Auto Liability Insurance Basics to Know if You Don’t Have Insurance

With very few exceptions, everyone who owns a vehicle or drives a vehicle must have some level of car insurance. Some might feel that car insurance quotes are too difficult to figure out, but with a glance at some of the fundamentals, you will feel more comfortable when you shop. For purposes of this article we will base the information on those who have purchased or own a personal-use vehicle and need car insurance quotes.

Each state has a department of insurance and they are the ones who regulate the requirements for your state, approve auto insurer’s license to sell in the state, and check for insurance company compliance. They determine the legal minimum requirements for car insurance quote coverage on a private passenger vehicle.

The state minimum limits are low. They offer you a way to be on the road legally, but they leave you vulnerable with inadequate protection and lawsuit exposure. Many states require minimum liability coverage for injury to another person of $25,000 on car insurance quotes. However, with the soaring costs of emergency room and health care, $25,000 might leave you stranded with, for example, an additional $50,000 worth of someone else’s medical bills to pay.

The property damage liability state limits are low, too, sometimes even lower than $25,000. Some people think that even if they do get into an accident that they won’t do that much damage, especially to one car. Just remember that it’s not only another car you might have to fix or replace; you might hit a building or you may involve more than one vehicle.

This is why it’s vitally important to raise both your bodily injury and your property damage liability limits on your current and subsequent car insurance quotes when you can.

If you are getting car insurance quotes for the first time, or you haven’t had insurance in a while, with few exceptions, you will start out with a high-risk policy.  You may need to start with the minimum liability requirements just to establish your auto insurance history. Some companies can move you into a low risk policy in six months, some a year. Just remember that you have to have no lapses in your coverage during that time to potentially qualify.

Once you are able to establish insurance history and your driving record and accident history are acceptable, you may qualify for low-risk car insurance quotes. This allows you the prime opportunity to increase your liability protection; it won’t be as expensive. In fact, maintaining higher limits over time provides you additional savings with a discount for financial responsibility.