Pennsylvania Comprehensive Insurance
Pennsylvania is a no fault state but that does not protect your vehicle in an accident.
Insurance can be confusing and may seem very expensive to the average person, especially for something that you hope you will never need or use. For every year that you go without an accident, you grumble and growl thinking that you have yet again wasted a whole year’s worth of premiums and for what? For a service that did nothing for you, for twelve months! But, the minute you have an accident and the bills start rolling in, you quickly understand that not only are you going to be glad that you have the minimum insurance, you are going to be glad that you were smart and got additional coverage as well.
The Threat of Driving in Pennsylvania without Insurance 
If you are caught without insurance in the state of Pennsylvania, you face penalties, fines and more expenses. These can include:
- Your license can be suspended for three months for a first offense and longer for a second or additional offenses
- Your registration will be subjected to the same type of suspension
- You will have a $50 restoration fee to pay once the suspension has expired
- You may have a number of fines that can range in costs depending on the situation
- Your car may be impounded
- You will be required to show proof of insurance at the time you apply to have your license and registration reinstated. You may also have to show that proof periodically as determined by the court. Your insurance may be the high risk insurance, which is far more expensive than other types of insurance coverage.
Those situations are the best/worst case scenario meaning that nothing terrible happened. But, what if something terrible does happen and you do not have auto insurance on your vehicle? The costs of even a minor accident can be devastating to your family.
Pennsylvania Drivers and the Four Legged Obstacles They Face – DEER
It sounds like the set up for a funny joke: what is cute, furry and costs more than three billion dollars a year? But, once you look at the statistics, deer quickly stop being so cute and the joke is nowhere near funny. Deer cause more than a million and a half vehicular accidents every year and cause costs that total nearly four billion dollars. Two hundred people die every year after an accident with a deer.
Even in an accident where there is not a fatality, there can be serious injuries and serious damage to the vehicle. In most accidents where a deer has been hit, the deer will die and the car will be totaled. Collision insurance will not cover the cost of this damage because it did not involve another car.
Determining the Best Deductible
In Pennsylvania, like other states, comprehensive insurance requires a deductible. The deductible is an amount that you pay before the insurance kicks in. You have the ability to change that amount when you start your insurance policy, adjusting it up or down to suit your needs. The higher the amount of your deductible, the lower your up front, premium will be. However, keep in mind that while you are saving money right now, if something happens that would require insurance coverage, you will have to face a potentially large bill before the insurance company will pay. That high deductible can be hard to pay all at once if something has happened to your car.
If you are buying insurance from an insurance agent, they will probably suggest that you go with a mid way point- a slightly higher deductible but not one that is so high that it would be hard to pay out in the event of a covered incident.
Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
In addition to protection for damages caused by deer or other animals in Pennsylvania, comprehensive insurance also covers:
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Objects falling from vehicles, bridges or trees
- Glass breakage
- Natural disasters such as hail, snow, floods and more
During the winter months, ice and snow can be a major concern in Pennsylvania. Another problem that drivers in the Keystone State may have to deal with is called black ice. Black ice forms on the roadways and is particularly dangerous because it is not immediately seen. Usually you don’t know it is there until you are slipping and sliding toward a ditch, a tree or string of mailboxes. It is only one of the major hazards that can be seen in the winter months here.
Car Theft in Pennsylvania
In 2009, nearly 18,000 vehicles were stolen in the state of Pennsylvania. Not only do you lose a vehicle, there might be additional problems, financially and legally, when this happens. If you do not have insurance on the vehicle, you are not going to be financially protected, no matter what happens. You may be able to legally protect yourself from any obligations once the car was reported stolen, but you will still have to pay for it. You will still have to pay for a replacement. (Now you are paying for two cars!)
If you don’t report it stolen and the thief commits another crime using your car, you may face a number of criminal charges.
By having comprehensive auto insurance, you protect yourself legally and financially. Report your stolen vehicle as soon as you discover it missing and then file your insurance claim. Once the car is listed as stolen, it is unlikely that you would be charged for those additional crimes if there are any committed.
Many cars are never seen again. Those that are found are usually damaged beyond usability. Liability insurance or collision insurance will not cover those damages at all. You need comprehensive insurance for that.
Comprehensive vs. Collision – Do You Understand Your Coverage?
