Auto Insurance Buyers Guide

Choose An Auto Insurance Agent

We sometimes spend a lot of time in choosing our doctor, our attorney or other professionals to help us, so it just makes sense to take a little time in choosing our insurance agent.  We need an insurance professional who will advise us on how to best protect our largest investments - our autos, our home, or our business.

Some things you may look for in choosing the right auto insurance agent:

• Is the insurance agent experienced? An experienced insurance agent probably has more insurance education and is best prepared to advise you on the best insurance coverages for you and your family.
• Is the insurance agent properly licensed?
• Is the agent "captive" or "independent", in other words, does the agent work for one auto insurance company exclusively or does the agent represent several different auto insurance companies.  A captive insurance agent can only offer you one insurance price with one insurance company, which makes your choices limited.  An independent insurance agent can actually "shop" your auto insurance coverage for you with all the insurance companies he/she represents.
• Is the insurance agent easily accessible? Should you have questions about your auto insurance policy or desire to make changes, the last thing you will want to hear is phone mail.                                            

Understand Your State's Minimum Auto Liability Insurance

Each state's required minimum limits of auto insurance liability coverage will vary.

For example, the state of Tennessee requires 25/50/15, while the state of  Texas requires 25/50/25.

The purpose of any insurance program, including auto insurance, is to bring us back to the same financial conditions as we enjoyed prior to a covered loss.  Yes, we certainly want to be legal while driving the streets of our city, but we certainly should not want to lose our homes or other personal property as the result of an auto accident.  Yes, I said personal property.

It is also very important to understand what these limits actually mean.

Understand The Basics of Auto Insurance Coverage

Bodily Injury Liability: In an auto insurance policy, Bodily Injury Liability will help pay medical costs of injury you cause to other people, loss of income for someone you injure and the cost of legal defense if you are sued and determined to be at fault in the event of an accident involving injury or death.

Medical Payments: Medical Payments coverage in an auto insurance policy helps pay the cost of doctors, hospitals, medical care, lost wages, replacement services and funeral expenses for you and/or your passengers, regardless of who caused the accident.

Property Damage Liability: Auto insurance Property Damage Liability will pay claims against you for damage to someone else's property caused by your auto.

Collision: Collision coverage in an auto insurance policy will pay for damage to your car caused by a collision or rollover.

Comprehensive: Comprehensive or "Comp" coverage in auto insurance helps pay for damage to your car not involving a collision.  Covered risks can include fire, theft, falling objects, explosion, riot and civil commotion.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist: Auto insurance Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist protection will help pay the cost of injuries or death for you or your passensgers in an accident caused by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver.

Read and Understand Your Auto Insurance Policy

In a few days following your auto insurance purchase, you will receive your auto insurance policy.  The auto policy will consist of many pages of legal jargon, but the terms and conditions outlined within these pages dictate exactly what will happen should you ever need to file a claim under your auto insurance policy.

It is extremely important that you take the time to read and understand your auto insurance policy.  If after reading the policy, you still have questions and concerns, take the policy to your insurance agent and ask him/her to explain what you don't understand.

What Do The Liability Limits 25/50/15 Actually Mean?

These limits are called "split limits" in an auto insurance policy.  The first "25" represents the maximum the insurance company will pay for bodily injuries to any one person in an accident.

The second number "50" represents the maximum amount that will be paid under your auto insurance policy for all bodily injuries, no matter how many people are involved in the accident.

The third number "15" refers to the maximum amount the insurance company will pay for damages to someone else's property damaged or destroyed in an accident.

Property damage could include a store front; a brick fence; a utility pole; or a $40,000 Lexus.

If you only bought $15,000 in property damage liability, where would you get the other $25,000?

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