Car insurance may be mandatory and required for drivers across the state, but that usually just means they need a low level of liability coverage. This can help to cover damage that they may cause to someone else’s vehicle and/or injuries that they may cause in a wreck.
Notably, the lowest levels of insurance aren’t going to help you cover your own costs. It’s just for your liability. You need to carefully consider what type of coverage you actually need for your vehicle to make sure that it’s there for you if you’re ever involved in a crash. It’s important to consider things like how often you use the vehicle, what you paid for it, your budget for insurance, the type of vehicle that you own and even who is going to be driving that vehicle.
Here at Frisco Insurance, we would be happy to help you sort through all of the different options and find a plan that works perfectly for you. The only way to get the best car insurance Frisco has to offer is to carefully set up a unique plan based on your specific needs and your situation.
Common misconceptions regarding comprehensive coverage
People often make mistakes when it comes to comprehensive car insurance coverage. Both comprehensive coverage and collision coverage are a step up from traditional liability. But they are certainly not the same thing, and some studies have found that up to 68% of people are a bit confused about which type of policy they’re buying. In other words, if you’re not sure how the two differ, you are certainly not alone. But it is important to find out.
Collision insurance, as the name implies, helps if you are involved in a car accident. If you get into an accident that you caused, then your collision coverage is for your own vehicle and the damage that may have occurred. This isn’t always used if someone else was at fault, as you may be able to get compensation from that individual’s insurance company or pursue compensation directly from them. But collision coverage is what steps in if you caused the accident. If you have comprehensive coverage but not collision, you won’t be covered.
This is the part that many people miss. They believe that their comprehensive coverage is going to help them if they caused an accident, but this type of policy just covers other events. For instance, imagine that someone vandalizes your car or that it gets stolen out of a parking garage. Imagine a scenario in which severe weather leads to hail damage, falling trees or even flooding within the car. All of these things can cause severe damage and can be expensive, and that’s what comprehensive coverage is for. Think of collision coverage as the policy that protects you when you crash and comprehensive coverage as the policy that does everything else.
So why have liability insurance?
Liability insurance is the base level and it is required at the state level. So the main reason to have it is simply that when a police officer asks for your license and registration, you need to be able to provide proof of that insurance policy. It helps to cover damage that is your fault so that someone else doesn’t have to pay for the damage to their property. It can also help with injuries that the individual may have suffered during the wreck.
Those who choose to only have liability insurance often simply do it because this is the cheapest type of policy. It satisfies the basic requirement that you need to have coverage, but it doesn’t provide all the other features that were discussed above, which you can get with comprehensive insurance or collision insurance.
Do you use your vehicle for work?
When deciding what type of policy you need, you also want to consider if your vehicle counts as a work vehicle. Even if the company doesn’t own it, maybe you have some sort of gig job, such as working as a rideshare driver or a delivery driver. You may need to have an additional type of coverage or a unique policy to make sure that you’re covered when you’re on the clock. This is why it can be important to discuss with an agent the specifics of your situation, ensuring that you get a complete policy that actually covers what you need.
Car insurance stays with the vehicle
One question that people often ask is what will happen if someone borrows the car. Would they be covered by the insurance or do they need to have their own insurance policy?
Typically, it is said that car insurance stays with the vehicle. If you have coverage on that vehicle and you let someone use it, the coverage should generally still apply. Parents can let their children drive, for instance.
If someone else does have their own coverage, it is for their vehicle, but it wouldn’t transfer to yours if you loaned them your car. So you need to think about who may drive the car frequently, what members of your household may need to use it, if there are any excluded drivers or if there are other restrictions. This is often talked about as “permissive use,” and it’s a good idea to talk to your insurance agent to see how it may apply in your situation.
How does pricing work?
When you get the price of your insurance policy quoted to you, you may wonder exactly what went into that equation. At the most basic level, you start by looking at the different types of coverage. Just buying liability insurance is the cheapest, as noted above, and then you have to decide what other types of coverage you want to add to the plan.
The price can also depend on your own personal factors, such as what type of vehicle you drive. The price of the vehicle may play a role, but not always. Some expensive cars are involved in fewer accidents, perhaps because of safety features that they include that you won’t find on less expensive cars. So it is not always a given that a more expensive car is going to have more expensive insurance.
Finally, the insurance company is going to think about your driving record and your history. If you have a lot of traffic tickets or accidents on your record, that is going to make buying insurance more expensive. If you have a clean record and you have no traffic infractions or accidents that you caused, then you appear to be a low risk to the insurance company and you will typically get lower rates. They may also consider things like your age, as young drivers are often involved in more accidents.
What policy do you need?
Now that you know a few of the things you need to think of as you look for the best car insurance Frisco has to offer, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We would love to talk to you about your insurance needs and how we can help you create exactly the type of plan that works for your budget, your family and your vehicle. Call today!