If you were asked about whether your auto insurance policy includes comprehensive insurance coverage, would you even know the answer?
In fact, it is quite important that you make sure you understand what exactly comprehensive car insurance is. It may come as a bit of a shock, but many drivers are under the false assumption that their policy already includes coverage for any and all of the issues comprehensive auto insurance takes care of.
To find out, all you have to do is contact your current insurance provider and ask these types of questions about your policy as it stands at present: 
- “If my car is stolen will it be replaced?”
- “Is damage to my car that results from flooding or other storm related incidents covered?”
- “Who pays for repairs to my car if the damage is caused by an animal?”
- “If my car is damaged as the result of vandalism, will the repairs be taken care of by my insurance policy?
- “I’ve heard that many types of insurance policies do not cover ‘acts of God.’ Does my car insurance policy currently cover damage from something considered an ‘act of God’?”
All of these are factors that are covered by comprehensive car insurance. If it isn’t already part of the policy you currently have, you could be taking a huge gamble with your coverage. Having gaps in your policy or lacking the coverage you need could result in paying expensive repair costs from your own pocket. Still you may not truly grasp the severity of what this entails.
“Paying Out of Pocket Can’t Be That Bad”
Unfortunately, many drivers are under the false impression that if they were forced to pay some of their car repair expenses out of their own pocket it would be manageable. Unless you have a considerable amount of savings put aside for expenses like this you are most likely fooling yourself into believing something that is not true. Consider some of these scenarios:
- If you do not have comprehensive insurance coverage and your brand new car suffers vandalism you may be paying for all of the repair from your own pocket. If you have priced just the cost of an entire body repaint recently you should already be aware that this is probably not an expense that would be easy to manage unexpectedly.
- You could be leasing a car because you like to be able to change vehicles every few years without the commitment of being tied down to one vehicle. However if you do not have comprehensive car insurance and the car you are leasing gets totaled in a natural disaster, you will probably be stuck buying that car. Not only will you be forced to buy a car when you only wanted to lease it, but that totaled car won’t even be drivable so you will be left paying for a car you can’t do anything with.
- You get a brand new car of your dreams and drive it off the lot feeling certain you have all the insurance required in place for it. The very first night you drive it home your car becomes the innocent victim that gets burned as the result of a nearby house fire. The next day you contact your insurance company to find out about a replacement vehicle only to find out there won’t be one. Without comprehensive insurance coverage you could be left with no new car at all before even having made the very first loan payment on it.
Hopefully, this puts things in a better perspective for you. This should give you a more realistic look at the importance of having comprehensive insurance coverage for your automobile, especially if you are still making payments on it. It is extremely important that you do not assume that you have any coverage for your car other than collision. If you have any doubt in your mind, it is time to work with your insurance provider to review and understand what your policy covers.
“But I Opted Out of Comprehensive to Save on My Premiums”
If you thought you would be a thrifty driver and save money by leaving out the comprehensive car insurance so you would have lower premiums, keep in mind you are getting what you pay for. Cutting coverage means cutting corners on your policy not just your finances. In other words, it is more like taking a gamble with your money and your insurance.
Unless you have a good deal of money set aside in savings for the possibility of needing major car repairs, then saving money on your monthly premiums is not worth the risk. The thing to understand about collision insurance is that it usually covers just what the name implies, collision only. The problem is there are plenty of factors that can cause damage other that a collision that you may not even be considering.
Aside from collision, what happens if:
- The body and/or windshield of your car are damaged or destroyed by hail.
- While you are camping, a bear tears into your soft-top convertible for that bag of chips you forgot about in the back seat.
- A potted plant falls from the balcony of an apartment terrace and destroys your windshield.
- Lightning takes down a tree while you are parked at the local park causing severe damage and possibly even complete destruction.
The bottom line is that life can throw expected obstacles in your path literally, and accidents are not the only expensive car related issue you may have to contend with. If you have been assuming your collision insurance is enough to make the needed repairs or replace your car, you may be completely misinformed.
The good news is you do not have to take the risk another day longer. By offering up just your zip code you could be getting the comprehensive car insurance quotes you need right away.
Put an end to the gamble today and get your comprehensive auto insurance quotes.
