Understanding auto insurance—the basics

Auto insurance is a contract between you and the insurance company that protects you against financial loss in the event of an accident or theft. In exchange for your paying a premium, the insurance company agrees to pay your losses as outlined in your policy.

Auto insurance provides coverage for:

• Property – such as damage to or theft of your car
• Liability – your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage
• Medical – the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses 

Basic personal auto insurance is mandated by most U.S. states, and laws vary. Auto insurance coverage are priced individually (a la carte) to let you customize coverage amounts to suit your exact needs and budget. Policies are generally issued for six-month or one-year timeframes and are renewable. The insurance company sends a notice when it’s time to renew the policy and pay your premium.

Who is covered by my auto insurance—and under what circumstances?

Your auto policy will cover you and other family members on your policy, whether driving your car or someone else’s car (with their permission). Your policy also provides coverage if someone who is not on your policy is driving your car with your consent.

Your personal auto policy only covers personal driving, whether you’re commuting to work, running errands or taking a trip. It will not provide coverage if you use your car for commercial purposes—for instance, if you deliver pizzas.

 

Personal auto insurance will also not provide coverage if you use your car to provide transportation to others through a ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft. Some auto insurers, however, are now offering supplemental insurance products (at additional cost) that extend coverage for vehicle owners providing ride-sharing services.

 

Is auto insurance coverage mandatory?

Auto insurance requirements vary from state to state. If you're financing a car, your lender may also have its own requirements. Nearly every state requires car owners to carry:

• Bodily injury liability – which covers costs associated with injuries or death that you or another driver causes while driving your car.
• Property damage liability – which reimburses others for damage that you or another driver operating your car causes to another vehicle or other property, such as a fence, building or utility pole.

 

In addition, many states require that you carry:

• Medical payments or personal injury protection (PIP), which provides reimbursement for medical expenses for injuries to you or your passengers. It will also cover lost wages and other related expenses.
• Uninsured motorist coverage reimburses you when an accident is caused by a driver who does not have auto insurance—or in the case of a hit-and-run. You can also purchase under insured motorist coverage, which will cover costs when another driver lacks adequate coverage to pay the costs of a serious accident.

Even if PIP and uninsured motorist coverage are optional in your state, consider adding them to your policy for greater financial protection.

 

What other types of auto insurance coverage are typical?

While most basic, legally mandated auto insurance covers the damage your car causes, it does notcover damage to your own car. To cover your own car, you should consider these optional coverages:

• Collision reimburses you for damage to your car that occurs as a result of a collision with another vehicle or other object—e.g., a tree or guardrail—when you’re at fault. While collision coverage will not reimburse you for mechanical failure or normal wear-and-tear on your car, it will cover damage from potholes or from rolling your car.
• Comprehensive provides coverage against theft and damage caused by an incident other than a collision, such as fire, flood, vandalism, hail, falling rocks or trees and other hazards—even getting hit by an asteroid!
• Glass Coverage provides coverage from windshield damage, which is common. Some auto policies include no-deductible glass coverage, which also includes side windows, rear windows and glass sunroofs. Or you can buy supplemental glass coverage.

 

What is gap insurance and do I need it?

Collision and comprehensive only cover the market value of your car, not what you paid for it—and new cars depreciate quickly. If your car is totaled or stolen, there may be a “gap” between what you owe on the vehicle and your insurance coverage. To cover this, you may want to look into purchasing gap insurance to pay the difference. Note that for leased vehicles, gap coverage is usually rolled into your lease payments.

 

What are lead generator agencies and what are their benefits?

In today's financial world, insurance agencies are charging more for their services. If you're looking for a way to combat that trend with your auto insurance agency, you should know there are lead generators in the market that can help. These lead generators help to create a strong pool of leads for your agency and increase your opportunities for sales.

Finding a good lead service for your particular needs does require some time and effort. The payoff can equate to a reliable source of new leads and profit center for your business.

The paid leads versus lead generation argument is one that will go on forever (we recommend both for the record), but in the end, it is a game of numbers to determine the best options for your business.

While paid leads do obviously cost money they can also save a lot of time if worked properly. As any good business owner knows, time is always the most valuable asset.

It takes a concerted effort and rigid tracking to determine the best ratio paid leads to pure lead generation but finding the best use of your time and resources is critical to building your business.

About Us:

 Insurance lead generation is a great way to help you grow your business. The faster you grow, the more money you can make, but it isn't as easy as it sounds. You need to target the right prospects, convert those leads into sales, and close more business.

This is where we come in. Let us educate you on our lead generation services. We can provide a no-obligation marketing plan for your business so you can see how we can help you reach your goals.

 

TM Global is a lead generation agency specializing in creating targeted auto insurance leads and internet marketing solutions for insurance agents and brokers.

We offer options for shared and exclusive auto insurance leads as well as live transfer call leads with a variety of geography and risk filters .Trust us for your business needs and we assure you with greater returns.