The Ultimate Guide to Auto Insurance

Medical Payments Coverage

Similar to personal injury protection, medical payments coverage is a safeguard against expensive costs incurred after an accident. This coverage may help pay for costs associated with injuries to you, your passengers, or family members involved in an accident if they’re driving the insured vehicle.

 

Medical Payments coverage may help pay for common medical procedures such as hospital visits, surgery, and X-rays. However, it is not as comprehensive as personal injury protection policies.

Key Considerations About Car Insurance

No one wants to think about getting into a car accident. Having been in one myself, I can tell you it isn’t a pleasant experience. What made the situation better—and significantly less stressful—was having a solid auto insurance policy that had my back and supported me through this time.

Whether you’re a first time driver or are planning on switching to a new service, here are some important factors you should know before you buy.

1. Your Record and Behaviors

Your driving record has a significant impact on what sort of rates you’ll receive. Insurance companies can use even the smallest violation as an excuse to charge you more. Along with this, insurance companies assess risk by examining your daily driving behaviors in detail.

 

As an illustration, your distance driven in miles per day will also affect how much you pay for insurance. If you don’t drive much (less than 10 miles daily), you might even qualify for a discount because you represent less risk to the insurance company. Meanwhile, if you often drive daily, you will represent more of a risk to the provider, and that might reflect on the amount of your premium.

2. Credit history

Many insurance companies will pull a copy of your credit report when you apply for a policy. This is another way they assess risk because if you have a lower credit score due to being late or failing to pay bills, it indicates to them you might not pay your policy, thus making you a riskier investment.

Meanwhile, if you have a great credit score and stable payment histories with creditors, it makes you more attractive to insurance companies, and they can reward you for this with better premiums.

3. Location

If you spend a lot of time driving in a rural setting out in the middle of nowhere, you will probably not have to pay as much as someone living and driving in a bustling urban setting.

The location also considers the area where you park your vehicle. If it’s a riskier area where your vehicle could be more susceptible to damage or theft, then the insurance provider might make you pay more for this risk.

4. Demographics

Now this one is really not fair, but it’s, unfortunately, how car insurance works. Teens and seniors have to pay more than everyone else, and young men have to pay more than young women.

Insurance companies often make these determinations by analyzing data such as crashes by age and gender to determine risk assessment. Once you are past your teenage years and if you don’t have any accidents or points on your license from moving violations, you will qualify for better rates.

5. Your Vehicle

You pay more if your car has a lower crash safety rating. Also, insurance providers look at your car’s safety equipment, and some might offer you discounts if your vehicle comes equipped with anti-lock brakes, proactive safety features like OnStar and theft-deterrent systems.

In essence, any equipment that makes you safer and minimizes the risk of damage to the vehicle, the better it will be in your favor.