There are three essential things to drive in the United States, that is, a driver’s license, a vehicle license and an insurance card. In case of a car accident, the amount of compensation and medical expenses will be terribly expensive, so no car insurance means no protection. And in most states, it is illegal to drive without insurance.
First of all, there are two types of auto insurance that are mandatory in the United States, one is body injury liability insurance (Body injury liability), and the other is property damage liability insurance (Property damage liability).
In the unfortunate event of a car accident, these two types of insurance will compensate the other party for personal and property losses. Yes, not for you. Therefore, insurance companies often provide other types of insurance, which you can choose according to your needs. If you want more comprehensive protection, you can usually choose full coverage.
Once you have determined the type of insurance you need to buy, you need to choose an insurance company to choose the insurance that is most suitable for you.
1. Options for American car insurance
1. Bodily Injury Liability
When a car accident is caused by your fault, if you buy this option, the insurance will pay for the other party’s physical injuries, such as the other party’s medical expenses, and some mental injuries. This needs to be decided in court. Personal Injury Liability Insurance (Body Injury) Liability), including the other party’s medical treatment, rehabilitation, mental loss, funeral, your lawyer and other expenses. After the accident, the minimum insurance amount stipulated by California law is $15,000 per person, and the minimum insurance amount for the entire accident is $30,000; although the law stipulates 30,000 is fine, but try to buy a large amount.
Some people have no assets and are really poor, and the opposing lawyers generally don’t stalk them, and there is nothing to mortgage when they win. There are even many examples on the forum that they hide compensation and don’t want a degree and go back to China directly. But those who want long-term development will choose a larger insurance amount within their ability. Avoid affecting future life due to an accident.
2. Medical Expenses or Personal Injury Protection
Insurance for the medical expenses of the driver himself and the passengers in the vehicle. This generally includes medical expenses, funeral expenses, etc. However, Medical Payments does not include lost wages and other expenses incurred due to bodily injury. The scope of compensation for Personal Injury Protection is relatively large, including other expenses such as lost wages. Because there are likely to be other passengers in your car, this auto insurance clause is necessary to purchase. If you already have good medical insurance, you don’t need to buy it, but if there are other passengers in the car, it’s better to buy it.
For example, every year when the new students come, it is better to have this insurance if the old students bring the freshmen to buy vegetables; another example, you should also buy this insurance if you take the uncle or aunt of your neighbor who just came to the Chinese store. In short, as long as you can carpool and let other people ride in your car, it is best to buy medical expense insurance.
There are 12 states in the United States that have no-fault auto insurance laws, that is, no matter who is responsible, your insurance company must compensate you for losses caused by personal injury:
“Currently 12 states and Puerto Rico have no-fault auto insurance laws. Florida , Michigan , New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania have verbal thresholds. The other seven states—Hawaii , Kansas , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Minnesota , North Utah use a monetary threshold.”
So if you are in these 12 states, you need to check with the insurance company about the specific terms.
3. Property Damage Liability Insurance／Property Damage Liability
You are the party at fault, and it is used to compensate the other party for their property losses. Property damage here usually refers to the damage caused to other people’s cars, including the other party’s car, house, fence and other property damage, and also includes the situation where you drive into a utility pole, fence, building, etc. Most states require property damage liability insurance to be purchased.
4. Collision risk/Collision
When buying collision insurance, you will generally be asked to choose a deductible amount (Deductible), ranging from $250 to $1000. The deductible, also known as the deductible, means that the insurance company will pay the repair costs exceeding the deductible regardless of whether the insured vehicle is damaged due to collision with other vehicles, or utility poles, fences, houses and other objects. If it is completely scrapped, the insurance will also make compensation according to the market value of the car at that time, and the maximum claim amount is the upper limit of the insurance amount. This insurance is actually an extension and supplement of the liability insurance to the own vehicle. In other words, if you choose a deductible of $250, after an accident, you have to pay $250 first, and the insurance company will be responsible for the excess. So the higher the deductible, the lower the premium. Some insurance has 0 self-payment, and the premium is more expensive.
5. Comprehensive accident insurance／Comprehensive
Guarantee any loss caused by unknown objects or natural disasters to the car. Including stolen, burned, flooded, tree smashed and so on. There is a deductible, usually $500. This claim does not necessarily affect the insurance premium in the coming year, such as floods, because the probability is low, and it is not caused by driving skills. If your car is purchased through lease or loan, this insurance will be mandatory to purchase.
6. Uninsured or Underinsured Driver Insurance / Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists Coverage:
This insurance is to insure yourself. If the other party’s driver has no insurance after the accident, or the insurance amount is not enough to compensate your loss, or the other party escapes, this item will lose money to you. Usually, this insurance also covers you in the event of an accident while walking. In some states, this insurance is mandatory. This insurance also includes two parts: the amount of compensation per person, and the maximum amount of compensation for a single accident.
When buying insurance, there are often terms such as semi-insurance (half-insurance) and full-insurance (full-insurance). The difference between them is: Coverage only buys 1+2Liability basic insurance, which is semi-insurance. Generally, those who buy a car with a loan are required to buy full insurance.
In addition, when the insurance company sells car insurance, it will also recommend some additional insurance to you, such as Emergency Road Service (road emergency rescue), Rental Reimbursement (car rental compensation) and so on.
You need to decide whether to buy these, and which one to buy, because although these additional insurances are cheap at first glance, but there are still many details, you need to compare them yourself, such as road emergency rescue, from a few dollars to dozens of dollars a month There are ones that cost a few dollars, the difference is the distance of the trailer and the like.
7. Emergency Road Service
This auto insurance clause pays for the expenses incurred when the car breaks down during driving, and you need to find someone to repair it, tow the car, or you need to ask someone to unlock the car when you are out of the car.
8. Car rental compensation / Rental reimbursement Coverage
This car insurance policy pays for the cost of renting a car if your own car is out of service due to an accident.
9. Compensation glass ／ Full Safety Glass
This kind of special insurance can be regarded as a probability, it is more cost-effective to buy insurance, or it is more cost-effective to repair it yourself.