How to Find the Best Car Insurance Coverage for You
- 1). Compare premiums and payment plans. The premium is the amount you'll pay every month, every quarter or every year, depending on the payment plans available. You can weed out any policy that you can't afford right away, leaving you fewer policies to compare.
- 2). Compare deductibles. The deductible is the amount of money you'll pay out of pocket before the insurance company will pay anything. Lower is better, but keep in mind that lower deductibles often mean a higher premium.
- 3). Compare bodily injury liability coverage. This is the amount the insurance company will pay toward another person's medical bills or funeral expenses should you cause an accident. Policies will have limits per person and per accident for this coverage, and the higher these limits, the better.
- 4). Compare property damage liability coverage. This is the amount the insurance company will pay toward cars and other property belonging to others that you have damaged. Again, there will be policy limits, typically per accident.
- 5). Determine if you want collision insurance. While liability insurance is required in every state, collision insurance is usually optional, but will coverage damages to your own car should you cause an accident. Collision insurance only makes sense if your car is worth more than your deductible or if it is required by a car loan that you have.
- 6). Find out if Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is required in your state. This insurance covers injury to you if you cause an accident, and may also cover other people driving your car. If it is required in your state, you can compare coverage the same way you'd compare bodily injury liability coverage.
- 7). Determine if you want comprehensive coverage. This type of insurance is optional, but will cover your car in the case of non-accident damage, such as theft, vandalism, and fire, flood and hail damage. As with collision coverage, it only makes sense if you have a high-value car or if it is required by your car loan.
- 8). Compare uninsured/underinsured coverage. This is required by most states, and will pay for your damages or injuries in case the other person who caused the accident was driving illegally without insurance. Even if your state doesn't require this coverage, it is important to add to your policy, since it means your insurance company will handle taking the other person to court instead of having to deal with it yourself.
- 9). Check out the available discounts. All car insurance companies offer discounts, which may include disappearing deductibles for good drivers, discounts for good grades in high school or college, and discounts for taking driver safety classes. The more discounts available to you from a specific company, the better.