WHAT IS FULL COVERAGE FOR CAR INSURANCE?

In Minnesota, every vehicle is required to have at least a minimum amount of insurance. This covers you in case you are a car accident. There are four parts to this required auto insurance in MN: 1. liability (which pays for injury caused to a person if you are at fault). 2. property damage (to pay for damage to another vehicle or other property you cause). 3. PIP (to pay for medical bills if you are injured – $20,000 maximum in most cases). And 4, Uninsured/Underinsured (to provide you with some compensation if the other driver is at fault and not insured or does not have enough insurance.)

These four types of insurance come with every auto insurance policy in Minnesota. Of course, the amount of coverage can vary depending on what you select. However, there will at least be a minimum about of coverage in every case.

INSURANCE TO PAY FOR DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR

When people talk about automobile ‘full coverage,’ they are generally referring to collision and comprehensive coverage. This coverage is optional in Minnesota. The purpose of collision insurance is to pay for damage to your car. It will pay even you are at fault in causing the crash. Comprehensive insurance will also pay for any non-accident damage that occurs, e.g. a tree falls on your car and damages it. Likewise, hail damage or if your car is keyed.

Full coverage can be great to have if you cause an accident or something happens to damage your car. It can also be important if you are hit by another car that is uninsured. However, since full coverage (collision/comprehensive) is not legally required in Minnesota, people decide for themselves if they want to pay for it.

Whether it makes sense to get full coverage for your car really depends on how much the insurance costs and how much your car is worth. For example, say your car is only worth $2000, and collision/comprehensive coverage costs $500 per year. In that case, you might not want it. It really depends on your particular situation.

However, even if you don’t have full coverage, i.e. you only have liability coverage for your car, you are still entitled to many rights and compensation if you are injured in a car accident. For more information, call us and speak with a lawyer for a free consultation.