Auto insurance protects you against financial loss if you have an accident. It is a contract between you and the insurance company. You agree to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay your losses as defined in your policy.

Auto insurance provides property, liability and medical coverage:

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

An auto insurance policy is comprised of six different kinds of coverage. Most states require you to buy some, but not all, of these coverages. If you're financing a car, your lender may also have requirements.

Most auto policies are for six months to a year. Your insurance company should notify you by mail when it's time to renew the policy and to pay your premium.

Your auto policy may include six coverages. Each coverage is priced separately.

   1. Bodily Injury Liability

This coverage applies to injuries you, the designated driver or policyholder cause to someone else. You and family members listed on the policy are also covered when driving someone else's car with their permission.

It's very important to have enough liability insurance, because if you are involved in a serious accident, you may be sued for a large sum of money. Definitely consider buying more than the state-required minimum to protect assets such as your home and savings.

    2. Medical Payments or Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

This coverage pays for the treatment of injuries to the driver and passengers of the policyholder's car. At its broadest, PIP can cover medical payments, lost wages and the cost of replacing services normally performed by someone injured in an auto accident. It may also cover funeral costs.

   3. Property Damage Liability

This coverage pays for damage you (or someone driving the car with your permission) may cause to someone else's property. Usually, this means damage to someone else's car, but it also includes damage to lamp posts, telephone poles, fences, buildings or other structures your car hit.

   4. Collision

This coverage pays for damage to your car resulting from a collision with another car, object or as a result of flipping over. It also covers damage caused by potholes. Collision coverage is generally sold with a deductible of $250 to $1,000-the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Even if you are at fault for the accident, your collision coverage will reimburse you for the costs of repairing your car, minus the deductible. If you're not at fault, your insurance company may try to recover the amount they paid you from the other driver's insurance company. If they are successful, you'll also be reimbursed for the deductible.

   5. Comprehensive

This coverage reimburses you for loss due to theft or damage caused by something other than a collision with another car or object, such as fire, falling objects, missiles, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, flood, vandalism, riot, or contact with animals such as birds or deer.

Comprehensive insurance is usually sold with a $100 to $300 deductible, though you may want to opt for a higher deductible as a way of lowering your premium.

Comprehensive insurance will also reimburse you if your windshield is cracked or shattered. Some companies offer glass coverage with or without a deductible.

States do not require that you purchase collision or comprehensive coverage, but if you have a car loan, your lender may insist you carry it until your loan is paid off.

   6. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

This coverage will reimburse you, a member of your family, or a designated driver if one of you is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver.

NO! Almost every state requires you to have auto liability insurance. All states also have financial responsibility laws. This means that even in a state that does not require liability insurance, you need to have sufficient assets to pay claims if you cause an accident. If you don't have enough assets, you must purchase at least the state minimum amount of insurance. But insurance exists to protect your assets. Trying to see how little you can get by with can be very shortsighted and dangerous.

If you've financed your car, your lender may require comprehensive and collision insurance as part of the loan agreement.

If you lease a car, you still need to buy your own auto insurance policy. The auto dealer or bank that is financing the car will require you to buy collision and comprehensive coverage. You'll need to buy these coverages in addition to the others that may be mandatory in your state, such as auto liability insurance.

If you've financed your car, your lender may require comprehensive and collision insurance as part of the loan agreement.

• Collision covers the damage to the car from an accident with another automobile or object.
• Comprehensive covers a loss that is caused by something other than a collision with another car or object, such as a fire or theft or collision with a deer.

The leasing company may also require "gap" insurance. This refers to the fact that if you have an accident and your leased car is damaged beyond repair or "totaled," there's likely to be a difference between the amount that you still owe the auto dealer and the check you'll get from your insurance company. That's because the insurance company's check is based on the car's actual cash value which takes into account depreciation. The difference between the two amounts is known as the "gap."

On a leased car, the cost of gap insurance is generally rolled into the lease payments. You don't actually buy a gap policy. Generally, the auto dealer buys a master policy from an insurance company to cover all the cars it leases and charges you for a "gap waiver." This means that if your leased car is totaled, you won't have to pay the dealer the gap amount. Check with the auto dealer when leasing your car.

