Although you are required to have bodily injury and liability coverage in Laurel, Maryland, it is usually best to obtain under insured motorist insurance to protect your own vehicle in case an accident occurs. The reason is simple: a driver may not have enough liability protection on his or her auto policy, so he or she may not be able to pay the full cost of repairs when an accident occurs.

Liability Protection

Even though every motorist in the state is required to obtain property damage liability, the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle may exceed the minimum amount that the state requires. Depending on the cost of your vehicle, you may discover that they can only pay for a portion of the repairs.

The rest of the costs may end up coming out of your pocket. By obtaining under insured motorist coverage, your auto insurance policy will pay the difference so that the funds to finish repairing or replacing your vehicle are not coming out of your pocket.

Finding a Policy

When you recognize the potential risks associated with only carrying the state minimum, it is important to find the right policy to address all of your concerns. Working with an independent agent will help you find an appropriate policy based on the value of your vehicle, your concerns and the amount of coverage that you want to carry.

It is important to protect your vehicle from a variety of situations. The state minimum insurance is not always enough when another driver hits your vehicle and does not have enough coverage to pay for the damages. To learn more about your coverage options, contact us to talk to an agent.

When you buy an auto insurance policy in Laurel Maryland, it will include personal injury protection (PIP). You are not required by Maryland law to purchase personal injury protection, and if you decide to not buy it, you will have to sign a form that says you elected to waive the coverage.

In Maryland, the standard amount of PIP is $2,500, but you can also purchase it in amounts of $5,000 or $10,000. When you have personal injury protection, you are covered for medical bills and lost wages as a result of injuries sustained in an accident. PIP pays out on all documented claims regardless of whether the accident was your fault or the fault of the other driver. Remember, for lost wages claims, you will need to have your employer verify the amount of your wages and have a doctor write a note letting your insurance company how long you can be expected to be out of work.

Even though you may have an excellent medical plan that will pay for your medical bills, it is still wise to also add personal injury protection to your auto insurance policy. In Laurel, Maryland, your PIP not only will pay for injuries you sustain in an accident, but also, for injuries sustained by any passengers in your vehicle. Pedestrians are also covered under your PIP insurance.

Your medical plan will only pay for your medical bills and not for any other people in your car or pedestrians who may also be injured. Another important reason to purchase PIP is that you can collect 85 percent of lost wages that are a direct result of your injuries. Your medical plan will not pay for lost wages.

You should also keep in mind that Maryland personal injury protection is not exactly the same as it is in Washington – the District of Columbia. Remember that PIP does not pay for pain and suffering and that you can only claim the combined loss of medical expenses and lost wages up to the total of your PIP coverage.

You may still have more questions such as whether you can still hire an attorney if the other driver was at fault or if your PIP will pay for medical bills not covered by your medical plan. For these and any other questions, please give us a call. An independent agent will be happy to answer all of your questions.

If you decide to buy a new car in Laurel, Maryland, you will also have to buy auto insurance. If you already have an existing auto insurance policy, you are usually covered under that policy for a short period of time so you can make arrangements to add the new car to your policy.

The grace period can vary from one insurer to the next, but generally, you are covered from 14 days to one month before you must have a new policy for the car you just purchased. It is always a good idea to check with your current provider to find out how such situations are handled so you do not run into any problems after you take possession of the vehicle.

If you decide to go to a dealership in Washington (District of Columbia) and trade in your old car, you will have the same coverage on the new car as you had on the old car. If you had a car that was only worth $1,000 and only had liability on that car, then you will only have liability coverage on the new car you need to insure.

If you finance your new car, the lender will almost certainly require that you carry collision and comprehensive insurance as well as the state-mandated liability coverage. It is therefore very important to contact your insurance company and add the extra coverage as soon as possible.

Although you may not legally be required to contact your auto insurance company for two weeks or 30 days, you should not wait that long. If you inform them that you just purchased a new car, they can make the necessary changes right away and you will avoid any questions about whether or not you are covered.

As your independent agent, it is our job to help you in such situations. If you are buying a new car and are concerned about making sure that there will be no lapse in your coverage, give us a call and an independent agent will take care of the paperwork.