft and other covered perils.
- Collision. Pays for the damage to a vehicle when it is hit or hits another object.
Did You Know?
New Jersey, New York and Louisiana are the most expensive states for Automobile Insurance. Conversely, Idaho, Iowa and South Dakota are the least expensive states.
Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)What Personal Auto Insurance Usually Does Not Cover
- Personal Belongings. Comprehensive insurance will cover the damages to your car if it’s stolen or vandalized, but not any items inside the car. Normally this will be covered under your homeowners or renters insurance policy.
- Individuals not on the policy that live with you. Generally car insurance will only cover individuals on the policy and those who don’t live with you that have permission to use the car.
- Car Loan for Totaled Vehicle. Collision and Comprehensive insurance will cover your car’s market value minus your deductible. So if your car is worth less than you owe, you will need to make up the difference. Gap Insurance can be used to mitigate this risk.
- Custom Parts and Equipment. If your car is damaged or stolen, car insurance will not cover the cost of custom add-ons. However, many policies offer an optional policy to cover this.
- Business Use. If you use your car for business purposes such as Uber or pizza delivery, you will need to purchase a commercial auto policy since these are excluded under most personal policies.
