Car Insurance Company
Are you looking about car insurance company ? Everyone agrees, the car is an essential item in the United States … and consequently car insurance is a must! But for most of us car insurance is also a real headache because the field is complex, different rules depending on the state and the quality of coverage varies from one insurer to another. But how exactly do car insurance work in the United States?
Before talking specifically about insurance and its characteristics , it is worth mentioning two or three key points in the automotive field in the United States …
Chose car insurance company in United States
You must know that you can not drive with your French or international license for more than a few months (the time varies from one state to another).
And You must return your license in the state in which you reside or, if there is an equivalence with your license, as in Florida, then you must pass an “administrative visit” (which goes very fast) in an organization Specialist (DMV), under pain of being in violation and even considered by the American police as “without license”!
Or You should also know that a car dealership in the US will never let you leave with your newly purchased car if you do not prove that you are licensed and that you are well insured . And, insurer side precisely, if you present a foreign license to a company, it refuses you any contract.
Moreover, as an expatriate and an individual recently landed on American soil, you are considered by insurers as a young driver ! Even if you have 10 or 15 years of driving behind you, with thousands of kilometers on the clock and no accident in your home country, the US state that you have no history and therefore you are a beginner . And unfortunately the status of young driver does not facilitate the obtaining of good insurance at an attractive price …
Auto Car insurance Company in the United States, how does it work?
Unlike other insurance (eg housing), car insurance is mandatory in most US states. However, laws and requirements differ from state to state.
In other words, the minimum coverage required for auto insurance is not necessarily the same in California, Nebraska or Florida.
It is therefore important to find out from an insurer who knows the specification of the state in which you reside.
It must give you the minimum insurance you need for your car, which can serve as a basis for you to choose the guarantee best suited to your needs and your budget.
There are several types of auto insurance with different levels of guarantees. However, for minimum coverage, US insurers generally offer four types of insurance.
Bodily injury liability (BIL):
Car insurance company Works: This insurance covers damage to persons other than the insured driver or his passengers and compensates them for serious injuries or permanent injuries. an accident for which the insured is responsible.
It also bears the costs if the accident was caused by another driver than the insured, but covered by the policy of the latter. It can also pay legal fees in the event of legal proceedings.
Liability for property damage caused to third parties ( Property damage liability – PDL):
the insurance covers damage caused by the insured in the course of a car accident on the property of another person, such as a house, a fence, a garage door or a bicycle, in the event that the insured is declared responsible.
Personal injury protection (PIP):
this insurance reimburses the insured, the members of his family or the occupants of the damaged vehicle the medical expenses (ambulance, doctors, hospitalization, radios, drugs, rehabilitation, prosthesis , psychiatry, etc.), funeral expenses, lost wages or childcare expenses.
All of these costs are covered regardless of who is responsible for the accident. It also covers the insured if he is injured as a passenger in someone else’s car. Attention, for this guarantee to work, it is necessary to go to the doctor within 14 days following the accident, in the contrary case the guarantees are reduced. This is the coverage most often required in states whose insurance system is based on “no-fault liability”.
– Liability for damage caused by uninsured driver ( Uninsured / Under insured motorist – UM)
But there are other optional guarantees, including “Collision” and “Comprehensive” insurance, which are often imposed on the beneficiaries of a car loan.
Bodily injury caused to the driver or his passengers (Medical payments or MedPay – MP) :
the insured is covered for bodily injury caused to himself or his passengers, whatever the person responsible for the accident. Med Pay covers medical expenses “deemed necessary and reasonable” and funeral expenses.
The insured is also covered if he is injured as a passenger of another car, on public transport, by another driver as a pedestrian or while riding a bicycle. Attention, “Med Pay” is not a substitute for health insurance because it only covers in case of accident.
Note: the “Personal injury protection” and “Medical payments” insurance covers both the injuries suffered by policyholders and their passengers in the event of an accident. But PIP covers a wider range of costs. MedPay is typically used to supplement standard liability coverage.
There are lots of Car Insurance Companies in America For More Details Bookmark this article.
Car insurance: special case of Miami and Florida
Florida is a very special state in automobile insurance because it is one of the few with a system based on ” no-fault liability “.
This system allows the compensation of the victims regardless of the fault of the driver, and in theory, to obtain more easily the repair of the damages which were caused during the accident.
If you have a car accident, it’s your own insurance that covers your medical expenses or lost wages, even if someone else is responsible for it.
In Miami and Florida only two assurances are really required:
The ” Personal Injury Protection – PIP”
insurance of a minimum of $ 10,000 which covers the medical expenses of the driver and his passengers, as well as the possible loss of income without any fault condition.
This means that this insurance comes first, even if the accident is caused by a third party
The “Liability coverage” insurance (or liability insurance) of $ 10,000 which covers material or bodily injury caused to a third party.
Considering the costs of medical expenses in the United States, the coverage of compulsory insurance is more than limited.
But this amount can be increased according to the history of the driver, for example, if he has already had an accident the minimum passes to $ 30,000.
And regardless of the legal minimums, the insured can increase the ceilings up to $ 100,000 or $ 300,000 for example.
Note: If your car is registered in Florida, you must take Florida state insurance. If you live more than 90 days (not necessarily consecutive) in the year in Florida, you must take insurance that respects the laws of Florida.
How much does car insurance cost?
As in France, automobile insurance rates vary from one insurer to another and from one driver to another, because the company makes an inquiry to analyze the risk that you represent for it. It is therefore impossible to give a precise price.
A multitude of factors influence the price of insurance. Among those who have the greatest impact:
- The type and age of the vehicle
- The driver’s profile : age, sex, marital status (married or not), experience, type of driving license, insurance history (“Credit Score”), occupation, place and type of dwelling (owner or not)
- History of accidents or traffic violations of the driver’s code
- Level of coverage : amount of insurance (limits) and deductible (deductible)
- The type of compensation : replacement cost or actual cash value, The risks covered by
- the contract (collision, other than collision etc, …)
- The use of the car : leisure, work and number of kilometers traveled per year.
