| By :
John Markus
Driving in the state of Virginia or any US state is illegal without car insurance. The purpose of car insurance is to protect yourself and other people from being financially ruined in case you are in a car accident. Car insurance also is needed in case your car is damaged by vandalism, fire or weather. Insurance for your car is not just for protecting your finances, of course. It also is a responsibility to society. If you drive your car without insurance, it puts the finances of others in society at risk. This is the reason that every state but NH requires the driver to have liability insurance. A standard car insurance policy consists of bodily injury liability, property damage liability, personal injury protection, collision, comprehensive, uninsured motorist coverage, and extras that might include roadside help and car rental coverage. The purpose of liability insurance is that it covers the damage you do to the other party. A typical coverage might be $25,000 in respect of bodily injury for one person, $45,000 total bodily coverage for each individual incident with a further $10,000 in property damage protection. Protection in the shape of Bodily Injury coverage is for the physical damage you cause others, and property damage includes both personal property and cars. Collision coverage will pay you for the repairs to your own car in case you get in a crash. Your vehicle will be considered totaled if the repair will exceed a certain percentage of the vehicle's value. A typical percentage is about 70%. At that time, the insurance company will tow the car to the dump and give you a check for the cash value of the car. One way to keep your monthly insurance premiums low is to increase the deductible on your collision coverage. The higher the deductible, the less your premium will be. Comprehensive insurance coverage for your car will cover the damage to your vehicle that was not caused by an accident. This might be due to fire, vandals, natural disasters, deer collisions and more. One nice thing about many comprehensive plans is that if your windshield is cracked by a rock, your policy may cover it without a deductible. This depends on your state, however. Personal injury protection is coverage that will cover your medical costs and lost work pay for you and anyone in your car. It also pays for funeral expenses. It is currently required coverage in 16 states. Uninsured motorist insurance coverage is if your car is hit by an uninsured driver. This coverage would then pay for your medical expenses. It also would apply if you were injured in a hit and run incident. This coverage is required in 20 states, including Virginia, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York. This coverage also applies if there is an accident but the person does not have the coverage to pay all the medical expenses. Some of the extras of car insurance policies include rental coverage, towing assistance and gap coverage. This is for the gap between the real cash value left of the car and the amount that was left on your car loan.
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