Having auto insurance is required by law. Having good auto insurance is simply common sense. However, all too often young people don’t realize they can’t cheap out on their auto insurance. It doesn’t matter if you’re just driving to and from class or planning a cross-country road trip. You need quality insurance to make sure you’re protected every time you step on the gas.

Accidents Can Happen to Anyone

It’s easy to think that because you’re a good driver that you won’t get into an accident. But the truth is that an accident can happen to anyone. What’s more, you don’t just have to worry about yourself when you’re on the road. No matter how safely you’re driving, an accident could occur at any time due to someone else’s negligence.

The other guy is supposed to have insurance – but that doesn’t mean he does. In fact, about one in eight of all cars on the road is uninsured, which constitutes 12.6 percent of all drivers. No one is going to pick up the bill for your car’s damage in the event that you get hit by one of them – up to and including total loss.

To be fully covered, you need six kinds of insurance.

Liability Insurance

Liability is what is usually required by state law. This is what covers damage to another person’s car or body in the unfortunate event that you get into an accident.

The minimum amount is what is required by law, but having more can be a prudent move in the event that you get into a major accident or an accident with a car that’s much more expensive than your coverage can afford. In the event that you cause an accident more than your insurance can cover, you’re going to be out of pocket for the excess expenses.

Uninsured Motorist Insurance

Remember all those uninsured drivers we talked about earlier? Well, if one of them hits you, you’re going to be stuck covering the cost. But it’s not just uninsured drivers you have to worry about. You also have to worry about underinsured motorists.

If you don’t have enough insurance to cover a collision, you’re going to have to cover the excess costs – and that works both ways. If a motorist doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the damage to your car, you can easily be left holding the bag for all the damage.

Comprehensive Insurance

Cars don’t just get damaged on the road. For example, what if a tree fell on your car? You might think that your collision insurance is going to cover that for you, but it won’t – because “collision” is just what it sounds like. It only covers damage done to a vehicle in an accident.

You never know what’s going to happen, so comprehensive insurance covers you for damage that doesn’t happen when you’re behind the wheel of a car. You don’t want to get left holding the bag thanks to an act of Mother Nature.

Collision Insurance

Collision doesn’t just cover you when you get into an accident with another vehicle. It also covers you in the event that you make some kind of silly mistake like run into a fence or a lamp post. Most of the basic insurance plans aren’t going to cover that. That little mistake can be a huge expense if you don’t have the right insurance.

Medical Insurance

If you’re in a major collision, the costs aren’t going to be confined to the vehicle itself. You’re also looking at medical coverage for injuries you caused. Whatever health insurance plan you have, it’s not going to cover someone else’s medical costs thanks to your negligence in an auto accident.

Medical auto insurance helps you to cover the costs of any injuries you might cause, as well as medical tests such as X-rays.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection, or “PIP,” helps you to cover your own medical expenses. These expenses might be well in excess of what your health insurance plan is going to cover. So it’s important to have some other kind of coverage in place to help you cover the expenses of any injuries you might incur during a major accident.

If you need insurance in the Sioux Falls, SD area, contact McKinney Olson today. We will help match you with the right coverage to keep you fully protected!