Insurance - What and Why

In most states in the United States you have to have some form of accident insurance on your car. You may call this liability insurance or coverage, but that is just part of the equation.

If you have limited insurance on your car, you may only be partially covered. Though some people do this for financial reasons, you should get full coverage for your car or truck as soon as you can. That way, you will be covered if you are in an accident regardless of who was at fault or how much damage was done.

You may not think you need full accident coverage because everyone else is supposed to have liability accident insurance. The problem is that there are too many people on the road that are not covered by insurance, even though the law says that they have to be.

In California, for example, most of the immigrant population, as well as a good chunk of the resident population, is under or non insured.

If one of those people hit you, you would not be covered by any accident coverage whatsoever. This means that you may be able to sue them for damages, but if they can’t afford to pay their insurance premiums for whatever reason, they certainly aren’t going to be able to pay any damages that are awarded to you, if they are indeed awarded.

A judgment against someone who can’t pay is just as valuable as a promise and nothing more. Lawsuits are also expensive to pursue.

In addition to auto accident insurance, You also have to think about personal accident insurance if you work at a high-risk job. If you spend all your time in front of a computer the worst thing that’s likely to happen is that you will spill a drink on your keyboard.

If you’re doing high rise contruction and you walk the girdlers 50 stories above the ground you’re looking a whole ‘nother situation.

You may be covered by your employer somewhat, but you may not have as much insurance as you think you do. You should talk to your employer about accident insurance, and see what your family may get if something were to happen to you, or what you would receive if you were to become disabled while on the job. Though they may have you covered, it may not be enough.

You might want to go out and get accident insurance on your own. There are lots of sites that will give you the complete run down on policies , costs, and exactly what’s covered. You should know that if you have a high-risk job (such as high-rise contruction) that your premiums might be somewhat higher than you expected.

It is far better to pay the high premium for accident insurance than to leave your family in the lurch should something unforeseen and tragic happen to you.

If in the end you retire and nothing has ever happened, you may have spent a lot on your accident insurance, but at least you knew it was there, and you can consider it an investment in your family’s peace of mind.