Car insurance basics

Driving without car insurance is illegal in most states. Insurance protects you, and others, from financial ruin in the event of an auto accident. In addition, it can come to the rescue if your car is vandalized, damaged by fire or stolen — depending on your policy.

Tip

Ask your agent or insurance company if you're getting all the car insurance discounts to which you're entitled. For more, read: 11 ways to save on car insurance

Besides protecting you financially, car insurance is considered a social responsibility. Driving without insurance or the ability to pay for the damages you cause in an accident puts others at financial risk.

That's why all states (except New Hampshire and Wisconsin) require drivers to carry liability insurance. But even New Hampshire and Wisconsin require you to prove that you have enough assets to pay for damages in the event of an accident if you choose not to carry insurance. A basic auto insurance policy contains six types of coverage. Depending on where you live, some coverage is required and some is optional. For more, read about the minimum levels of required auto insurance.

Car insurance is comprised of:

1. Bodily injury liability
2. Property damage liability
3. Medical payments or Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
4. Collision
5. Comprehensive
6. Uninsured/Underinsured motorists coverage

Liability insurance

States require certain levels of minimum liability insurance because it's coverage that pays for damage you do to others — including bodily injury and property damage. It also pays for your legal bills if you cause an accident.

Bodily-injury liability applies to damages you cause to someone else. It covers their medical bills and lost wages. Property-damage liability pays to repair or replace property that you destroy. This includes other cars or property, such as fences. It can also pay for "pain and suffering" damages if someone sues you after a car accident — but only up to your liability limits.

However, your financial responsibility may exceed your liability limits. If you cause $65,000 worth of damage and have an insurance limit of $40,000, you're responsible for the remaining $25,000 and could be sued for it. The Insurance Information Institute (III) recommends you carry $100,000 of bodily injury protection per person and $300,000 per accident. Other insurance industry experts also recommend buying a minimum of $50,000 in property damage liability coverage.

Collision and comprehensive coverage

Unlike property damage liability, collision coverage pays to repair your own vehicle in the event of an accident. Your car is considered "totaled" when the repair costs exceed a certain threshold of the car's value, such as 70 percent. At that point, the insurance company will tow away the car to the salvage yard and offer you the actual cash value of your car. For more, read about total warfare: What to do when your insurer totals your car.

To keep your premium costs down when you buy collision coverage, you can raise your deductible. According to III, collision coverage is generally sold with a deductible of $250 to $1,000. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium. But remember you'll have to pay that amount out of your pocket before coverage kicks in.

Comprehensive coverage pays for damage to your car that isn't due to car accidents. That includes theft, fire, vandalism, natural disasters and collisions with animals (such as hitting a deer). Another perk that may be covered under your comprehensive coverage is your windshield. In some states, comprehensive coverage includes glass replacement with no deductible, but it varies from state to state. Ask your agent about the specifics when you purchase your policy.

Medical payments, PIP and no-fault

Medical payments (called MedPay) coverage pays for the medical expenses suffered by you and your passengers after an accident. You're also covered if you're driving someone else's car (with their permission) or from injuries suffered if a car hits you. MedPay will pay no matter who caused the accident, although if someone else is at fault your insurer may subrogate against them, meaning it will seek damages from the other party.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays for medical expenses and lost wages for you and your passengers who are injured in an accident. It also covers funeral costs. PIP is required in 16 states. Do you need it? If you have good health insurance and disability insurance, you can skip PIP or buy only the minimum amount if it's required. For more, read about do you need PIP or MedPay coverage?

Uninsured/underinsured motorists coverages

Uninsured motorists (UM) coverage pays for medical bills if someone who is uninsured strikes you or if you're a victim of a hit-and-run driver. UM is required in many states.

Similarly, underinsured motorists (UIM) coverage kicks in when someone causes an accident but doesn't have enough insurance to cover all the medical bills. In that case, the at-fault person's insurance pays out to its maximum and then your UIM coverage pays for the remaining bills, up to your own limit. UIM coverage is required only in Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina and Vermont, according to III.

UM and UIM coverage also covers pain and suffering claims and, in some states, property damage. For more, read about the benefits of uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage.

The extras

These may seem like little luxuries, especially when you're adding up your premium bill, but in the event of an accident these additional coverages can save you a bundle.

• Rental reimbursement pays for a rental car when your vehicle is damaged or stolen. Check for the per-day dollar limits and overall maximum to make sure you're getting a good value for your premium dollar. See why rental reimbursement on your auto policy is a good idea.
• Towing and labor coverage pays for fees due to road breakdowns.
• Gap coverage for a new vehicle pays the difference between the actual cash value of the vehicle and the amount left on your car loan if your vehicle is totaled. Here's how to save yourself some grief: Buy lease or loan gap coverage.

How to buy

There are various ways to find the least expensive auto policies. You can try online rate quotes or talk to a local independent agent, both of which will give you quotes from several companies so you can compare prices. If you have an accident, you want assurance that your auto insurer will have great customer service and make the claim process easy and fair. For that, the recommendations of friends and family, especially those who have made claims, can be invaluable.

In addition, many state insurance departments release annual reports showing the number of consumer complaints against each insurance company that does business in the state. Find contact information for your state department of insurance.