All motorists must carry some type of
basic car insurance. You may want to consider
some other type of other optional car
insurance at some other time, but to begin
with you will be well covered with basic
car insurance. 1. Customer Service.Look for a company
that has a large office network in the
area where you live. This should include
claim centers and agencies.
Basic car
insurance will provide you with coverage
in five different ways:
1.
Third-Party Legal Liability.This type of coverage
will pay any claims that have been made
against you by other drivers for damages
and/or injuries when you are found to be
responsible for an accident. There is a
basic limit of $200,000 depending on where
you live and what car insurance company
you are covered by. You can buy extended
Third-Party Legal Liability coverage at
any time to increase the basic limit. 2.
Accident Benefits.
These benefits will pay for medical expenses,
wage loss, rehabilitation costs, and death
benefits in case of an accident. If you
are killed or injured in an accident, Accident
Benefits will cover you, as well as members
of your family and other occupants in the
vehicle, whether you are at fault or not.
3.
Underinsured Motorist Protection.
If you are in an accident and the other
motorist doesn’t have enough insurance
to pay for your claims, Underinsured Motorist
Protection will provide coverage for you
and your passengers. The basic coverage
is up to $1 million per person. 4. Protection Against Hit-and-Run
and Uninsured Drivers.This type of protection will
pay damages if you are killed or injured
by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver.
5. Inverse
Liability Coverage.
This type of liability will cover you in
certain areas of Canada and the United States
where the law prohibits you from recovering
damages from a driver who causes an accident.
Inverse Liability Coverage will pay the
cost of the repairs to your vehicle for
as much as the other driver was responsible.
What
doesn’t Basic car insurance cover?
Basic
car insurance is applicable in Canada and
in the United States. It does not apply
to Mexico or any other countries. If you
are considering taking your car to another
country other than Canada or the United
States you will have to purchase insurance
for that particular country. Make sure that
you purchase car insurance before you cross
the border into a foreign country. There are some instances when your
Basic car insurance won’t cover you.
These instances include:
Wrong
rate class. Basic
car insurance won’t cover
you if you have insured your vehicle
in the wrong rate class.
Driving
without a valid driver’s license.
This includes driving with a suspended
driver’s license.
Unqualified
driver. You will not be
covered by Basic car insurance in
the event that someone is driving
your car without a valid driver’s
license or without your authorization.
Impairment.
If you are under the influence of
alcohol or drugs at the time of
an accident you will not qualify
for Basic car insurance benefits.
It is your
responsibility to be aware of
the restrictions and limitations
of your Basic car insurance plan.
Take the time to read all the
fine print, understand what you
are reading, and drive responsibly.
