Mandatory insurance coverage is determined by each state. It is there to protect you, your family and other drivers on the road. And while each state sets their own minimum level of coverage, it is usually at the lower level just to make sure that all drivers have some kind of insurance to cover them. Here is some basic information to help you in deciding the types of insurance and the levels of coverage you may want to include in your auto insurance policy.

There are six major areas of coverage for automobile insurance. The minimum levels of coverage vary from state to state. In general, these areas are: Bodily injury liability, Property damage liability, Personal Injury Protection or PIP, Collision, Comprehensive, Uninsured/Underinsured motorist’s coverage.

You must carry liability insurance to drive in the state of West Virginia. The Insurance Commissioner requires drivers to carry bodily injury liability and property damage. Some states allow alternative means of ensuring financial responsibility but in West Virginia you can only do this through an insurance carrier who is licensed to sell insurance in this state.

The minimums that are required are the highest amount that your insurance company will pay out due to injuries or death to you or any other people involved in an accident, as well as any property damage. These amounts are only what are required by the state and you can certainly select higher levels of coverage.

Your bodily injury coverage will pay for any damages that you may have caused another person if an accident were to occur. This coverage includes medical bills and loss of income. And your property damage liability covers the repair and/or replacement of any property that was destroyed as a result of an accident.

You will probably be required to carry collision and comprehensive coverage on any vehicle that you still owe money on. Your lender will require it to protect their investment. If you do not provide proof of insurance, the lender will take matters into their own hands and find insurance coverage for you and bill you for it in addition to your regular car payment.

Most people have collision and comprehensive coverage on their policy. Collision insurance covers any damage to your car that was a result of hitting another vehicle, a tree, a telephone pole, etc. Comprehensive coverage protects the value and replacement of your car in the event that it is damaged as a result of anything other than an accident, for example if your car is stolen, someone breaks into it or there it suffers flood damage.

Not usually mandatory are uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage pays for any damages that are a result of an uninsured motorist or a hit and run driver. Underinsured motorist coverage comes into play if the other driver, who is at fault, does not have enough insurance to cover you. This coverage is not used to cover damages to your car.

Knowing what the different types of auto insurance coverage are and what they cover will give you a head start when deciding on your insurance needs.

Auto insurance coverage is the same in every state. What is different is what each state considers mandatory coverage for its drivers. The levels also vary and while the state sets the levels for the coverage that it requires, you can choose any level of coverage you wish as long as you meet the minimum for your state.

This mandatory coverage is only a part of the automobile insurance that is available to protect you and your family as well as others on the road. Your deductibles and the level of coverage you choose will all have a bearing on the premiums you will pay for your automobile insurance.

Automobile insurance consists of six major areas of liability: Bodily Injury, Property Damage, Personal Injury Protection, Collision, Comprehensive, Uninsured Motorist, and Underinsured Motorist coverage.

It is usually the insurance commissioner of each state who decides what coverage you must have to drive in that state as well as the levels of coverage you must carry. Some states allow you to ensure your financial responsibility through other means other than through automobile insurance and Wyoming is one of them. Instead of purchasing car insurance you can secure a bond with a surety company or deposit money or securities with the state treasurer.

As these levels are usually at the low end, you may want to consider additional coverage as well as higher levels of automobile insurance. The minimum levels that are mandated by each state represent the highest amount of money that your insurance carrier will pay for medical and property damages per accident.

Bodily injury liability will cover medical bills and loss of wages for the person whose car you hit. It does not cover your injuries. That is where Personal Injury coverage comes in. It will cover your medical bills as well as any family members who were in the accident with you. Your Property Damage coverage will pay for the repair or replacement of property that was damaged or destroyed because of an accident where you were at fault.

You must carry collision insurance on your automobile if you financed the vehicle and still owe money on it. The lender will not let you cancel this coverage as it is a protection of their investment. If your lender finds out that you let the collision coverage lapse they will find a carrier for you and will add the price of the extra coverage to your car payment every month. And you can be sure they will not shop around for the best rate.

Comprehensive coverage is there to protect the value of your vehicle and pay for damages that have been caused by anything other than an accident- weather damage such as flooding, if someone were to break into your car, and also if it were stolen.

Some states have no-fault laws in place but in most cases Uninsured Motorist coverage and Underinsured Motorist coverage is not mandatory. In fact in some states you must check and initial that you are rejecting either of those forms of coverage.

The Uninsured Motorist liability will cover you if your vehicle is hit by someone who has no insurance coverage at all while Underinsured coverage will protect you if you were hit by a driver who didn’t have enough coverage to pay for your expenses. It will also cover you if you were subject to a hit and run accident.

If you aren’t sure exactly what you need to properly cover yourself and your family members, talk to an insurance professional and he or she will guide you through it.

Every person driving a vehicle should possess auto insurance according to the law. However, very few people understand the basics of auto insurance policies. It is not necessary to become an expert on auto insurance but it is definitely necessary to comprehend the major intricacies involved in these policies, particularly the rules and regulations that govern them in the state of Alaska.

Basically, any auto insurance policy would have five parts, even though the exact details might vary marginally from insurer to insurer.

Declarations

The declarations by the person applying for the auto insurance policy are the first part in this process. These declarations contain the personal details about you and other drivers in your household. The names of all the drivers, the house address, the make and model of the vehicles in the household, their identification numbers, the duration of the policy, and finally the policy number. This section would also have the type of coverage that is being purchased, the insurance policy limit, and the deductible for that policy. This section is important because the information provided by you should be accurate. If any inaccurate information is detected later, your claim would be denied by the insurer.

Insuring Agreement on Coverage

This section would include the coverage limits and the coverage options. The type of coverage like comprehensive, collision, liability, medical, etc. would be explicitly stated in this section. This is the section that defines the commitment of the insurance company as a return on your monthly payment. This would include the type of coverage and the coverage limits that had been agreed upon between you and the insurer.

Exclusions

This is another important section, since the details of the items that are not covered by your insurance policy and its limitations are highlighted in this section. When the statements in this section are combined with the previous section, they would determine what items are covered and what items are not when you make a claim under your policy. You should study this section carefully to understand exactly what you would be getting and what would be excluded. Then only you would be able to correct any deficiencies in coverage.

Terms and Conditions

This section lays down the legal responsibilities of the person purchasing insurance, as well as the insurance company. These responsibilities would include the obligations regarding premium payment, the steps for filing any claim, and the disagreement resolving procedures.

Definitions

This section explains the terms used in the auto insurance policy and outlines the exact rights of the person buying the policy and the rights of the insurance company. This section is called ‘fine print’, since certain terms could be interpreted in more than one way.

From the above, it is clear that the person planning to buy auto insurance policy should understand exactly what are the specific expectations, needs, and requirements of the policy before deciding on the type of coverage and the terms of agreement. It is worthwhile to take ample time to study the terms of the policy and the conditions presented by the insurer before deciding on the type of policy that should be purchased.