If you have an auto loan rather than a lease, you may want to buy gap insurance to protect yourself from having to come up with the gap amount if your car is totaled before you've finished paying for it. Ask your insurance agent about gap insurance or search the Internet. Gap insurance may not be available in some states.

When renting a car, you need insurance. If you have adequate insurance on your own car, including collision and comprehensive, this may be enough.

Before you rent a car:

    1. Contact your insurance company.

Find out how much coverage you have on your own car. In most cases, the coverage and deductibles you have on your personal auto policy would apply to a rental car, providing it's used for pleasure and not business. If you don't have comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, you will not be covered if your rental car is stolen or if it is damaged in an accident.

    2. Call your credit card company.

Find out what insurance your card provides. Levels of coverage vary.

If you don't have auto insurance, you will need to buy coverage at the car rental counter. The following coverages are available to you at the rental car counter:

    1. Collision Damage Waiver (CDW).

Sometimes called a Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), this coverage relieves you of financial responsibility if your rental car is damaged or stolen. The CDW may be void, however, if you cause an accident by speeding, driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated. This coverage generally costs between $9 and $19 a day. If you have comprehensive and collision on your own car, you may not need to purchase this coverage.

    2. Liability Insurance.

This provides excess liability coverage of up to $1 million for the time you rent a car. Rental companies are required by law to provide the minimum level of liability insurance required by your state. Generally, this does not offer enough protection in a serious accident. If you have adequate liability coverage on your car or an umbrella policy on your home/auto, you may consider forgoing this additional insurance. It generally costs about $7 to $9 a day. If you don't own a car, and rent cars often, consider purchasing a non-owner liability policy. This costs approximately $200 - $300 per year. Frequent car renters sometimes find this more cost-effective than constantly paying for the extra liability coverage.

    3. Personal Accident Insurance.

This provides coverage to you and your passengers for medical/ambulance bills. This type of insurance, usually costs about $3 per day, but may be unnecessary if you are covered by health insurance or have adequate medical coverage under your auto policy.

    4. Personal Effects Coverage.

This provides coverage for the theft of personal items in your car. However, if you have homeowners or renters insurance, you may be covered for items stolen from the car, minus your deductible. You need to have receipts or other proof of ownership. This type of insurance usually costs about $1.25 per day. Some rental car companies combine personal accident and personal effects coverage together as one type of insurance, while others sell it individually.

The cost of insurance at the rental car counter will vary depending on the rental car company, state, and location of the dealer and the type of car you rent.

Some rental car companies may check your credit and driving history and may deny coverage. Check with the rental car company to find out its policy.

In most states, the motor vehicles department has a "point" system, which is used to track accidents and violations that affect your driving record. Insurance companies will order a copy of your driving history once you have purchased a policy, in order to confirm the information that you provided on the application. Your company may also check your driving record when your policy is scheduled for renewal.

Each insurance company has its own method of evaluating applicants, so the points on your driving record may or may not have a direct impact on the rates you pay for auto insurance. And, you should know that only "moving violations" will affect your insurance rates. Parking tickets and other non-moving violations are not used by insurance companies.

If a review of your driving record uncovers negative information, there's a chance your insurance rates will increase. Insurers typically use their own "point" system to determine the amount of the increase (if any).

If your fiancé has a poor driving record, you can expect it to affect your insurance premium after you get married. Your automobile insurance policy covers you, your spouse, any other named insured under the policy, and any licensed driver in your household. If any of those people have a bad driving record, it will affect your rates.

Of course, insurers consider marital status when calculating risk, so the very act of tying the knot may improve your future spouse's risk profile. But if his or her driving record is really bad, you may want to consider additional strategies to stave off a hike in your premium.

If you arrange to purchase all of your insurance policies (including your homeowners policy) from one company, you may benefit from multiple car and/or multiple policy discounts. Additionally, in some states, your future spouse can take driver safety courses to improve his or her driving record. Further, with a combined income, you might be in a position to raise your deductibles to keep your premium down.

