Car insurance equals protection. It is an agreement between you and an insurance company that if you experience vehicle damage, your insurer will help you pay for the costs of your recovery.

Following an unexpected or unavoidable driving hazard, you can file a claim on your insurance policy and your insurer will determine if the terms of the policy will allow them to pay for the claim. They will then provide you with a settlement to help ease your financial burden resulting from the accident.

Most people have to buy auto insurance as soon as they become a registered driver. Driving without auto insurance is a traffic offense in most states. As a result, if you ever drive a car that does not have coverage attached, then you break the law. Any lapses in coverage will leave you exposed to these charges, and you should never cancel your policy unless you simultaneously implement other coverage.

Car insurance can offer various benefits, such as:

• Liability Insurance: Also called at-fault coverage, liability insurance pays when you are the party responsible for an accident. This coverage compensates third parties who were not riding in the vehicle with you for the injuries or property damage you cause them.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Also called no-fault coverage, PIP benefits pay for your wreck injuries and related costs, such as lost income, regardless of who was at fault for a wreck.
• Collision Insurance: If you hit another object, this coverage can pay for your vehicle repairs.
• Comprehensive Damage Insurance: When your vehicle sustains damage from a hazard that is not a collision (I.e. fires, theft, vandalism or severe weather), this coverage pays for the repairs.
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage: If you are the victim of a hit-and-run or if an at-fault driver does not have liability insurance, then this coverage can pay for your losses instead.

Other perks, such as rental car reimbursement, roadside assistance and towing coverage, can also come to your aid.

Each policy will include deductibles, coverage limits and other terms that will influence how much assistance you will receive for a given claim. Our agents will work with you to build the policy that is in your best interest.

Please note, specialty vehicles, recreational vehicles and motorcycles will require different coverage that is not provided by standard auto insurance.

Like most states, Florida requires drivers to purchase certain amounts of auto insurance. Because Florida is a no-fault insurance state, the requirements are as follows:

• $10,000 Personal Injury Protection
• $10,000 Property Damage Liability Insurance

Under the state’s no-fault laws, drivers must first file against their PIP coverage when they get hurt in an accident, regardless of who was at fault for the wreck. Only after reaching a certain threshold can they file against an at-fault party’s bodily injury liability coverage.

Drivers can, and should, choose to increase their policy beyond this required coverage. You can both increase your PIP coverage and PDL limits and add other coverage (collision, comprehensive, uninsured motorist, etc.) into your policy to make it more comprehensive.