Auto insurance is a bit complicated. It offers many types of coverages for different kinds of needs. Understanding these different types of auto insurance coverages is important to get the best deal and right protection for your car.

Below are types of auto insurance coverages, their nature and definition, to help you understand them better, and hopefully guide you in deciding what type of auto insurance coverage you will avail for your car:

Liability Coverage
This is a type of auto insurance coverage that helps you protect yourself and your assets if you cause an injury to others or damage the property of others with your vehicle.

Liability coverage comes in other different types. One is bodily injury, a type of liability coverage that protects you if you are determined to be responsible for an accident in which someone is injured or killed. Property Damage Liability, however, covers the damage your vehicle causes to someone else’s property, such as their car or mailbox.

Liability coverage helps you cover expenses like property damage, hospital and medical payments, rehabilitative care, lost income and even the pain and suffering of the injured person(s). However, if the cost of this loss exceeds the amount of your liability insurance coverage, you have to cover the rest of the expense. It is then important to have a sufficient liability coverage to protect not only your assets, but yourself and you future as well.

Collision and Comprehensive Coverage
This type of auto insurance coverage pays for the damage to your vehicle due to collision with other vehicles. Comprehensive coverage pays for the damage of your car which has been caused by other factors other than collision with another vehicle. Generally, some of the factors included in this type of coverage are contact with a bird or animal, falling or flying objects, theft or larceny, fire, windstorm, hail, water or flood, malicious mischief or vandalism, riot or civil commotion, breakage of glass, explosion or earthquake.

Medical Payments Coverage and Personal Injury Protection
This type of auto insurance covers medical expenses, protects you if you are injured as a pedestrian, offers no-fault coverage, and more.

Medical Payments insurance covers the cost of doctors, hospitals and funeral expenses of you and/or your passengers, which result from an accident. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is however a type of coverage that is a broader form of medical payments insurance. It pays for medical care, lost wages and replacement services for the injured party. This coverage pays also regardless of who is at fault in the accident.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Protection
This type of auto insurance coverage pays the costs from being hit by an uninsured motorist, a hit-and-run driver, or someone who has insufficient insurance to cover the damages. This gives you protection from uninsured drivers who will not be able to cover you for the damages they may have caused.

Now that you have a general view on the different types of auto insurance coverages, deciding on what type of insurance to get your car will then be an easy task. Just be sure to pick the one that you think you need the most, and of course the one that will not cause a big dent on your wallet.