Almost every state requires some kind of auto insurance — but do you know why? Having auto insurance is a great benefit to you and protects you in many ways:

• Protects your vehicle investment.
• Protects you against medical expenses after an accident.
• Protects you against damages from a lawsuit.
• Protects you from uninsured or underinsured motorists.
• Protects you from expenses for repairs due to things like theft, vandalism or other disasters.
• Bonus: It provides peace of mind every time you hit the road.

Car Damage Coverage
Car damage coverage is covering the physical damage to your vehicle if you get into an auto accident.

Deductible
A car insurance deductible is the amount you’ll pay out of pocket before your insurance company kicks in to cover a claim.

Liability
Car insurance liability is what you’re responsible for in the event of an accident. This includes bodily injury liability, which covers injuries to others and protection if you’re sued, and property damage liability, which covers damage to someone else’s property, like a mailbox or car.

Limit
A coverage limit is the maximum dollar amount your insurer will pay out for a specific type of coverage on your policy.

Premium
Your car insurance premium is the amount of money you pay to your insurance company for your policy.

Full Coverage
Though there is no such thing as “full coverage,” it’s a common term used to describe the amount of auto insurance coverage someone has, and typically implies that the policy has at least liability, comprehensive and collision coverage.

Comprehensive
Comprehensive car insurance covers damage caused by accidents that don’t involve colliding with another vehicle or object. That means this type of smart coverage, minus the cost of your comprehensive deductible, pays for damage caused by things like:

• Theft
• Collisions with animals
• Vandalism
• Fires or explosions
• Hail or natural disasters
• Certain falling objects
• Floods

Collision
Collision insurance is an optional coverage that helps pay the cost of repairing or replacing your car after being damaged in an accident, whether it’s your fault or not. Usually, when you are involved in a covered accident, you’ll pay a collision insurance deductible, which is a set amount of money you will pay out-of-pocket prior to your insurance payment coverage. You choose a collision deductible when electing collision insurance coverage on your policy. Collisions involve anything from hitting another vehicle, to hitting an object, like a tree, guardrail or mailbox.

Collision insurance is a coverage that helps pay to repair or replace your car if it’s damaged in an accident, whether you caused the accident or not. You’ll also be covered from damages caused in accidents where no other car or object is involved — for example, a rollover caused by black ice.

Bodily Injury
If you’re legally liable for a car accident, bodily injury liability coverage helps cover costs associated with injuries to your passengers, the driver and passengers of the other vehicle. It also can help pay for bodily injury to pedestrians. If you are taken to court over an accident, bodily injury coverage can also help pay for legal fees.

What Does Bodily Injury Liability Cover?
If you’ve caused a car accident, your bodily injury liability coverage helps cover short-term and long-term costs related to injuries others may have sustained in the accident.

Some examples include:

Medical expenses
Helps cover costs like emergency care, hospital charges and follow-up visits, as well as medical equipment costs — like wheelchairs and crutches.

Pain and suffering
If the injured person experiences long-lasting physical pain or emotional suffering, bodily injury liability coverage may help pay to compensate the victim.

Lost wages
If the injured person can’t work due to the injuries sustained in the accident, bodily injury liability can help cover their lost wages during this time period.

Legal fees
Perhaps the party files a lawsuit against you — do you have the money to cover legal expenses? This coverage can help pay for potential legal fees.

Funeral costs
If the accident is fatal, bodily injury liability will help cover funeral costs.

Property Damage
Property damage means damage to or destruction of tangible property of others, including loss of its use.

Uninsured Motorist
Uninsured motorist coverage helps protect you financially in the event you’re in an accident caused by an uninsured driver. If the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, you’ll still have coverage under your own insurance policy

What Does Uninsured Motorist Cover?
Uninsured motorist coverage covers you or your passenger(s) for bodily injury if you’re struck by an uninsured driver. It’ll help cover the cost for medical bills that you otherwise may be stuck covering. It helps cover things like:

• • Medical expenses for injuries sustained in an accident
  • Loss of income
  • Funeral costs
  • Cover the costs of treating emotional and mental issues resulting from accidents.

