What Does My Auto Policy Declarations Page Mean?
Sometimes accidents can cost a lot more than the minimum coverage, which could leave you in a bad situation.
You can be assured that insurance companies will do everything they can to settle your claim as cheaply as possible.
In fact, insurance companies are banking on the fact that you either didn’t read or didn’t understand your policy, so that they don’t have to cover things that they are actually supposed to. Here is a breakdown of what the different coverages mean:
Bodily Injury and Liability Insurance
This insurance protects if you cause bodily injury to someone in a crash. This also covers your legal defense costs. Bodily Injury Liability limits usually specify two separate dollar amounts. For example, in a $100,000/$300,000 policy, the $100,000 is the limit of payments to a single person per accident that you injure, and $300,000 is the cap on the total amount of payment to all persons injured per accident.
Underinsured or Uninsured Motorist
Underinsured Motorist pays for your injuries up to the policy limit when the other driver either has no insurance, or their coverage is inadequate and can’t pay for you injuries or property damage. This coverage usually includes hit and run drivers as well.
Collision Insurance
Collision coverage pays for the damage to your vehicle by collision with another vehicle or fixed objects like trees, signs, buildings, etc. This coverage is what gets invoked when the accident is your fault.
Comprehensive Coverage Insurance
This is your “fire and theft coverage and covers damage to your car for anything other than a wreck, like tornados, floods, vandalism, theft, hitting a deer, etc.
Medical Payments Coverage
Covers medical expenses from your crash injuries and covered persons in your car, no matter who was at fault.
Liability Coverage
Similar to Bodily Injury coverage, Liability covers only the damage caused by you to someone’s property, car, fence, lawn, telephone pole, house, etc. When you are at fault in a wreck, this coverage is invoked when the other driver makes a claim against your insurance to repair their car.
Car Rental
If your vehicle is in the shop for more than a day for repairs resulting from an insurance claim, many policies with this coverage will pay $15 or more per day for usually up to 30 days, or some maximum value to rent a car while you wait for repairs. Higher limits are available.
Towing
If your car breaks down, this coverage will pay for a tow truck or roadside assistance to get your car going again. This usually pays about $50-$75.
If you need help figuring out who is going to pay for your medical bills and car damage after an accident that was not your fault, contact the attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC for a free consultation.
Call toll-free at 800-637-8170, fill out the form on this page, or Live Chat with one of our representatives and an attorney will contact you shortly.
