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The Beginner’s Guide to Liability Auto Insurance

liability auto insurance

The most important thing about liability auto insurance is making sure you meet your state’s minimum requirements. Almost every state requires some sort of minimum car insurance coverage to be the legal driver behind the wheel of a car. Many drivers make the mistake of driving without any insurance or moving and not meeting the new state’s minimum requirements.

The first thing you should understand is what exactly liability car insurance policy coverage is:

liability auto insurance

  • The bottom line is that the basic liability insurance covers damage you cause such as medical bills for injuries and personal property.

Of course this only covers the other driver and does not protect you for your own damages in cases where you are the at fault driver. So the pressing issue at hand is to determine whether or not liability insurance is enough for you or if you need more.

Liability and Your Need to Know

Aside from some states that require drivers to carry “no fault” or PIP (Personal Injury Protection) insurance, you may only be required to carry liability. If you relocate, make sure your current car insurance provider alters your policy to reflect the guidelines of the new state you are calling home. Often this gets overlooked and you either:

  • Do not have enough coverage for your current state when it comes to your required minimum car insurance or
  • Pay more for extra coverage you are not required to have as mandated by your new home state

Should you be caught driving with less than is required by the state,you could receive tickets, fines and other related penalties. Even worse, in the event of an accident you may not even be covered at all. The important trick is not to wait until it is too late. Check with your current provider or shop for a new policy today. This will help you get the liability car insurance coverage you need at the prices you want.

The Liability Car Insurance Breakdown

If you are not familiar with liability auto insurance coverage you should be aware of what it all means. Generally you would see it written out like this:

  • 20/50/25

Of course the numbers will vary on your individual state’s minimum requirements, but the format will be the same. The first number represents how much minimum coverage your liability policy must include per person for personal injury expenses and in this example would be $20,000. The middle number represents how much minimum coverage you must carry on your policy for total medical expenses per accident and in this case would be $50,000. Finally the last number is the amount of minimum liability auto insurance coverage you must have for personal property damages and here would be $25,000.

Of course it is often a good idea to carry more than the required minimum. Keep in mind if any of these expenses exceed the basic amount you are carrying, you will be financially responsible for the remaining balance. For instance, if you are the at-fault driver in a collision and the other driver is hospitalized, every dollar over that $20,000 will be yours to pay out of your own pocket.

The costs involved for a prolonged hospital stay, surgery, prescriptions and follow up care such as physical therapy can add up to $20,000 quickly. Many drivers who carry just the minimum end up in financial trouble and may even have to claim bankruptcy in the aftermath of a tragedy like this. The bottom line is that to protect yourself you should consider carrying more than the state minimum for liability.

Keep It Legal

Too many drivers also take the risk of breaking the law and driving without any insurance in place at all. For the small amount of money liability car insurance premiums can cost you per month, you can have total protection. Without the minimum required coverage you could end up in serious trouble with the law. Not only that but if you let your auto insurance coverage lapse for more than 30 days, you will find out you will have to pay much higher premiums when you do try to get car insurance coverage.

It is never worth the legal or financial responsibility when you could protect yourself with cheap liability insurance. In fact you can make the change and get started right now. By using just your zip code, you can get all those affordable liability auto insurance quotes delivered to you today.

Is Liability Auto Insurance Right for You?

Is Liability Auto Insurance Right for You

Getting your first insurance policy in place can make you wonder “is liability auto insurance all I need?” Even for drivers who have added, changed or canceled insurance policies throughout the course of their driving history, the world of car insurance can be confusing and overwhelming. The thing is that it does not have to be that difficult to figure out. The important part is that by the end of the process you need to have the right amount of coverage.

Is Liability Auto Insurance Right for You

How do you decide what the right amount of coverage is for you?

  • Find out what your state’s minimum requirements are for car insurance. For example, all states except for New Hampshire require drivers to carry a minimum of liability car insurance. Other states may have other requirements such as collision insurance, comprehensive coverage or no fault insurance, just to name a few.
  • If you are financing a car, you will need to find out what the minimum coverage you can have on the vehicle is. It is important to get the right type and amount of coverage for a financed car and to keep the policy current. Otherwise, the finance company is likely to tack on their own insurance, which ends up being much more pricy.
  • If you have a car that is already paid for and may not be worth a high enough value to have full coverage, you may be better off with cheap liability auto insurance. You can put aside each month the money you are saving by carrying liability insurance as opposed to full coverage and if you do total out your car, you will have money to put towards a new car. Often times paying full coverage insurance premiums for an older vehicle will cost more per month than what you would get if for its value if the car is totaled.

What Exactly Liability Car Insurance Means

Liability insurance is the basic automobile coverage you need to have to cover another driver, passengers, repairs to the other car or property damage in the case of a collision where you are at fault. It means that if you are deemed at fault your own car will not be covered, but you will not have to pay anything out of pocket for damage and medical for others involved in the accident. Of course this is also determined by the amount at which you set your minimum and maximum coverages.

