Understanding the Extent of Toledo Car Insurance Coverage

If you are like most people who have purchased auto insurance, you think you have full coverage and will be completely taken care of if you are involved in an accident. However, most people have the more common types of insurance such as liability, collision, and comprehensive. While these are important kinds of insurance to have, they are not the only kinds that a person needs in order to be adequately protected. It may be critical to have a discussion with a skilled car accident attorney about the different types of insurance before buying a policy. A lawyer can advise you on understanding the extent of Toledo car insurance coverage.

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance becomes he if someone collides with the rear of another person’s car, and they suffer whiplash and sue the driver for the cost of their medical bills. This is the type of situation where their liability insurance kicks in.

Liability insurance covers other people’s bodily injuries or death for which a driver is responsible.Liability insurance also provides a legal defense if the other party to the crash files a lawsuit. Claims for bodily injury may be for things such as medical bills, loss of income, or pain and suffering.

If someone gets in a serious accident, they may want enough insurance to cover a judgment in a lawsuit. This can help people avoid having to dip into their personal assets, or worse – have to declare bankruptcy. It is important to realize that bodily injury liability covers injury to people, but does not cover damage to their vehicle. Drivers should also keep in mind that bodily injury liability does not cover them or other people on their policy.

What are Liability Limits?

Liability limits come in two forms, combined single limits and split limits:

• Combined single limits mean that property damage and bodily injury are combined into one amount
• Split limits policy means that property damage and bodily injury are split into two separate amounts

Bodily injury liability coverage is usually split into a maximum payment per person and a maximum payment per accident and is written either as bodily injury per person/bodily injury per accident/property damage. If that driver hits a car full of people and is found to be at fault, the insurance company will pay $15,000 of one person’s medical bills, but will not exceed $30,000 for the other people injured in the accident. The insurance company will not pay more than $7,500 for property damage to repair the vehicle that the at-fault driver hit.

Collision Coverage

Collision coverage helps cases similar to when the front of someone’s car is completely smashed in and will cost over $1,000 to fix. Collision coverage provides insurance coverage for an individual’s vehicle if they are involved in an accident. It is designed to cover repairs to the damaged vehicle or to give someone the cash value of their car if it is considered totaled (i.e. the cost to repair is greater than the value of the car).

Collision coverage is subject to a deductible that will have to be paid out of pocket. The higher an individual’s deductible, the lower their premiums will be. People may want to consider dropping this coverage if their car is older since this coverage is normally limited to the cash value of their car.

Comprehensive Coverage

Comprehensive coverage covers damage to a vehicle that does not result from a collision. For example, comprehensive coverage would protect you in the event of a fire, theft, vandalism, weather damage, or impact with an animal. Comprehensive coverage is subject to a deductible that you will have to pay out of pocket. To keep your premiums down, you can choose a larger deductible, but keep in mind that you will pay more out of pocket if you have to make a claim. Understanding and knowing your limits and what they mean is vital to making sure you are protected in the event of an accident. However, there are other types of very important insurance to think about before you can consider yourself fully covered.