This includes coverage for the insured members of your household, as well as the passengers in your vehicle. It’s all about helping restore your physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Underinsured Motorist
Underinsured motorist coverage protects you financially in the event you’re in an accident with an at-fault driver who has some auto insurance but their limits aren’t enough to cover all of your bills after an accident.

Underinsured Motorist
Helps cover medical expenses for injuries sustained in an accident, loss of income and funeral costs. It also helps cover the costs of treating emotional and mental issues resulting from accidents. This includes coverage for the insured members of your household, as well as the passengers in your vehicle. It’s all about helping restore your physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Medical Payments
Medical expense coverage is an optional auto insurance coverage that offers medical protection in the event you, your relatives or your passengers are injured in an auto accident. Below are a few of many scenarios where you may be protected by medical payments coverage:

• Funeral expenses resulting from an accident
• If you’re a passenger in a friend’s car and you’re injured in an accident
• If you’re struck by a car while you’re out for your evening walk or bike ride
• If passengers are hurt while you or a family member is driving

Keep in mind, even if you have a great health care plan, medical expense coverage protects your passengers if they’re injured — but your health insurance only protects you. If you play chauffeur and drive the neighborhood kids to school, or you carpool weekly with a co-worker, consider the financial risks you could face if in an auto accident.

Loan/Lease Gap
Auto leases and loan terms often run 60 months or longer. When you add to that the fact that your car depreciates — usually 11 percent the minute it leaves the lot — people can quickly find themselves owing more on leases or loans than the vehicle is worth. Gap insurance coverage can pay the difference between the amount you owe on the car and the total cost to replace it with a new one.

If you are leasing your vehicle or have a vehicle loan, the loan or lease assistance coverage endorsement is probably a good fit for you. Here’s why: if you’re in an accident and your vehicle is a total loss, your auto policy will generally pay you for the actual cash value of your vehicle. However; the value of the vehicle can be less than what you might actually owe, leaving you with a potentially hefty bill. Loan or lease assistance coverage helps pays the difference, or gap, to help lessen the financial load on your end.

Emergency Roadside Service
Emergency roadside services help pay for service and support when your car can’t make it to a repair shop. It includes:

Easy towing
If your vehicle isn’t running or is stuck on a road or in a parking area, roadside assistance will pay to have it towed to the nearest shop or garage so it can get the repairs it needs.

Battery jump
Dead battery? We’ll send someone out to give it a jump and get you back on the road.

Tire servicing
If you need a patch or tire change, our coverage will send a service person to help get you back on the road safely. This service doesn’t include the cost of the patch or tire, just the labor.

Gas and oil delivery
Out of fuel? We’ll bring the gas to your car, so you can get to where you are going. This service doesn’t include the cost of the gas.

Dependable locksmiths
Locked your keys inside your car? We’ve all been there! Emergency Roadside Service pays to send a locksmith to lend a hand. This service will get you into your car, but doesn’t include the cost of replacing your locks or keys if that’s necessary.

Roadside repairs
A knowledgeable mechanic, if available, will meet you where your car breaks down and provide up to one hour of labor to get your vehicle up and running again. If a mechanic isn’t available for your location, we’ll send a tow truck.

Rental Car Reimbursement
When your car is in the shop or otherwise not drivable due to a covered loss, this additional car insurance can help pay for a rental car. You’ll be covered up to your policy’s limit — after meeting the deductible.

Multi-Product Discount
The Multi-Product Discount recognizes customers that insure their cars and home as a bundle.

Multi-Vehicle Discount
This discount is offered to customers who insure multiple vehicles with us.

Good Student
The Good Student Discount is applied to reduce premium for an operator who achieves good grades.

Away At School
The Away at School Discount is given when the youthful driver is attending school without the insured vehicle and is 100 miles or more away from home.

Steer Into Savings
The Steer into Savings Discount applies to new auto policyholders who come to us from any prior carrier.

Early Bird
The EarlyBird Discount applies to a new policy quoted at least seven days before the policy effective date.

Paperless
The Paperless Discount applies when the customer is enrolled in electronic billing and electronic policy delivery.

Automatic Payments
The AutoPay Discount is given when the insured is enrolled in electronic funds transfer (EFT) with recurring payments.

Customer Full Pay
A customer will receive a Customer Full Pay Discount if the policy premium is paid in full at the beginning of a term.