We all think we will never suffer an accident, but sometimes someone hits out car and then abandon the area without letting us any information to find them. This is what is called a hit-and-run accident, and I know, you want to kick that person in that area of hir/her body where never it reaches the sunlight. The worse part of all of this, you end up not knowing that can you do next. In this article we will explain all you need to know wheter or not you need compreehsnive coverage to protect your car if that happens.
What is a Hit-and-Run Accident?
If you have been living in a cave for the last 50 years and you don’t know what is hit-and-run, it happens when someone hits your car, a cyclist, a property or even a person and then flee to the accident area without stopping to wait for the police to come, changing insurance information or checking if you need help or not. That sort of accidents may end up damaging your car or your property, but also, it may cause you injuries or even fatalities. The sad part of this definition is that may happen to anyone at any time.
Why Do Hit-and-Run Accidents Happen?
Many reasons can be applied to explain why drivers prefer to flee the scene of an accident. Some common reasons include:
Fear of getting caught
Lack of insurance
Intoxication or drug use
Prior criminal record
Panic or confusion
Acording to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the amount of fatalities by hit-and-run has been increasing exponentially increasing since 2019, in the past 2020 over 2,500 people were dead by hit-and-run. If you get caught hitting and not stopping you can be criminally charged and face car accident lawsuit in a civil court.
What is Comprehensive Coverage?
Comprehensive coverage is a coverage option that will protect your vehicle against non-collision dangers like theft, vandalism, natural disasters -fires, floods- falling objects -trees, rocks, hails-, animal related damages -hitting a deer, rodent damage-, among others. The average cost of comprehensive coverage in the country depends on many factors, I will plain further more below, continue reading.
What Does Comprehensive Coverage Cover?
Comprehensive coverage covers non-collision damage to your car, including:
Theft or vandalism
Fire or explosions
Hail, windstorms, or floods
Falling objects, like a tree branch or rock
Collision with an animal
Damage caused by riots or civil disturbances
You must read the delcaration page of your insurance policy carefully. For example, some comprehensive coverage policies only cover water damage from floods, but they wouldn’t cover water damage from a broken pipe.
Does Comprehensive coverage covers Hit-and-Run accidents?
No, comprehensive coverage won’t coer hit-and-run. But if you have collision coverage will cover the damages to your car minus deductibles.
Will at least cover hit-and-run when parked my car?
Some car insurers will cover it, some others won’t
How to Save Money on Comprehensive Coverage
As you read above, comprehensive coverage won’t cover hit-and-run, This coverage option is quite exensive due it covers non-collision damages caused on your car, most of them are acts of God, vandalism, or theft. Depending on where you live, you will need to add comprehensive coverage in your policy. Here are some ways to save money in your comprehensive coverage:
Shop around. I know, everyone told you that, go shop around. But it’s a fact. If you request 5 or 6 quotes to different car insurers, you will find if you’re paying too much or too few for your comprehensive coverage. It won’t cost you nothing but a couple of minutes to compare all of them. So if you find another car insurer which has the same amount of coverage than your current one, but cheaper, then you can just switch car insurer. This way you will save money.
Deductibles. The amount of deductibles you set when buying your policy will tell to your car insurer how good will you be with them when filing a claim. That means if you set $250 deductibles, you will look like able to file a claim more lightly compared to someone who set $500 deductibles. The reason why is your car insurer will have to pay less when you file a claim.
Bundling insurance policies: Bundling insurance policies is one of the best ways to save money, if you have 2 or more cars you can always add multi-car insurance, this way you will have discounts for your policy.
Be a seafe driver. good drivers will get special beneifts such as good driver discounts, but also, they will obtain accident forgiveness from their car insurers.
Alternatives to Comprehensive Coverage for Hit-and-Run Accidents
Uninsured motorist coverage. In a nutshell, this coverage option will pay the medical expenses, lost wages for you and your passengers if the other driver doesn’t have insurance.
Collision coverage. Collision coverage will cover the damages of your vehicle regardless who is at fault, as hit-and-run is considered a collision, this coverage option will pay your repair bills from your car.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP). Personal injury protection, or PIP, is a coverage option that can help you cover medical expenses and lost wages in case you suffer an accident. It can also cover some of your passengers' medical expenses, regardless of who was at fault for the accident.
Conclusion:
Hit-and-run accidents is a real problem nowadays, and it’s really hard to fight against. Many people die because of hit-and-run. Answering the question related to comprehensive coveage, no, comprehensive coverage won’t cover hit-and-run. You must add collision coverage and/or PIP insurance to be covered.
Other readers were also interested in the following posts:
10 benefits of comprehensive coverage you must know
Top 5 Comprehensive Coverage Myths Debunked: Get the Facts Straight!
Comprehensive Insurance vs Collision: Which One is Right for You?
No comments:
Post a Comment