car-insurance-needed

If you're like many people, your first priority is to get the bare minimum
requirements down. We'll start with that, and work from there. Most states
require that you have liability insurance. If you live in New Hampshire,
South Carolina, Tennessee or Wisconsin, you aren't required by law to
have liability coverage. For the rest of us, the mandatory coverage varies
according to state. In the chart below, minimum liability limits are read as
follows (in thousands of dollars): bodily injury liability for one person in an
accident/bodily injury liability for all people injured in an accident/property
damage liability for one accident. So, for Missouri, the minimum
requirements are $25,000 of bodily injury liability for one person, $50,000
bodily injury liability for all people and $10,000 property damage liability.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP), or Medical Payments (MedPay) in some
states, pays for your own medical expenses, any lost wages and whatever
other costs may arise when you're injured in an accident. It usually pays
about 80 percent of your losses, and it also pays a death benefit. PIP is
required in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York,
North Dakota, Oregon and Utah.

Some states also require you to purchase car insurance that will cover
your own medical expenses, pain and suffering losses and, in some
states, car damage in the event that the other motorist is at fault and is
either uninsured or underinsured. See the chart below to find out if this
applies to you.

Even though each state has minimum (or no) requirements for bodily
injury liability, it is probably in your best interest to purchase higher
limits. If someone else is injured and you're at fault, the minimum
liability coverage may not cover their medical expenses, in which case
their attorney will most likely come after your assets. It is generally
recommended that you purchase 100/300 limits of bodily injury liability.
On the other hand, if your personal assets don't amount to much, you
don't have a whole lot for them to bother about, so the minimum
requirements might actually suit you, not to mention save you some
much-needed cash.

Besides bodily injury liability, personal injury protection, property
damage liability and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you
have collision and comprehensive auto insurance coverage to
consider. Collision covers damage to the policyholder's car resulting
from running into anything, be it another car, a fire hydrant, a light
post, whatever. Comprehensive coverage takes care of your car in the
case of theft, fire, falling objects, missiles, explosion, earthquake, flood,
riot and civil commotion, among other things.

Comprehensive and collision coverage are required on most lease
contracts, and are essential if you own an expensive car. If you're
driving an older car and (the cost of the yearly car insurance premium
plus your deductible) exceed the worth of your vehicle, you might want
to consider doing without this coverage.

Before you purchase any type of auto insurance coverage, be sure to
study your other insurance policies so you don't end up paying for
something you don't need. If you have a decent health insurance plan,
you might get away with purchasing the bare minimum personal injury
protection coverage, or none at all. However, you might end up paying
a co-pay and deductible that wouldn't apply with PIP or MedPay.
Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage might also be a wise
buy, even if you have full medical coverage, because they can pay for
your pain and suffering damages. If you belong to an organization that
offers roadside assistance, you don't need to purchase that through
your insurer.

The fact is that car insurance will most likely come to your rescue at
some point, so it's imperative to purchase a worthwhile policy. Know
what you must have and know what you should have.

State	Liability limits (in thousands of dollars)	Uninsured/Underinsure d motorist coverage required?
Alabama	20/40/10	No
Alaska	50/100/25	No
Arizona	15/30/10	No
Arkansas	25/50/15	No