Auto Policy

Hey there! It's your friendly, neighborhood insurance agent again. This month's blog is on the auto policy. Tell me if this sounds familiar:



You come home from a busy day at work and open your mail. You open an envelope and see the Declarations Page from your insurance company for your auto policy. Seeing that it isn't a bill, you either file it away or throw it in the trash.



Sound familiar? Hopefully this doesn't happen in your household. However, you'd be surprised how often this does happen. Since we're required by law to carry auto insurance, some of us just pay our premiums without ever knowing what we're paying for and carry on with our lives. But have you ever stopped to think for what you're paying?



Like most states, Indiana has a financially responsibility law that requires us all to carry at least the state minimum liability limits on bodily injury, property damage,medical payments to others, and uninsured/underinsured bodily injury limits. The more inclusive policies also include physical damage coverage for damage to your auto and uninsured motorist property damage. So what do all of these coverage limits mean? Each blog for August will include at least one coverage from the auto policy. We'll start today with Bodily Injury Liability.



Bodily Injury Liability

This coverage (usually) comes in two parts: per person and per occurrence/per accident. There are also combined single limits (CSL) available. More on that later on...keep reading. This coverage takes care of any bodily injury you may cause to another person for which you are deemed liable. Indiana State minimum limits are $25,000 per person/$50,000 per occurrence. This means that if you have a policy with these limits, the maximum amount the policy pays is $25,000 per any one person, and $50,000 maximum per occurrence or per accident. Does this seem like enough coverage? In most cases, it isn't. If you haven't been to the hospital recently, trust me when I say that it doesn't take much to rack up the medical bills quickly. Personally, I won't write any policy with these limits. When choosing the limits for your policy, the best 'rule of thumb' is to get what you need to cover your assets. Most insurance companies offer limits of $100K/$300K or $250K/$500K, which are the two most common limits chosen. As mentioned earlier, there is also the option of a combined single limit, which pays out a maximum amount without regards to per person or per occurrence. Normally CSL's start out higher, normally around $500K or higher.



Any licensed agent can write a policy with whatever limits you ask him to quote for you. A good agent will find out what limits are necessary to protect your assets and make his or her recommendations accordingly. Make sure you know with which agent you're doing business.



Stay tuned for the next August Auto blog: Property Damage Liability!