Question #1: Who is covered by my car insurance policy?
Answer #1: Anyone who has permission to use the vehicle is covered by your insurance. Even someone who can prove that they reasonably believe that you, as the policy holder, would allow them to use the vehicle, is covered. Be sure to check with your individual car insurance policy for exclusions. It is very important that everyone living in your household who could possibly drive your vehicle should be listed on the policy, or they might not be covered. This could include a girlfriend or wife, a boyfriend or husband, kids, aunts, uncles, nephews, grandparents, roommates, etc... whoever lives with you should be included on your car insurance policy. Strangely enough, if those people live seperately from you but drive your vehicle with you permission, even if they are not on the policy, they will be covered.
Question #2: What is the difference between collision coverage and comprehensive coverage?
Answer #2: When your vehicle ends up in an accident with another vehicle, this is a collision and is covered by collision coverage. Anything other than a collision, for example a flood, earthquake, fire, tornado, or vandalism, would be covered by comprehensive coverage. People typically have both types of coverage on their car insurance policy. Some people who keep their vehicle in storage or drive it very infrequently only select comprehensive insurance, because a collision would be much less likely to occur.
Question #3: What are my minimum car insurance policy requirements?
Answer #3: Every state in the US requires liability insurance coverage unless you can somehow prove that the financial responsibility of the vehicle lie with another person or company. Your individual state's insurance commissioner would be able to tell you the minimum liability and financial responsibility requirements. The minimum limits for each state differ, but when you drive to different state, if you carry the minimum limits for your home state, you are automatically covered by the minimum liability requirements for that state.
Question #4: How is my car insurance premium affected by my driving record?
Answer #4: Your driving record for the most recent 3 to 5 year period directly influences the cost of your vehicle insurance premium. The time period sometimes varies depending on the insurance company, but 3 to 5 years in the norm. Each insurance company will order your driving records from the DMV in your home state, as well as additional states where you have been a licensed driver in the past. Essentially, you can't escape a recent bad driving record, so you better behave on the road. Based on years of research, studies show the drives are most likely to have accidents if they have been found to be at fault in previous accidents, or if they have driving-related traffic tickets.
