Car insurance is one of the most dreaded chunks in your budget. And depending on which state you live in, it could be a smaller or larger chunk of your budget than your neighbors across state lines.

How much insurance should you buy? Any insurance agent worthy of their salt will tell you that you should buy as much as you can afford. While this is a good rule of thumb, it’s about as useful as a stock broker’s tip to buy low and sell high. It might be sound logic but it doesn’t get you any closer to an educated decision. There are a few filters that need consideration in order to make that educated decision. First, what is the state required minimum coverage where you live? Second, what does the minimum cover? Third, what other coverage is available and can you afford it? And fourthly, what are you protecting?

What do the minimums cover?

Now that you know what your state requires, what are you actually covered for once you purchase the minimum? Using the coverage definitions that follow, find the types of coverage required and see what your state says is the accepted minimum.

Coverage Definitions

Bodily Injury Liability
Covers other people’s bodily injuries or death for which you are responsible. It also provides for a legal defense if another party in the accident files a lawsuit against you. Claims for bodily injury may be for such things as medical bills, loss of income or pain and suffering. In the event of a serious accident, you want enough insurance to cover a judgment against you in a lawsuit, without jeopardizing your personal assets. Bodily injury liability covers injury to people, not your vehicle. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have the same level of coverage for all of your cars. Bodily Injury Liability does NOT cover you or other people on your policy. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy.

Comprehensive Physical Damage Coverage
Covers your vehicle, and sometimes other vehicles you may be driving for losses resulting from incidents other than collision. For example, comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car if it is stolen; or damaged by flood, fire, or animals. Pays to fix your vehicle less the deductible you choose. To keep your premiums low, select as high a deductible as you feel comfortable paying out of pocket. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy.

Collision Coverage
Covers damage to your car when your car hits, or is hit by, another vehicle, or other object. Pays to fix your vehicle less the deductible you choose. To keep your premiums low, select as large a deductible as you feel comfortable paying out of pocket. For older cars, consider dropping this coverage, since coverage is normally limited to the cash value of your car. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy.

Medical Payments
Covers medical expenses to you and your passengers injured in an accident. There may also be coverage if as a pedestrian a vehicle injures you. Does NOT matter who is at fault. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Covers bodily injuries to you and your passengers when the other person has no insurance or not enough insurance in a crash that is not your fault. In some states, there is also uninsured motorist coverage for damage to your vehicle. Given the large number of uninsured motorists, this is very important coverage to have, even in states with no-fault insurance. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy

Personal Injury Protection Coverage
Covers within the specified limits, the medical, hospital and funeral expenses of the insured, others in his vehicles and pedestrians struck by him. The basic coverage for the insured’s own injuries on a first-party basis, without regard to fault. It is only available in certain states.

Property Damage Liability
Covers you if your car damages someone else’s property. Usually it is their car, but it could be a fence, a house or any other property damaged in an accident. It also provides you with legal defense if another party files a lawsuit against you. It is a good idea to purchase enough of this insurance to cover the amount of damage your car might do to another vehicle or object. Coverage is limited to the terms and conditions contained in the policy.

Rental Car Reimbursement
Covers renting a car if your car isn’t drivable or while your car is being repaired because of a covered accident.

What else is available and can you afford it?

Did you come across a coverage and think, “I need that but it isn’t required by state law” when you were reviewing the coverage definitions? Chances are you did. Can your budget afford the additional expense of these protections? Or maybe more to the point; can you afford NOT to have these additional protections? At CarInsurance.com it’s easy to get multiple quotes all with a click of your mouse. And during the quoting process, it’s simple to add or remove coverage to see how additional coverage will affect your budget.

What are you protecting?

What assets need to be protected from being plucked away if you cause injury or damage?
A) Your car itself. If this is a significant asset, or at least the bank you owe money to thinks so, then you will need comprehensive and collision.
B) Your net worth. Do you have an enormous net worth to protect. If so, either get it out of your name and into a trust or buy all the insurance you can. If you have little or nothing to protect, then you can get by with less and still be financially responsible.

However, after you determine how much protection to get, always ask how much more it is for the next level higher. Very often, you can get significantly more coverage for very little cost.

