Getting Adequate Car Insurance Coverage
Each state has its own laws regarding the minimum amount of insurance you must carry. It’s a good idea to look this up before you start shopping for car insurance quotes, so that you’ll know what to ask about when you go in to settle on the specifics of your policy’s coverage.
Now, the minimum required amount of coverage may not always be adequate. For example, in Colorado, the minimum required coverage for BI, or Bodily Injury, is 25/50, which means twenty five thousand dollars per injured person, or fifty thousand per occurrence, if you are found at fault in an accident that hurts another person.
However, most financial advisers, brokers and agents will recommend that the ideal amount of coverage to have is closer to 100/300, or one hundred thousand per injured person, and three hundred thousand per occurrence.
Now, we can’t all afford the optimum, ideal amount of coverage. If you pay all your own bills on minimum wage, it can be tricky even paying the minimum required amount. If you can’t afford much, just get however much you comfortably can afford.
What it comes down to is that, in the end, you’re going to be held responsible for any damages that are deemed to have been your fault in a traffic accident. If your insurance policy won’t cover the amount, then it’s going to come out of your savings. There’s no such thing as too much coverage. Most of us probably fall somewhere between the minimum amount required by the state, and the ideal, 100/300 amount. Just carry as much coverage as you can comfortably afford.
If you have a clean driving record, your rates are going to be much lower. This is ideal, because it means you can afford more coverage.
There are other ways to lower your rates so as to afford more coverage, as well. For example, if you install anti-theft devices, such as a GPS tracking unit, a car alarm, a non-passive alarm (a non-passive alarm is a system that will disable ignition and lock the brakes if your car is broken into).
Some insurance companies might give discounts for other things, as well, such as OnStar service, and you can usually get a good deal if you keep your car in pretty good shape. Shop around, do some research, and find an insurance company with discounts that seem custom built for you and your vehicle.
Before you sign up for an insurance policy, make sure you’ve checked all your options and compared quotes. One insurance company might get you the lowest price, but for what? You don’t want a good deal on just the very bare minimum of what you need to carry, you want a good deal on an amount of car insurance coverage that you feel comfortable with.
Generally, the best price is going to allow you the most coverage, but that’s not always the case. Some insurance companies might offer significant discounts only once you’ve purchased certain coverage beyond the legal minimum in your state. Look for those discounts, and, again, get as much coverage as you feel you can comfortably afford, because more coverage is, really, in the long run, a way to save perhaps a ton of money.