What is Full Coverage
When I ask clients what kind of insurance they have the most common response that I get is that they have full coverage. Many people are confident that they have purchased adequate automobile insurance but in reality when a client says that they have full coverage they really mean that they have obtained the minimum insurance required by California law.
Here is a list of various types of automobile insurance and a brief description of each:
Liability Insurance: This coverage protects you if you are sued as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Your Liability Limits are the maximum amounts that your insurance company can be required to pay if it is concluded that you are at fault for an accident.
The minimum Liability Limits required for drivers in California are $15,000/$30,000. The first number represents the maximum benefit that any one victim could recover from your insurance company and the second number represents the maximum combined amount that your insurance company will pay to the victims of any one accident.
The amount of insurance coverage that you need really depends on your personal situation and we will address that in a future post on this Blog.
Property Damage: There are two types of property damage coverages, comprehensive and collision. Property damage coverage typically has a deductible, which is the amount of money that your damages must exceed before your insurance company will start to pay for your damages. The higher the amount of your deductible the lower you will pay for your property damage coverage.
Comprehensive: This coverage pays to repair or replace your vehicle and personal property inside your vehicle if it was damaged or lost as a result of fire, theft, or vandalism.
Collision: This coverage will cover damage to:
- Your vehicle if your vehicle it is hit by another vehicle.
- Another person’s vehicle if you cause damage to that vehicle.
- Your vehicle if you are hit by or run into an object including trees, walls, curbs, etc. This coverage will repair your vehicle regardless of fault.
Medical Payments: This coverage will pay for your medical expenses if you or your passengers get injured in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of who is at fault. You or your household family members can also be covered as pedestrians who are injured by a motor vehicle. Medical Payments coverage is particularly helpful for people who do not have medical insurance.
Uninsured/Under-Insured Motorist
Uninsured/Under-Insured Motorist Bodily Injury: This coverage will cover you for bodily caused by another motorist who does not carry liability insurance. It may also provide coverage when your damages exceed the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage.
Uninsured/Under-Insured Motorist Property Damage: This coverage allows the driver to claim for compensation to damages to their vehicle. If you have collision coverage then the Uninsured Motorist Property Damage coverage will cover the amount of your deductible.
Accident Investigation Form
We have prepared an Accident Investigation Form to help you get all the information that you may need if you are in an accident. Please print it up and keep in your car in case of an accident.
Contact Wolfberg & Wolfberg, P.C. for More Information
Please call us if you have questions about the different types of insurance coverage. Please call us if you would like a complimentary review of your automobile insurance coverage. We are here to help.