The Car Insurance Coverage Guide for Young Owners

Each year there are 6,000,000 car accidents on American roads. Even though you might drive extremely carefully, it is impossible to predict everything that could happen on the road. You could get distracted by a text message, get hit by a drunk driver, or bad weather conditions could make it impossible for you to react in a timely manner. It doesn’t take much for the accident to happen. That’s why it is crucial to learn more about the types of car coverage - it can help you save a lot of money.

The Costs for Young Owners

Unfortunately, if you are a young driver, you should be prepared to pay more for high insurance than older drivers. If you are 22 years old, and you know all about cars, including where lane splitting is legal, or what are the best oil filters, it might not matter much to insurance companies. Why is that? There are several reasons:

The studies claim that drivers in their 20s are more likely to have an accident.

According to insurance companies, car owners without extensive credit records file more claims.

If you are in your early 20s, some of the popular discounts, like the ones for homeowners or college graduates still don’t apply to you.

On the other hand, there are ways to decrease the costs of insurance for young drivers:

If you have started driving early, it is possible that you have already spent several years on the roads, which could make you eligible for discounts.

If you have been extra careful and somewhat lucky, and during the last several years (usually at least 3), you didn’t have any accidents, the insurance company could offer you a discount.

Before you choose the services of a particular car insurance company, you should also know what are the most popular types of coverage:

Liability - this type of car insurance coverage will pay for the injuries of the other person if you are the one who caused the accident. On top of that, it will also cover the costs if you have damaged the property of another person.

Comprehensive - if your car gets damaged due to the weather conditions, gets stolen, or becomes a target of vandals, you’ll be protected by this type of coverage. While the previous type of coverage is usually obligatory, comprehensive coverage is optional.

Collision - If you have an accident, involving either another car, or some object, collision coverage will cover the costs of repairs. If your car is beyond repair, you might get a replacement car, though it cannot be more costly than your old one.

Uninsured motorist coverage is helpful if you are hit by another car, but the other driver either does not have insurance at all, or their insurance is not enough to cover your medical expenses. Depending on the region, uninsured motorist coverage could also cover the costs of the repair of your vehicle.

Medical coverage - if you or any person that’s in your car gets injured, this type of coverage will cover the medical expenses.

On top of that, you should also know what the terms deductible and premium mean:

A deductible is the amount of money that you’ll have to pay out of pocket for the car repairs before the rest is covered by your insurance. That’s the same situation as when you go to the hospital - you have to cover some of the expenses and the rest of the sum gets covered by your health insurance. It is possible to change the amount that you’ll be required to pay, though it will result in the higher premiums

The premium is how much money you pay for your car insurance each month. Those costs depend on the type of coverage that you choose. You can decrease this amount by choosing only obligatory types of coverage (which vary depending on the state), though in the case of an accident, you might face financial problems.