Car insurance isn’t flashy. There is no “wow” factor and the opposite gender isn’t going to be impressed by the size of your policy. But not having enough can be the difference between financial stability and financial ruin. For what its worth, CarInsurance.com finds financial stability incredibly appealing.

Visit http://www.carinsurance.com for your free car insurance quotes online

About the Author

Erick Pace is a representative of CarInsurance.com. You can visit CarInsurance.com at http://www.carinsurance.com or contact them at 1-877-327-8728.

CarInsurance.com offers the ability to shop for car insurance online. Consumers can receive quotes from many insurance companies, in some states you are able to purchase your insurance instantly, online. You don’t have to drive your car to buy car insurance. Buy online…anytime!

Technorati Tags: automotive, autocare, auto care, car care, auto repair

Drive by any car lot in the United States and ask to see the latest hybrid car models. Don t be stupefied if eight out of ten tell you that they can t seem to keep them on the lot that they re just selling too fast! There is reasoning behind the hype: consumers believe in one (or all) of three things, that they re going to be getting a better deal once gas prices hit $2.50 a gallon, that they re not sacrificing performance and that they re helping the environment.

Let s first take a look at how these cars are put together. First, we have to understand the concept of hybrid . A hybrid car might be defined as any vehicle that uses two or more sources of energy to propel itself. Seems simple enough. Hybrid machinery is all around us in the form of diesel-electric, such as city buses, and nuclear-electric, such as those used on many US submarines. So, the idea and the technology have been around awhile it s just now that another energy scare like that of the 1970s, that we start becoming resourceful and a little ingenious. Hybrid power is on the up-rise (and in-demand) only because the two different types of propulsion possibilities (gasoline/diesel and electric) standing alone have proven an ineffective means to get both power and efficiency in one package. But, working together, there is promise.

A hybrid car, in modern terminology, is usually referring to any car that has a combination of an electric and a gasoline (or diesel) motors. These cars use kinetic energy (referred to as regenerative breaking), absorbed by your breaks when you slow down to a stop, to recharge batteries that in turn push the electric motor. All of this is combined into one finely tuned schematic the result being power to the transmission and propulsion power (i.e. wheel movement).

All hybrids contain a gasoline engine, an electric engine, a generator (mostly on series hybrids), fuel storage container, batteries and a transmission.

There are basically two different types of hybrid engines. The first is a parallel hybrid. This sort of hybrid actually contains both a gasoline and electric motor that both operate independently to propel the car forward. It s designed to have two power sources working with one goal in mind. In many ways, they are still connected .

The second hybrid is often referred to as a series hybrid. In a series hybrid, the gas or diesel powered engine doesn t connect to the transmission directly, meaning that it doesn t actually propel the car by itself. It actually works indirectly, powering a generator, which in turn (controlled by computer monitoring systems) either feeds power to the batteries or directly feeds power to an electric motor that connects to the transmission.

As stated above, hybrid buyers are looking for the combination (and compromise) of power and energy that these cars seem to provide. Many gas-powered cars have a lot of horsepower. This is useful for modern driving experiences. No one wants to be doing the minimum 45 mph on the interstate and stopping to refuel, as with purely electric motors. Plus, there s no need to feel like you should have placed your slow-moving reflective magnet on the trunk. However, many gas-powered cars are truly wasteful resources because out of those 175 horses, you ll only have to use less than half that power for everyday driving. We don t even have to get into the harmful environmental factors of pure gasoline engines. We are just now starting to see the results of our apathetic attitudes on this subject.

The engines in hybrid automobiles are usually much smaller (except in some brand new V-6 models). While this reduces fuel consumption, it means that for the extra power that drivers are looking for has to come from somewhere else. That s where the electric motor and batteries come into play. In some models, sensors detect that the car is in need of extra energy for going up hill, for example. That s when the hybrid half of the engine kicks in. It will do a dandy job of giving the engine that extra oomph or boost that it needs, without using any more gasoline.