Getting the Most Coverage with Comprehensive Car Insurance
So you got that new car or finally signed up to lease the car of your dreams, which also meant getting comprehensive car insurance, or did it? While you may think your “full coverage” policy has you fully covered, you may be surprised to learn this is not necessarily true. Most drivers, in fact, have little coverage above and beyond what the basic collision and liability policy includes.
If you are not sure about the insurance policy you have in place, be sure to take the time to find out if you actually have comprehensive insurance coverage for your vehicle. The worst part is if you do not have coverage for the types of incidents that comprehensive auto insurance covers, you will be held responsible for paying for these repairs on your own. It also means if the car is totaled out you will have to pay for the entire vehicle.
What It All Means
If the new car you are making payments on or leasing suffers damage, your insurance is intended to step in to cover the repair costs. In some cases a car may even be totaled out, which means the damage is so severe that it would be less expensive to replace the car than to repair it. If your insurance has gaps in it or does not include things that are generally covered by comprehensive car insurance, then your insurance company will not be paying.
The bottom line is that the insurance policy you have been paying for won’t help. The new car you financed will still have to be paid on even if the car is totaled out and you may not even have a car to drive. For these reasons, you should make sure you actually have the comprehensive auto insurance you truly need. If not, you may find yourself with more expenses than you can actually manage.
What Exactly Is Covered
You need more than collision when it comes to your automobile insurance policy. There are so many more things that can happen to a car other than a simple collision when it comes to owning and operating a vehicle. The problem is most drivers assume their insurance will handle things aside from accidents.
Here is a list of the top five things that can happen to cause damage to a car that doesn’t even involve a standard collision:
- Fire
- Theft
- Storm or other natural disaster
- Vandalism
- “Act of God”
Don’t take chances when it comes to your coverage unless you are prepared to pay for the full price of that new car out of your own pocket, even once the car is totaled out and you are left with nothing to drive. To get the ultimate protection you need, get your free quotes today. By providing us with your zip code you can be on your way to the most affordable rates in comprehensive car insurance on the market today.
The Importance of Comprehensive Auto Insurance
If you have not added comprehensive insurance coverage to your standard policy you may not have all the coverage you need. The worst part is you may think you actually are fully covered until something happens.
Finding out the hard way that your current insurance coverage does not include things such as theft or natural disasters is not something you want to experience. A lot of drivers who suffer vehicular problems such as vandalism find out when they try to get their insurance to cover the cost that they are not even covered for a problem like that.
Understanding what comprehensive auto insurance can do for you is an important first step. Comprehensive car insurance is the type of coverage drivers get to take care of incidents standard collision insurance does not include. The scary part is that the typical driver may not even know his or her insurance lacks this type of coverage. So, to get an idea of what may be missing in your policy, it is a good idea to know what comprehensive auto insurance does include.
The Comprehensive Insurance Coverage Package
Collision coverage is great for just that, collisions. When it comes to filling in the gaps in your insurance plan comprehensive has got you covered. You will take care of incidents including:
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Fire
- Storms
- Natural Disasters
- Acts of God
- Animal damage
- Windshield damage
- Falling objects
In many cases, there are other incidents that comprehensive car insurance covers, but this is a good idea of the basics. More than likely while reading the list, you noticed that there are a few items listed that you were sure your own insurance covered but may not.
Stop assuming and become an informed consumer today by gaining insight to what your current policy includes and whether it is time to get those comprehensive insurance coverage quotes for your policy.
Mistakes Drivers Make
Assuming that your automobile insurance currently includes these types of comprehensive damage issues is the first mistake drivers make. Another one is to assume cutting this type of coverage out to save money is a wise idea. The problem is the few dollars a month you may save from not including comprehensive coverage in your insurance policy won’t help if you have a problem such as fire damage that you could be paying for out of pocket.
In the long run, this ends up being a much more expensive and costly mistake. Being forced to come up with expensive car repairs or even worse replacing your car from your own savings is not worth saving a few dollars on the monthly insurance bill. You may even find after comparing different insurance rates that you can get comprehensive insurance coverage included and actually still be paying less than you are with your present policy.
The only way to find out is to obtain free rates from carriers looking to compete for your business. Take a moment to supply your zip code and find out now how you can see savings with your comprehensive auto insurance.
