Thursday, November 18, 2010

Different Types of Auto Insurance

Different Types of Auto InsuranceIn case you are a proud car owner you definitely know how annoying and distracting auto insurance might be, especially when you have high rates to pay. Many people complain about their auto insurance policies being too expensive. But do you know that there are different types of auto insurance policies out there on the market? And some of them are much cheaper than the one you carry! That's why before buying a new policy or switching to another provider we recommend learning all types of insurance policies and selecting the one that suits your needs best :

Fully Comprehensive

Fully comprehensive car insurance policies are the most expensive and probably the most widespread policies in the US. A large part of autos in the US are financed through loans or leased, letting auto insurance dealers and lending companies include additional requirements regarding auto insurance, which they gladly apply. Most lending institution require buying fully comprehensive coverage for the vehicles they finance, so if you are the “lucky” one to use this option, be prepared to pay a lot for your auto insurance.

As you can understand from the name, fully comprehensive policies cover the vehicle in virtually all types of insurance situations, starting with collisions to fire and theft. The best part of it is that it will pay regardless of who's at fault in the accident. Even if you had a crash with an uninsured car owner you still can claim against your company.

The hidden catch, however, is the high price of such policies. Moreover, with most insurance companies your policy will cover only a part of the car's cost, not the entire value. Read your policy careful before signing it, as in most cases it will denote a percentage of value, usually around 80%, your car will be insured against.

Third Party, Fire & Theft

Third party, fire & theft policies are the most appropriate type of auto insurance for those who have already settled their loans for financing the purchase of their vehicle, but still having auto car insurance is a middle of the road car insurance package popular with those who have already paid off their auto loans, but who still have a certain level of additional value with the vehicle.

This type of auto insurance is quite similar to fully comprehensive when it comes to insuring circumstances like fire or theft. However, when it comes to collisions with other cars, third party policies will only pay if you are at fault in the accident. In other cases you insurance company won't pay you anything, regardless of how much insurance coverage the other party carries. The same applies to collisions with walls, fences and simple car damage.

Third Party

Third party is probably the most stripped down type of auto insurance. It will cover only a collision with another car when you were at fault. All other situations and circumstances won't be covered by your company. But because of this, it is the cheapest type of auto insurance available on the market and will best appeal to owners of old cars with reduced value.