Auto Insurance FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

People don’t usually think of car damage when they think about flooding. Images of broken homes floating away are usually what come to mind. But floods affect cars too, especially after a hurricane or a period of too much rain falling too hard, too fast. In fact, thousands of vehicles each year are damaged by floods.

Shopping around for auto insurance quotes can save you money. What’s better is that the process won’t take that long, especially if you shop online. Make the process even faster by gathering the following information before contacting auto insurance agents.

A standard automobile insurance policy includes four basic types of coverage: liability, medical damage, uninsured motorist, and physical damage. What follows is a brief description of the typical protection offered with each of these coverage options.

Anxious and scared is how most drivers feel immediately after an accident. If you’re in an accident, take a few deep breaths and try to calm down because you have work to do.

You’ve probably been in this situation before. You’re at the car rental counter, filling out paperwork for a rental car, when the agent starts asking if you want to purchase additional insurance coverage for the duration of your rental period. You stare with glazed eyes, and don’t know if the right answer is to accept or decline these options. Choosing to err on the safe side, you agree to the different options, not realizing that you may already be paying for the same coverage you’re about to pay for again.

When a vehicle sustains significant damage, it’s sometimes more cost effective to declare the vehicle a total loss than pay repair costs. Your auto insurer will make this such a declaration when repair costs are greater than the vehicle’s actual cash value (ACV).

Auto insurance policies can lapse for many different reasons. However, the most common is a lapse for non-payment of your premium. If you fail to make a payment on time, your insurer likely will allow a grace period of 2 to 4 weeks. If after that you still have not made the required payment, your insurer will probably cancel your policy.

You should update your auto insurance policy whenever your life and/or financial situation changes. Update your policy to meet your needs when you: buy a new car, buy a bigger home, downgrade to a smaller home, marry, divorce, retire, or when you otherwise need to add or remove drivers to your policy.

Driving while under the influence is a serious offense and if convicted, has serious consequences. As you might imagine, a conviction like this will affect your ability to get auto insurance at an affordable rate, if you’re able to get it at all.

Most auto insurers offer windshield damage protection as part of their Comprehensive coverage. Those that do not usually offer glass coverage as an additional coverage option that you can purchase separately. You’ll need to check with your auto insurance agent to find out how your insurer handles windshield damage, and whether the policy you purchased covers this type of damage or not.

If you’re learning to drive and only have a Learner’s Permit, you won’t be able to obtain your own auto insurance. And that’s okay because right now you don’t need insurance. A state-issued Learner’s Permit allows you to drive provided a licensed adult is present in the vehicle you’re driving. When this is the case, the licensed driver’s auto insurance covers you if you’re in an accident.

The quick answer to this question is not usually. And you probably wouldn’t want to anyway. Here’s a closer look at a few scenarios and how they’re affected by auto insurance.

Yes, it really can save both! You’ll save time since you won’t have to travel around to different auto insurers, and wait in an office until someone has time to talk with you.