For instance:

  • All states which require liability auto insurance have a minimum required amount, which varies across the country. Once you have met this, it is your choice on whether or not you want to go above and beyond the set amounts. Your policy will come with the maximums to be covered by your insurance carrier.
  • The three numbers that impact your coverage as well as your price are expressed this way 20/45/20. The first number represents the amount of coverage you have for personal injury expenses per person per accident and would be $20,000 for this example. The middle number, which equals $45,000 in the example, is the amount for total medical coverage for all persons involved in a single accident. The final number, which is $20,00 here, is the amount of property damage that the insurance company will cover. You can go with the minimum requirements but should keep in mind if any of these areas exceed the amount of coverage you have, the rest of the medical or property damage expenses will be your out of pocket responsibility.

Some Other Facts about Liability Car Insurance

Liability insurance, which is also sometimes referred to as liability only insurance, is an affordable way for many drivers to get the minimum required insurance as deemed by their state. Getting cheap liability auto insurance is a way to avoid getting expensive tickets or fines if you are caught driving without insurance. Driving without insurance isn’t just risky as far as racking up driving infractions; it can also result in expensive problems if you should have a wreck.

Think of it this way:

  • Without liability car insurance if you have an accident and are at fault, you will have to pay for a lot more than your own vehicle repairs. You will also be responsible for the repairs or possible replacement of the other car involved in the accident.
  • Unless you have insurance, you will be liable for your own medical expenses. Not only that, you will be financially responsible for any passengers in your car and the driver and passengers of the other car or cars you hit.
  • Any and all private property damage done to things such as a home, a fence, mail box or other property will be your responsibility to pay for out of pocket.
  • You could also be looking at covering the costs of repairing or replacing public property things such as light poles, guard rails or buildings.

Coming up with the money per month to cover the liability auto insurance premiums is a great deal cheaper even in the long run than trying to pay for any of these things from your own out of pocket funding. This type of mistake can lead to such a great deal of debt that many drivers suffer things such as garnished wages, repossessed vehicles, foreclosed homes and ultimately bankruptcy.

The Bottom Line

Even if you have been driving illegally without the required minimum liability insurance, you can get a policy in place immediately. If this is your first time securing insurance coverage, if you are changing policies because your vehicle has depreciated in value and is no longer financed or for any other reason, you may want to get a liability car insurance policy in place as soon as possible.

You can work with an automobile insurance agent to find out what the minimum requirements are for your state and get a new policy in place. You can also get your liability insurance quotes right away from multiple competing insurance providers just by supplying the zip code for where you live.

Skipping Auto Liability Insurance Could Come with Great Consequences

Skipping Auto Liability Insurance Could Come with Great Consequences

If you have been holding out getting an auto liability insurance policy in place, it is time to stop procrastinating. If you have been putting off driving because you do not think cheap liability auto insurance could exist, it is because you have not yet bothered to get free quotes from insurance companies competing to get your business. Skipping Auto Liability Insurance Could Come with Great Consequences

However, if you are running the risk of not having insurance and are currently operating an automobile on a regular basis, you could end up with more problems that you can imagine. The two biggest problems that can arise from driving without even the minimum auto liability insurance policy in place are:

  1. Accruing bills related to an accident that you cannot afford
  2. Suffering serious fines and legal penalties

In fact, the only US state that does not require even liability insurance is the state of New Hampshire. Otherwise you must have liability auto insurance as a driver or you could be facing dire consequences. As far as expenses it is crucial to realize that if you have an accident it is not just your car that you may have to shell out money for.

You may also have expenses from:

  • Your own injuries and medical bills including surgeries, hospital stays and even follow up treatments such as physical therapy unless you have health insurance.
  • The cost of another driver’s automobile repairs or possibly even replacement.
  • The cost of damage to personal or public property. This could include a mailbox or a street sign.
  • The medical bills for injuries that other drivers or passengers suffer.

Taking It State to State

One important reason for getting your auto liability insurance quotes is that it differs from state to state. The minimum amounts for things such as:

  • bodily injury liability amounts
  • property damage
  • the state law minimum for general insurance

You can find out on your own by contacting your local Department of Motor Vehicles, looking online or even by speaking with an agent from whichever auto liability insurance provider you opt to go with. Keep in mind these numbers are for a policy to cover you when you are in an accident that is deemed your fault.

Some drivers choose to take a gamble and drive without even liability insurance. Another risk is that if you have an accident that is not your fault, you may actually be penalized anyway for being caught by your state for driving without the minimum in place. In some instances, especially in states that require drivers to carry “no fault” insurance coverage, you may not even have any coverage by the other, responsible driver.

Don’t take a gamble when it comes to having the proper kind and amount of liability auto insurance in place. All it takes is a zip code and you can be on your way to comparing affordable rates on auto liability insurance rates and get yourself covered as a legal driver as soon as today.

Cheap Liability Auto Insurance Does Exist

Cheap Liability Auto Insurance Does Exist

Before you can decide on getting liability insurance and getting those competitive quotes to decide who should be your provider, you first must have a basic understanding of what it is. It is also important to know right away that every single one of the United States except New Hampshire requires drivers to have at least this minimal amount of insurance in place.

