7 Key Tips to Buying Car Insurance for Beginners

You’ve saved up your money and worked on your credit.

Now, you’re all ready to buy your first car on your own. What an exciting time! Once you choose a car and sign the paperwork, you’ll also have to buy insurance for that car, and that’s where it often gets tricky.

Buying car insurance is confusing to people who’ve never bought it before. Do you feel confused and uncertain about what to say when you call? Are you wondering what types of coverage you really need?

If so, let us share 7 key tips with you that are ideal for beginners who are buying their first policy.

1. Buying Car Insurance Is a Necessity If You Drive

New Jersey is a state, like many others, that requires that drivers have auto insurance. If you drive without it, you’re breaking the law.

To ensure that you’re not breaking the law, you must purchase enough coverage as there are basic minimum requirements in this state.

2. You May Need More Insurance If You Have An Auto Loan

If you’ve never owned a car before or purchased your own auto insurance, you might not realize that your auto lender will require that you purchase auto insurance. This isn’t optional if you have a loan.

The types you generally need are collision and comprehensive but there may be others too. The important thing to know is that you must purchase the right coverage if you have a loan on the car to meet the lender’s requirements.

If you paid cash for the car, you won’t have a lender dictating what types of coverage you need so you can choose on your own.

3. Understand the Key Differences Between Basic Types Of Coverage

One of the most confusing parts of auto insurance is understanding the differences with all the types available to choose from. Here are five of the main types of auto insurance to understand:

Collision

Causing an accident can leave you without a car and with piles of bills but if you have collision coverage, your accident is covered. This coverage is for the times you cause car accidents.

Collision covers you, your car, and other types of damages after an at-fault accident. If you have a loan on the car you bought, you’ll need collision coverage.

Comprehensive

Accidents can also occur that do not involve collisions with other cars, and this is basically what comprehensive insurance is for. It covers damages to your own car from hail, vandalism, animal collisions, and more.

Having comprehensive is also a requirement with most auto lenders.

Liability

Liability coverage is necessary to protect other drivers on the roads. While liability coverage would not offer any compensation to you if you caused an accident, it would pay for the damages that other drivers experienced from the collision.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

PIP coverage provides payments to you for medical bills and lost wages when you cause an accident.

In 2013, the average claim for body damages (medical bills) was $15,443. This could be a lot of money for you to pay for your medical bills if you had no insurance coverage. That’s why having PIP is so important.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured and underinsured are coverage types designed to compensate you for damages you experience if a person causes an accident with you and does not have any or enough car insurance.

A full-coverage auto insurance policy will include all these coverage types. If you do not feel that you need full-coverage, then you can choose whichever types of coverage you would like.

4. Your Deductible Is The Amount You Pay After An Accident

It’s also important for you to understand what a deductible is with your policy because you will have one. You will also need to choose the amount you want it to be.

The deductible is the amount of cash you’d be required to pay if you wrecked your car and filed a claim for compensation from your insurance company.

You can choose an amount that is very low, such as $250 or $500, or you can choose a higher amount. You should base this decision on how much you could afford to come up with if you ever needed to.

5. You May Want Add-Ons With Your Policy

In addition to the basic coverage types listed here, there are always add-ons you can buy. An add-on is extra coverage that has a specific purpose. Here are some examples of add-ons:

• Roadside assistance – This helps you if you ever get stranded.
• Glass protection – This protects you if you end up with a cracked or broken window.
• Rental car – This provides you with compensation for a rental car if your car is in the shop after a collision takes place.

Adding on extra types of protection will increase the costs of your policy but will offer more protection to you.

6. There Are All Kinds Of Discounts Available

It’s always a good idea to know about discounts when calling for an auto insurance quote. Discounts can help decrease your premiums, and there are many different types.

For example, there are discounts for good grades for students. There are discounts for military or government workers. There are also discounts for driving very few miles a year.

7. You’re Free To Shop Around

The last tip we’d like to share is that you are not obligated to buy your insurance from a specific company or keep a policy that you are not happy with.

You have the right to shop around, and you should so you can find the best policy and coverage for your budget and needs.

Ready To Request A Quote?

Buying car insurance can be confusing, especially for beginners. If you have questions, we have answers.

Call us today or visit our website to learn more about purchasing the right auto insurance coverage. We’d love to hear from you!