Every person who drives a car needs the protection that auto insurance can give. If you are involved in an accident in a way that make you responsible for any damage of another person or vehicle the insurance will protect you from financial ruin. All states in America require drivers to maintain liability insurance for their auto. However, this coverage does not provide much protection outside of making sure that if you should be at-fault with another driver that your insurer will step up to bat and pay the bill.

But what if you and your vehicle is damaged, will the insurance cover the expenses? There are a wide very of other coverages available, some that benefit you and some that are rarely used and probably covered by other services you already subscribe to.

If you have a newer car, or one that has a lien against it by a bank or other financial company, you are required to also maintain collision insurance. This type of coverage ensures that your vehicle will be fixed or paid off in the event that you are in an accident that damages your own vehicle and it is your fault. Another widely held coverage is called uninsured insurance. This protects you in case you are hit by a driver who does not have insurance and they are at-fault. Without this coverage it is up to you to try and collect damages from the person at-fault through the legal process which may often take years and never materialize at all.

Other coverages such as ERS (Emergency Roadside Service), rental reimbursement and accident death and dismemberment are purely optional and may hold some value if you are not already protected under another program such as AAA.

When shopping around for insurance coverage be sure to compare apples to apples for rates. It is best to compare just liability, collision and uninsured coverage and then if needed add other coverages on for peace of mind protection.