Car insurance questions people actually ask

Nothing legally — it is not a product or a defined term. People generally use it to mean liability plus collision plus comprehensive. Because different sellers mean different things by it, ignore the phrase and check the individual coverages and their limits on the declarations page.

More than your state's minimum in almost every case. Liability pays for the injuries and damage you cause to other people, and anything above your limit is your personal responsibility. Minimums in many states are far below the cost of a serious multi-vehicle accident, and raising the limit is usually one of the cheapest changes on the policy.

Only if you could pay it tomorrow without borrowing. Raising it lowers the premium and raises what a claim costs you. Work out the annual premium saving, compare it against the extra risk per claim, and use the deductible calculator on this site to see the point where one option overtakes the other.

Get a repair estimate first. If the damage is close to your deductible you may recover very little while putting a claim on your record, and claim frequency affects future pricing more than claim size does. That is a general pattern, not advice about your specific policy.

Usually one of four things: something new on your record, a change to the car or garaging address, a general rate revision in your area, or an introductory discount quietly expiring. Your insurer will tell you which if you ask directly — and it is worth checking the policy details are still correct while you are on the call.

In many US states insurers use a credit-based insurance score as a rating factor. It is not your credit score, and several states restrict or prohibit its use. Your state insurance department publishes what is permitted where you live, and that is the source to trust over any article.

Both pay out only up to the car's actual cash value, so as the car depreciates the maximum payout shrinks while the premium does not fall as fast. Ask your insurer to price the policy with and without them, compare that against the car's value minus the deductible, and decide the two coverages separately.

It covers you when the driver who hit you has no insurance or not enough of it — which, given how many people carry only minimum limits, is the more common situation. It is usually inexpensive relative to what it covers and fills the exact gap other drivers' minimum limits leave behind.

Not in itself. What does hurt is a gap in cover between policies, which can raise your price with the next insurer and is generally not legal while the car is on the road. Shop before your renewal date so the new policy starts the day the old one ends.

In many states yes, though your insurer will usually offer a network shop that is faster and often carries a workmanship guarantee. Two questions are worth asking before work starts: whether parts will be original manufacturer or aftermarket, and who guarantees the repair.

The insurer pays the actual cash value — the depreciated market value at the time of the loss, not what you paid and not what a replacement costs today. If you owe more on a loan than that figure, the shortfall is yours unless you hold gap coverage.

No. Everything here describes the US system — coverages, terminology, regulators and the way claims work. Despite the .id domain, none of this describes Indonesian insurance, and rules differ in every other country too.