Your fiancé may also qualify for a low mileage discount by using public transportation for his or her commute to work. If all else fails, you may be able to use a "named-driver exclusion" clause after you're married to exclude your spouse from your insurance policy. But be careful: that means your spouse is not covered by your insurance company to drive your car. Your spouse could insure his or her car separately, and if it is an older model, waive collision and/or comprehensive coverage. Whether any of these strategies will work for you depends on your circumstances. Your insurance agent can discuss all of your policy options with you and make recommendations.

Insurance companies consider the likelihood that a particular vehicle will be stolen, vandalized, or involved in an accident. They also track the costliness of repairs. Insurance companies obtain their information by consulting various claim statistics. The Highway Loss Data Institute, for example, indexes the amount of money insurance companies have paid out (on average) for collision, injury, and theft claims for various types of motor vehicles. Therefore, the vehicle that is most attractive to thieves across the country will probably be more expensive to insure than the one that is stolen least often.

In addition to these industry wide statistics, insurance companies consider their own experience with claim payouts. For instance, if one company has paid numerous claims regarding a particular vehicle, it may charge higher insurance rates for that type of vehicle than another company would. For that reason, it's wise to obtain quotes from several insurance companies before insuring your vehicle.

As you have probably discovered, insuring a teenage driver can be very expensive. Drivers under the age of 25 pose the greatest risk to insurers because of their high level of at-fault accidents. The least expensive option would probably be to add your teenager to your existing auto insurance policy once he gets his permanent driver's license (or whenever your insurer requires). Although this can still be an expensive prospect, your teen might be able to take advantage of certain discounts as a driver on your policy (e.g., Good Student, Safe Driver, and Minor Child discounts, if eligible).

If you drive an expensive vehicle, it will be even more costly to add your teen to your policy. In this case, you might want to help your son buy his own car (a safe but used economy model, of course) and insure it in his name, rather than add him to your own policy. Older vehicles generally pose less risk to insurance companies, because repairs tend to be less expensive than repairs to newer models. Lower risk for the insurer typically translates into lower insurance premiums for you.

To determine your most cost-effective option, compare some vehicles online or contact your insurance company. If you're thinking about purchasing a used car for your teen, be prepared with the make, model, and year of the cars you're considering. This way, you can get accurate, comparison insurance quotes, to help you decide whether to purchase separate insurance for your son or add him to your policy; they may also help you decide which car to purchase, if you go that route.

As you send your children off to college, you probably have a lot of things on your mind—whether they'll eat right and get enough sleep, how to pay the tuition bills, what to do with that empty bedroom, etc. For most people, insurance concerns are pretty low on the priority list. But there are some important issues you should consider.Issue #1: Health insurance—make sure your child is covered.Your medical plan probably covers your children until they're somewhere between 20 and 24 years of age, regardless of whether or not they live at home. But if the plan is an HMO and your child's college is far from home, accessing an approved provider may prove difficult. As an alternative, consider purchasing health insurance coverage through your child's college. Many colleges and universities offer low-cost health insurance for students. Cost and level of coverage vary greatly from one school to the next, but school-subsidized health insurance is often less expensive than continuing coverage through your existing health plan. And since health care is typically provided on-campus, it may be easier for the student to access.Issue #2: Homeowners/Renters insurance—make sure your child's possessions are covered.If your child lives in a dorm or other university housing, their personal property is typically covered under your homeowners insurance policy. Check your policy for coverage limitations on computers and stereos. Once a student moves out of the dorms and into an apartment, they may still be covered under the personal property limit of your policy. If not, off-campus students should purchase renters insurance to cover their possessions.Issue #3: Auto insurance—make sure the car is covered.If your child will be taking a car to school, make sure the car is properly insured. If the child owns the car, then the insurance policy must be in the child's name as well. If the child is "borrowing" a car from Mom and Dad, the child must be listed on the insurance policy. Some insurance companies may require the child to be listed as the primary operator, since the car is in the child's possession and not the parents'.

