Request an Auto Insurance Quote.

For most of us, driving a vehicle is the riskiest thing we do. Each time we get behind the wheel we are responsible not only for ourselves, our car and our passengers but others on the road. We have all seen the increase in traffic and see accidents on the road and in the news. The increased risk is why this product is usually the most expensive but it is also the one product most of use at one time or another will use.


Basics

Auto insurance has four distinct coverages all rolled into one policy as follows:

• Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability
  Liability coverage pays for damage, due to your negligence, that you do to others. Bodily Injury liability pays for injury or death to someone else. Property damage liability pays for property you damaged due to an accident. These coverages can be combined into one limit Combined Single Limit or written as separate limits Split Limit.
   

• Personal Injury and Medical Payments
  These coverages are used to pay medical expenses and work loss to you, your passengers and maybe even pedestrians. This coverage does not pay others. The Personal Injury protection (PIP) is a mandated coverage in New York for $50,000. This limit is used to pay medical bills, work loss and rehabilitation expenses. There is also a separate death benefit of $2,000( New York). Medical payments is used in addition to PIP in NY state and is used solely for medical bills.
   

• Uninsured Motorist
  Many drivers on the road today have no insurance at all. If you experience an accident with a driver that has no insurance you may be able to collect under your own policy. Typically this coverage pays for your Bodily Injury only. You can also add to this coverage to provide payment for out of state accidents and accidents in which your damages cannot be completely covered by a negligent driver.
   

• Damage to Your Vehicle
  Better known as Collision and Comprehensive coverage but also includes Towing and Rental Reimbursement. These coverages pay for damage to your vehicle. Collision and Comprehensive usually have a deductible that needs to be met in the event of a loss. Towing and Rental Reimbursement are usually coverages that are only available if you purchase Collision and or Comprehensive.

Tips on Purchasing Auto Insurance

1. Buy adequate Limits whenever possible
   Because this product can be expensive customers consistently buy less coverage than they need because the think more coverage means a lot more money. This holds true mostly with young drivers and drivers with driving record/accident issues. For many, higher limits of Liability, PIP and Uninsured Motorist coverage does not cost incrementally more than some of the lower limits.
    

2. Pay close attention to how you title and register your vehicles
   Due to the electronic interface with DMV, your insurance policy should match your registration(s). If a husband and wife have two vehicles registered in each others names they should both be listed on the policy. Many insurance companies run title searches so be sure the title of a vehicle is in the name of an insured.
    

3. You may be surprised what your car is worth
   Often customers will delete Collision and Comprehensive from vehicles to save premium. They rationalize that older vehicles are not worth insuring due to their diminished value. Remember, older vehicles almost always generate lower premiums. If your car were totaled would it have made sense to pay $100 to get $1500 due to a total loss.
    

4. Take an Accident Prevention Course
   Before you buy less coverage than you need have all the drivers in your household take a driving course. They are well worth the the $30-$50 they cost. You can save 10% of some of the more expensive coverages included in an Auto policy. Remember that you can only get credit for the number of vehicles you own. The credit is good for three years and usually pays for itself in the first year.
    
5. Use deductibles to purchase more coverage
   Deductibles can save you premium. Deductible options are available on Collision, Comprehensive and PIP coverages. Due to the increased risk on the road we do not advocate higher deductibles unless you can cover that cost without hardship but if you can use the saved premium to help pay for higher liability or PIP limits.
    
6. Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy
   The Auto insurance environment has changed dramatically in the last two to three years. Insurance Companies verify everything. We as agents are responsible for producing Motor Vehicle Reports and Loss reports for all policies we submit to our carriers. Some of our companies are doing phone interviews after policies are issued to verify driver information, use of vehicles and garaging location. Tell us what your situation is so we can help. If you don’t it may be more of a hassle than it is worth.