In many states, driving without the minimum liability insurance in place can result in serious driving infractions and possibly hefty fines. If you have been driving without liability insurance, it is time to stop taking such a serious risk. Of course, if you are just getting insurance for the first time because you are a new driver, this can be a comprehensive guide for you to understand what liability insurance is and how it protects you as a driver.

The Basics of Liability Car Insurance Cheap Liability Auto Insurance Does Exist

Liability insurance is the bare minimum that covers what you are liable for. This may not sound like much when you think about having to pay out premiums, but keep in mind this is the least amount of coverage you can get. Not to mention cheap liability auto insurance means not having to pay as much as you would with other types of policies.

This is one reason liability insurance is common for drivers who feel the cost of replacing or repairing their own vehicle would not be worth the extra cost of full coverage. So if you just want to make sure you can cover your liabilities to others in the event of a collision, your liability auto insurance should include:

  • Bodily injury to others
  • Vehicular repair for other driver(s) involved
  • Property damage for others aside from a vehicle such as a home or fence for example

Understanding How Liability Auto Insurance Saves You Money

If you should have a wreck without any type of insurance in place, the amount of expenses you may be responsible for can be so astronomical it could be difficult to even comprehend. You may not realize if you have an accident it isn’t just about maybe repairing your car or knowing you won’t have your car.

  • You could sustain personal injuries that you cannot afford unless you have personal health insurance.
  • You could be liable for damage to someone else’s vehicle.
  • You could be expected to pay for damage to someone’s property.
  • You could be financially responsible for another person’s medical bills.
  • You could also be looking at paying for damage to public property such as light poles or guard rails.

If you think you are saving money by not keeping a liability insurance policy and end up having to cover any or all of these costs, you can see how a small investment in insurance could help save thousands later.

To find out what your basic liability insurance policy would run you; take advantage of getting free quotes for competitive rates. All we need from you is a zip code to help determine what your possible cheap liability auto insurance rates could be.

Understanding Full Coverage vs. Liability Car Insurance

The bottom line is that more than likely you have to have automobile insurance but need to decide if liability is enough for you. There are many factors that can go into determining whether you should get full coverage or auto liability insurance. Some of it could depend on the age and condition of your car or even the state in which you live. Whatever the case may be, you will need to know about both liability auto insurance and full coverage to make the decision that best suits your car insurance needs.

State Minimums and Other Deciding Factors

The type of car insurance you get isn’t always determined by you the driver, and therefore in some cases liability car insurance isn’t enough to cover it. At the very least almost every state in the county requires a minimal amount of liability auto insurance. In fact the only state in the country that has not made it mandatory to carry at least liability insurance to be able to drive your car legally is New Hampshire.

If you are financing a car, especially a new car, you will need to have full coverage. If you already own your car, the choice is more or less up to you and could probably be best determined based on the value and condition of your car. If you have a financed car, however, the lender wants to be assured the full value of the car will be recouped in a circumstance where there is a wreck and the car is totaled out.

Some Other Things to Know

First you will need to know the two basic types of full coverage insurance to get a better understanding:

Collision insurance This covers the car if you collide with another vehicle and, depending on your policy, collisions involving other objects including those that are private or public property. In some states collision is the minimum requirement instead of just liability car insurance even if you are not financing a vehicle.

Comprehensive insurance – This type of insurance generally covers things that cause damage to your car aside from a collision such as storm damage, theft or an act of God. Again some states require this to be able to drive legally even if you are not operating a financed vehicle.

The state minimum requirements for liability auto insurance are offered in a three part system. The three parts may appear like this 20/45/20 and are determined by your states minimum requirements and your policy’s maximum payout. The three parts are:

  1. This is the amount of personal injury per person per collision included in your auto liability insurance policy and in this example would be $20,000.
  2. This is the amount of personal injury total to be covered per accident and as demonstrated here would be $45,000.
  3. This is the total amount of property damage covered per accident and would be the amount of $20,000.

How This Relates to No Fault States

There are no fault states in which the no fault car insurance you carry means both drivers and their passengers are covered by the driver’s own insurance regardless of who is at fault. This helps prevent too many lawsuits over damages and medical expenses. Compared to liability car insurance, this is a much safer route to go.

If the accident you are at fault in exceeds the amounts your insurance provider will cover for personal injury or property damage, the remaining balance is yours to pay. In other words, if you injure another person who has hospital bills of $100,000 and you only have your state minimum of $20,000, the remaining $80,000 is yours to cover from out of your pocket.

Deciding Between Liability Car Insurance and Full Coverage

If the choice is actually yours to make about whether to get liability auto insurance or a full coverage policy you have several things to think about. Keep these things in mind when making your choice:

  • You still must meet the state requirements based upon where you live in the country. If you finance a new car, are getting your first auto insurance policy ever or have relocated to another state, make sure you understand exactly what your state requires.
  • The value of your car can help you decide. If your car is older or needs work, then what you pay per month for full coverage may end up being more than what you would get for its value should the car be totaled out in a wreck.

By providing your zip code, you can get free liability car insurance and other types of quotes today from providers who want to compete for your business.