Anatomy of an Auto Policy

Understanding the anatomy of a policy can help you make a better decision when shopping for Illinois car insurance.

Here are the basic components of a policy and an explanation of each.

Property Damage Liability

If you damage someone else's property with your vehicle, this is the coverage that will protect you. Property damage liability is a required component of Illinois car insurance policies. This coverage will also pay for your legal defense if someone files a lawsuit against you. You want to carry enough property damage liability coverage on your Illinois car insurance policy to cover the damage your car could do to another car or object.

Bodily Injury Liability

Bodily injury liability is also a required coverage for Illinois car insurance policies. This coverage protects you if you hurt or kill another person with your car. Bodily injury liability will also provide for your legal defense if another party files a lawsuit against you. If you have a serious accident, it's important that your Illinois car insurance policy include sufficient bodily injury liability coverage to protect your assets from a lawsuit judgment against you.

Underinsured/Uninsured Driver

This coverage will pay for the injuries caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver. In some states, this coverage will also pay for any damage to your vehicle. Because of the large number of uninsured and underinsured motorists on the road nowadays, it's especially important to include this coverage in your Illinois car insurance policy.

Medical Payments

This coverage pays for your and your passengers' medical expenses in the event of a covered accident. If you have adequate health insurance, this coverage may be unnecessary.

Comprehensive

This component of Illinois car insurance policies will pay for damage to your vehicle caused by incidents other than a collision. For example, weather damage, theft, and vandalism are covered.

Collision

Collision coverage will pay to repair or replace your car when it hits or is hit by another vehicle or object. If you have an older car, you might consider dropping this coverage from your Illinois car insurance policy to minimize your premiums. Please visit our FAQ page for answer to the most common questions.