Your auto policy can include the following coverages:

Required Coverages

Bodily Injury Liability. This coverage pays for the cost you are legally required to pay for injuries to someone else resulting from an accident you cause, up to the policy limits. The costs for which you are responsible may include the person’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Property Damage Liability. This coverage pays for damage you cause to someone else’s car or property in an accident, up to the policy limits.

New York State has a minimum liability insurance requirement for drivers. With both types of liability insurance coverage, you want enough insurance to cover a lawsuit or judgment without jeopardizing your personal assets.

No Fault or Personal Injury Protection. This coverage pays medical bills for injuries to you or your passengers in your car that are sustained in an accident, along with lost wages, funeral expenses and other expenses, regardless of who is at fault in an accident. This coverage also applies a to pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcyclist involved in an accident with your car.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist. This coverage pays for damages as a result of injuries sustained by you and your passengers if a driver without insurance or without enough insurance injures you in an accident, up to the policy limits. You can generally purchase Uninsured and Underinsured limits equal to your liability limits, but not greater.

Optional Coverages

Collision. This coverage pays for repairs to your car after an accident, regardless of whether you are at fault. This coverage is typically required if your vehicle is financed or leased. A deductible applies to this coverage and you can select from different deductible options. There will be premium savings for higher deductible selections. You should ultimately choose a deductible with an out-of-pocket cost you’re comfortable with.

Other-Than-Collision (Comprehensive). This coverage pays for repairs to your car for damage from something other than a collision, such as loss caused by fire, theft, vandalism, collision with an animal, storm, flood, etc. The coverage also pays for the replacement or repair of your damaged windshield (and other glass), no matter the cause. There is a deductible that applies to the Other-Than-Collision coverage.

Additional Terms You Should Understand

  • Actual Cash Value: The amount equal to the replacement value of damaged property
  • Deductible: The portion of a claim paid by the insured prior to payment by an insurance company. The deductible is set forth and agreed upon in the policy.
  • Endorsement: A form attached to an insurance policy that changes the policy’s coverage, terms or conditions. An endorsement could expand or reduce the amount of coverage you have.
  • Fraud: A deliberate act committed by or against insurance companies for financial gain. Examples of fraud include intentional actions to create an accident, injury or incident that would be covered under an insurance policy or when a policyholder exaggerates a claim or provides false, incomplete or missing information to the insurance company.
  • Indemnity: A device by which a company assumes the risk of potential loss in exchange for a premium paid by an individual or entity.
  • Limit of Liability: The maximum amount of damages that the insurer is responsible for as specified in your policy.
  • Premium: The price paid by an insured for insurance coverage for a set period of time.