Car Insurance

Car Insurance helps protect you, your vehicle and other drivers from a variety of potential safety risks, including a car accident, theft and weather incidents. These types of accidents can significantly impact your daily life, cause injury, and disrupt your ability to commute to school or work.

Most states require drivers to carry some type of minimal coverage to even license a car. While you can get that minimum required coverage, it is also important to think about what your policy actually covers. Having the right plan can minimize interruptions, defend you in the unfortunate event of a lawsuit, and recover damages from an accident with an uninsured or under-covered driver. At Webb Insurance, our experienced Auto Insurance agents will help you determine the right policy based on a combination of state regulations, personal factors, vehicle type and budget.

Types of Auto Insurance

There are several different components to an Automobile Insurance policy that can be combined to set up the protection that best suits your needs, including:

• Liability coverage
  Critically important, and required by most states. Will pay for covered damages if you cause an accident, hurt someone or damage someone else’s property, including legal defense if a lawsuit results.

• Collision coverage
  Generally required for leased or financed vehicles. Helps pay for damage to your vehicle if your car hits another car or object, is hit by another car, or rolls over.

• Comprehensive coverage
  Helps pay for damage to your vehicle that is not caused by a collision, such as damage caused by theft, vandalism or natural disaster.

• Medical payments coverage
  Helps pay for covered medical expenses for anyone injured while in your vehicle, regardless of who is at fault.

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
  Helps pay for damages and medical costs resulting from an accident caused by someone who has no insurance or inadequate insurance coverage.

Car Insurance Key Terms

With Webb Insurance, you don’t need to be an expert at Car Insurance – we’ll handle that for you! When you meet with an insurance broker, we will walk you through some of the important concepts of Auto Insurance and policy language, including:

• Deductible
  Amount of loss that the insured pays before the insurance kicks in.

• Premium
  The price of insurance protection against specified risks for a specified period of time. For Auto Insurance, this is usually on a bi-annual basis.

• Out-of-Pocket Maximum
  A predetermined amount of money that an individual must pay before insurance will pay for an individual’s health care expenses.

Relationship between deductible and premium – In general, a policy with a higher deductible will have a lower premium, and a policy with a lower deductible will have a higher premium. If you are carrying a less expensive policy with a higher deductible, it is important to have sufficient cash reserves to pay the full deductible in the event of an accident.

LEARN MORE: Access our complete Glossary of Insurance Terms.

Auto Insurance FAQs

There are several frequently-asked questions about Auto Insurance, which include:

• Do I need Vehicle Liability Insurance?
  Most states require a minimum level of liability insurance to license a car, and require showing “Proof of Insurance” for transactions such as renewing a state-issued Driver’s License. Aside from the legal requirement to carry minimal liability insurance, you need to be covered so that you do not face significant or catastrophic personal losses if you hurt someone else or damage their property while you are driving. Even the most careful drivers can have an accident at any time.

• What is Collision Insurance, and do I need It?
  Liability insurance covers the damage that you do to other cars, but collision insurance covers the damage to your If you were involved in an accident that damaged your vehicle and someone else’s, you would certainly want protection to pay for repairs to your vehicle, regardless of whether they were cosmetic or more serious repairs. This type of insurance is generally required for vehicles that are leased or financed. Collision insurance is subject to a deductible, which would be paid out of pocket to cover any repairs before the insurance kicks in. While Auto Insurance is generally less expensive with higher deductibles, it is important to ensure that your cash flow could support paying a higher deductible in the event of an accident.

• What if I have an accident while I am driving someone else’s car?
  The insurance typically goes with the vehicle, regardless of who is driving – so expenses related to the accident would be paid for by the owner’s insurance policy, or by the responsible driver’s policy, if the accident was deemed to be someone else’s fault. However, you may be liable for the damages you have caused to the owner of the car you were driving. It is important to work with an insurance broker to identify any of these types of risks you may not have considered.

• What type of auto insurance discounts do I qualify for?
  Carriers offer a number of discounts to help you save money on your Auto Insurance. Examples include:
  • Obtaining homeowners, condominium or renters’ insurance with the same carrier
  • Completing an approved defensive driving course
  • Reaching certain age milestones
  • Achieving good grades in school
  • Qualifying for any paid-in-full discounts and/or mature discounts
  • Demonstrating a history of accident-free driving

Getting Started with Car Insurance in St. Charles

At Webb Insurance, we can help make sure you have the type of automobile coverage that specifically fits your needs and your budget. Because we are an independent insurance broker, we can choose from a wide selection of top-rated companies and provide a range of coverage and deductible options.

While you keep your eyes on the road, we will keep an eye on your protection.