There are dozens of insurance companies that offer auto insurance in New Hampshire. While each carrier puts their own spin on their car insurance product and uses slightly different language in their policy contracts, the following six coverages are available on all standard auto insurance policies.
Bodily Injury
Bodily injury coverage provides payment for medical expenses and in some cases lost income and emotional distress incurred by another party resulting from an accident where the insured is deemed to be at-fault. Bodily injury limits can be as low as $25,000 each person and $50,000 total each accident in New Hampshire, to as high as $1,000,000 each person and $1,000,000 each accident with certain carriers. Bodily injury limits may be reinforced by the addition of a personal umbrella policy. For more information about what level of bodily injury protection would be right for your personal situation, please refer to this article or discuss with your insurance advisor. Bodily injury coverage is applied on a policy level basis, meaning every vehicle on the policy will have the same bodily injury limit if bodily injury coverage is not excluded for that vehicle.
Property Damage
Property Damage coverage provides payment for physical damage resulting from an accident where the insured is deemed to be at-fault. This coverage not only pays to repair or replace another party’s damaged vehicle, but also other property that can be damaged by an insured vehicle such as a building, utility pole, guard rail, signage, etc. Property damage limits start as low as $25,000 and can go as high as $100,000 or even higher with some carriers. Property damage coverage is applied on a policy level basis, meaning every vehicle on the policy will have the same property damage limit if property damage coverage is not excluded for that vehicle.
Uninsured Motorist
Uninsured motorist coverage provides payment for medical expenses and in some cases lost income and emotional distress incurred by the insured resulting from an accident where an uninsured or under-insured party is deemed to be at-fault. Uninsured motorist limits typically match the bodily injury limits on the policy and can be as low as $25,000 each person and $50,000 total each accident to as high as $1,000,000 each person and $1,000,000 each accident with certain carriers. Uninsured motorist limits may be reinforced by the addition of a personal umbrella policy. Be sure to discuss adding a personal umbrella policy with your insurance advisor.
Medical Payments
Medical payments coverage helps pay for medical costs incurred by the insured or the insured’s passengers resulting from an auto accident. This coverage typically has a lower limit ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 each person, which can be used up quickly in an auto accident resulting in injuries. Typically, injured parties fall back on their health insurance policies when/if medical payments limits are exhausted.
Comprehensive
Comprehensive coverage pays to fix an insured’s vehicle that is damaged by some cause other than collision with another object. Also known as “other than collision” coverage, the comprehensive causes of loss include fire, theft, vandalism, striking an animal, glass damage, falling objects such as trees, branches, hail, or ice, and damage from other natural disasters such as wind, flood, earthquake, and lightning. Comprehensive coverage is applied on a vehicle-level basis, meaning not all vehicles listed on an auto policy need to have comprehensive coverage selected. Settlements for damages that can be repaired are based on the cost of parts and labor to bring the damaged vehicle back to pre-accident condition. Settlements for damages to vehicles that are deemed to be a total loss are based on the actual cash value of the vehicle prior to the accident. Both partial and total loss settlements are subject to the collision deductible listed on the policy, which typically range from $50 to $1,000 each incident.
Collision
Collision coverage pays to fix an insured’s vehicle that is damaged after coming into contact with another vehicle or a fixed object such as a building, utility pole, guard rail, signage, etc. Collision coverage is applied on a vehicle-level basis, meaning not all vehicles listed on an auto policy need to have collision coverage selected. Settlements for damages that can be repaired are based on the cost of parts and labor to bring the damaged vehicle back to pre-accident condition. Settlements for damages to vehicles that are deemed to be a total loss are based on the actual cash value of the vehicle prior to the accident. Both partial and total loss settlements are subject to the collision deductible listed on the policy, which typically range from $50 to $1,000 each incident.
The Insurance Outlet’s trusted advisors would be happy to perform a comprehensive risk analysis of your auto insurance needs and design a personalized solution for you! Please call or text us at 603-527-8050, or stop by our local office at 174 Court Street in Laconia, NH. For your convenience, we also offer online quotes 24-7 on our website.
