How much coverage is enough?

While you can be confident that any coverage/limit combination you choose from our online quoting and purchase facility will satisfy your state's minimum insurance requirements, simply choosing the minimum limits of coverage is not necessarily the wisest way to purchase auto insurance.

Liability Coverages - Bodily Injury & Property Damage

Liability Coverages (Bodily Injury and Property Damage) are required auto coverages and they protect you against the claims of others should you injure another party with your vehicle and/or damage their vehicle or other property.

Each state sets their own mandatory coverage limits. However, these minimum limits are not sufficient for most people. If you have a major asset to protect, such as a house or business, you probably ought to purchase higher coverage limits to help make certain that insurance will cover the entire amount of damage you might cause in an accident.

Bodily Injury - Should you injure one or more people in an accident, the high costs of medical services can add up quickly, particularly when a hospital stay and long-term rehabilitation are necessary. Adequate Bodily Injury insurance can help prevent your family's assets from being depleted when you are liable for another's injuries. Insurance experts generally recommend you purchase at least $100,000/$300,000 limits of Bodily Injury liability insurance because that will protect you from the majority of accidents.

Property Damage - While the minimum required Property Damage limits are $5,000 in many states, be aware that many cars on the road today are valued at $25,000 or even higher. If you are deemed at-fault for an accident and the other driver's vehicle is totaled, your insurance will only cover you up to the Property Damage limit you have chosen. If there are multiple vehicles involved in the accident, your out-of-pocket costs may be significant.

Be sure to check the rate level for different limits. The extra cost of higher coverage tends to be relatively low.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Coverage

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Coverage (UM) provides coverage for bodily injury to you and your passengers if you are involved in an accident caused by a driver who is uninsured or underinsured. Some states also offer Uninsured Motorists Property Damage Coverage (UMPD), which pays for damage to your vehicle should you be involved in an accident caused by an uninsured driver.

This coverage basically takes the place of insurance that the other driver should have purchased, but didn't. In choosing UM coverage limits, take into consideration medical coverage that you may already possess (via other health and disability insurance) and how much exposure you want to have to out-of-pocket costs should you be hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver. In choosing UMPD limits (if applicable in your state), consider the market value of the car to which you are applying this coverage.

Medical Payments and Personal Injury Protection

These coverages pay the medical costs resulting from an accident for you, your family, and others in your car (up to the specified limit you choose) no matter who was at fault. This coverage may be unnecessary if you have other health/medical insurance.

Comprehensive and Collision Coverage

Comprehensive & Collision - With these two coverages, the higher the deductible the less expensive the premiums. With older cars with a low value, it can make more sense to forgo purchasing Collision coverage. You will want to weigh the cost of the coverage against any settlement you would receive if the car needed to be repaired or replaced. Many people drop Collision coverage when the value of their vehicle drops below $2000 since they are likely to pay more in premiums and deductibles than they would receive via a claim settlement.

If your vehicle is financed or leased, the lien holder, bank or financing company may require that you carry these coverages until any debt owed on the car is paid off.

By requesting a higher deductible on your Collision and Comprehensive coverages, you can lower your costs for these coverages. However, you will also incur greater out-of-pocket expenses should you need to have a claim settled.

Towing and Rental Reimbursement Coverage

Towing and Rental Reimbursement are inexpensive coverages which can come in handy should your car become disabled. This coverage is not required by your state and can be waived if you currently have towing coverage via a separate auto servicing plan.

Summary

While our Web site is designed to help you explore your insurance options and buy insurance with ease and confidence, we recognize that not all customers will feel comfortable making insurance decisions on their own. Safeco strongly encourages you to contact an insurance professional should you have any questions about your coverage needs. Simply click the "Contact Us" button at the bottom of the screen to correspond with a representative who can answer your questions and help you buy with peace of mind.