It can be difficult to understand your auto coverage if you’re unfamiliar with the terms. Even if you know what they mean, sometimes the language can be confusing. While it’s tempting to just ignore the confusion until you need to file a claim, by then it’s too late to make any important changes to ensure adequate coverage.

What Major Coverage Do You Have?

One concern you may have is what kind of coverage you have with your policy. You may know you have liability insurance, but not what it covers specifically. Here are some terms under this section you should know:

  • Bodily injury liability coverage – this means that your insurance will pay for expenses related to injury to other people when you’re at fault; it can include lost wages as well as medical costs
  • Property damage liability coverage – this portion of your policy pays for damages to property caused by an accident where you were the person at fault
  • A third type of liability coverage protects you called uninsured motorist. If you are injured and someone else is at fault without proper insurance coverage, your insurance will pay for your medical care. You may also have underinsured motorist auto insurance in Salt Lake City, which means the other person has insurance but not enough to cover all your expenses.

    Coverage for the Vehicle

    You may have collision/comprehensive coverage. While these two terms are often used together, they have different meanings. Collision coverage pays for damage to your vehicle that comes from another object such as a tree limb or even a vehicle.

    Comprehensive coverage includes many other types of damage. It may be a fire or wind damage, hail or even theft that would cause you to file a claim. When a car hits a deer, comprehensive insurance would provide coverage for repairs.

    With both liability and collision/comprehensive coverage, you need to know the limits. Your insurance provider will only pay out for the amount up to your maximum coverage even if expenses exceed this amount. Anything over the limits can be your responsibility to pay.

    Optional Coverage

    You should be aware if you have other coverage in your policy. You may have coverage for rental reimbursement if your car needs to be repaired. Another type of coverage is towing or even emergency road assistance. Medical payment coverage provides for funeral expenses and medical costs for others or yourself when riding in your vehicle or driving it. It can also include people who are injured or killed as a pedestrian with a vehicle.

    Many times, people are not aware of this type of coverage and pay for it on their own. However, you can save money if you utilize your coverage in a covered incident.