As a general rule, auto insurance coverage actually follows the vehicle, not the driver. So if your car is involved in an accident, the car typically receives the full coverage provided by the auto insurance policy, regardless of who is driving.Auto insurance policies normally provide coverage for your car if it is driven by anyone to whom you lend your car.Your insurance company may require that certain conditions be met in order for other drivers to be covered under your policy. For example, anyone who drives your car must typically be a licensed driver. Additionally, most insurance companies require that anyone driving your car be doing so with your permission. This doesn't mean that you have to give explicit permission each time someone takes your car for a spin, but the person driving must have a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to do so.Because these conditions can vary, it is important to check your policy carefully and make sure you understand any limitations that might apply before you allow others to drive your car.

A standard auto insurance policy is a package of different kinds of coverage. You generally have some flexibility in terms of both the types and amounts of coverage you select. However, practically every state has enacted insurance laws that require drivers to carry at least some auto insurance. Many states even require that you present proof of insurance before you register a car. So the short answer to the question is that you will probably need to insure your car, regardless of its value.Almost every state requires that drivers carry liability insurance or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. The liability coverage section of an auto insurance policy provides financial protection from liability claims against you when you (or certain other people) cause an accident that results in bodily injuries to other people and/or damage to their property. Every state has mandatory minimum levels of coverage in this area. The rationale behind such laws is that at-fault drivers should be able to compensate victims who suffer accident-related losses. But the required minimums in most states don't even come close to covering the costs of a serious accident. Consequently, if you wish to be adequately protected from liability claims, your liability coverage should probably exceed your state's requirements.Other coverages are required in some states and optional in others. Medical payments coverage and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage are two such coverages. Medical payments coverage covers medical expenses incurred by you, your family members, and your non-family passengers. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage covers losses you and others suffer as a result of an accident caused by a driver who either has no insurance or insufficient insurance. If buying these coverages is optional in your state, base your decision on your needs, circumstances, and other factors. Consult your insurance agent for more information.Collision and comprehensive insurance is optional in virtually every state. The collision and comprehensive section of your policy covers physical damage to your own vehicle resulting from collisions and a variety of other causes (e.g., fire, falling objects). It may also cover losses associated with theft. However, your car's value plays a big part in assessing your need for this type of coverage. It may not be cost-effective if your vehicle is worth less than $1,000 because you'll have to satisfy a deductible, and the most you'll receive (even if your car is totaled) will be its actual value (i.e., after depreciation). That's not much, especially taking into account the premiums you would have been paying for coverage.

An SR-22 filing is a car insurance form, required by many state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in certain situations, that provides proof of state-mandated liability insurance.Often, a DMV will require an SR-22 form to be filed when a driver is caught without insurance after an accident, or for a serious traffic offense such as a DUI. The driver usually must have an insurance company licensed in their state file an SR-22 on their behalf before they can reinstate their license or register their car. The insurance company must notify the DMV if the policy lapses or is terminated for any reason. If it is, the license of a driver will usually be suspended until they can provide proof of insurance that complies with the SR-22 requirements. In most states, the driver must maintain an SR-22 for a certain period (usually three years) from the end of license suspension or revocation.In addition, many states require you to fulfill the requirements of the SR-22 even if you move to a different state. The minimum liability limits of the state requiring the SR-22 may also be kept in force for your new insurance in this situation.Not all insurance companies offer to file SR-22 forms, although many do.

There is a big difference between when an insurance company cancels a policy and when it chooses not to renew it. Insurance companies cannot cancel a policy that has been in force for more than 60 days except:

• If you fail to pay the premium.
• You have committed fraud or made serious misrepresentations on your application.
• § Your driver's license has been revoked or suspended.

Non-renewal is a different matter. Either you or your insurance company can decide not to renew the policy when it expires. Depending on the state you live in, your insurance company must give you a certain number of days notice and explain the reason for non-renewal before it drops your policy. If you think the reason is unfair or want a further explanation, call the insurance company's consumer affairs division. If you don't get an explanation, call your state insurance department.