Newer hybrid models do a lot of extra tricks so that your car gets as many miles to the gallon as possible. For example, when you re stopped at a traffic light, another sensor will trigger the gasoline engine to idle down to a complete stop, while the car stays running solely on its electric power. Did I mention ingenious?

Since the idea behind the hybrid powered car is reduced fuel consumption without the loss of speed or power, many cars are being designed to move through the streets with the utmost in aerodynamic form; meaning that a hybrid will create less drag, simply due to its body structure. Many also use much lighter building materials, reducing weight and pull. Some models even have wheel covers and no mirrors (replaced with cameras and navigation equipment), which saves an enormous amount of energy.

Hybrids don t seem to be a fad or some social experiment. Consumers and car enthusiasts alike are enjoying what they re seeing in the market. Everyday it seems a better designed, lighter; more fuel-efficient and powerful hybrid enters. Recently released models are even beating their gas-powered counterparts. One boasts a 255 hp engine with other capabilities such as being able to shut down half the cylinders (without notice) while in motion to conserve fuel and energy.

Hybrid-engineered cars cost a bit more too. Usually the price difference is around 3,000 bucks. And, it may take a few years (depending on gas prices) for you to actually make the savings in fuel worthwhile. However, it s still better for the environment, and that lingers (and makes it worthwhile) in some consumers minds.

And, if you are still one to wholeheartedly grip the stick of your V-8 without budging, you might take into mind that newer hybrid models are gaining on those petal-to-the-metal peelers of yesteryear. Hybrid models are inching nearer to (and even beating!) gas powered cars in 0 to 60 mph road tests.

So, when you decide that a new car might be a viable option in the near future, don t expect to see too many hybrids in dealers lots. You may have to do some across-the-state driving to find a choice. Do some preliminary searching on the Internet and find out what model may benefit you and your lifestyle the most. Keep in mind all that we ve mentioned and perhaps in the future you ll have no other choice than a hybrid, which at this time seems to be by far the best choice around.

About the Author

Michael Walker is a freelance author providing tips and hints on engine related topics such as engines from the JDM, used car motors and swapping engines. His articles are a valuable source of information for the auto enthusiast.

Technorati Tags: automotive, autocare, auto care, car care, auto repair

Hurricane Katrina brings new hazards to the used car market, not only in the Gulf States region affected by floodwater, but across the nation as well.

The risk of buying a vehicle with flood damage goes up significantly and along with high demand and low volume, it is likely the price will also increase for used cars in the affected market area.

While a vast majority of the vehicles will be considered a “Total Loss” by insurance companies and scrapped, there are still hundreds if not thousands that will be back in the market place for resale purposes.

Wholesalers may purchase moderately damaged flood vehicles and sell at auctions across the country, leaving unsuspecting buyers at risk of purchasing a vehicle that has been damaged by Katrina.

Water damaged vehicles can be one of the most serious and costly types of damage. The long-term effects of corroded electronic parts and wiring can be devastating and almost impossible to correct and repair.

Here are few tell tale signs and basic tips consumers can take to minimize the risk of purchasing a vehicle with flood damage.

Unless cleaned up properly, flood damage will leave grass and debris around the radiator, underneath around the frame, front and rear suspension components, etc.
Waterlines may be visible in the engine comprtment, rear firewall area, and even inside door pockets of the door panels and interior trim areas.
Mildew smell inside due to wet carpeting and padding underneath the carpet.
Inspect connectors and wiring for signs of corrossion
Rusted bolts and metal components, particularly underneath where water has been standing.
Inspect for windows fogging up on the inside after the vehicle has sat overnight, this is an indication that there may be water underneath the carpet and or carpet padding.
Inspect trunk area for waterlines, corroded connectors and wiring.

With a keen eye and a little knowledge you can minimize the risk of spending thousands of dollars on a vehicle that has potential long term effects by water damage.

Usedcarwise.com offers a comprehensive “how to” course designed to educate the average consumer on protecting themselves when used car shopping.
For more information visit the web site at www.usedcarwise.com or call toll free 1 866 374 WISE (9473).

About the Author

CEO and president of www.usedcarwise.com

Technorati Tags: automotive, autocare, auto care, car care, auto repair