Automobile Insurance
Affordable Insurance Policies to Protect Your Car
Achieve the lowest rates on a wide variety of insurance coverage categories with Universal Financial Insurance Agency LLC. Based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where we propose everything from auto insurance to homeowners to commercial general liability to our customers.
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage pays to fix or replace a car that’s been damaged in a collision with another object, or if it rolls over.
How It Works
In a covered accident, collision coverage extends beyond your own vehicle to include temporary substitute cars, newly-acquired cars, and cars you’re using, but aren’t owned by anyone in your household.
Collision coverage is limited to the actual cash value of the vehicle, and requires a deductible, which is the amount you’ll need to pay before receiving benefits. Higher deductibles lower your premium but increase the amount you must pay out of your own pocket if a loss occurs. Ask yourself how much you would be willing to pay on short notice in order to save on your premium, or talk to your agent.
What Collision Coverage Doesn’t Cover
Damage from sources like these aren’t covered by collision insurance:
• Theft
• Falling or flying objects
• Flood
• Hail
• Fire
• Hitting or being hit by an animal
• Natural disasters
• Storms
• Vandalism
Should You Have Collision Coverage?
To help you figure out if you should purchase collision coverage, you should estimate the approximate value of your vehicle. While there are a number of online resources that can help with this, including Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds, we recommend you speak with a Universal Financial and Insurance agent. In addition to helping you determine the value of your vehicle, our agents can tell you how much extra you’d pay to add collision coverage.
Once you know the approximate value of your car and the cost to carry collision coverage, then you can make an informed decision about purchasing that coverage. Many people find that it’s a good idea to cover newer cars, but as cars get older, their values decrease, and you might consider omitting or dropping this coverage to save money on your auto insurance.
Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive coverage pays to repair or replace a covered vehicle that’s stolen or damaged by something other than collision or rolling over. For example, damage caused by fire, wind, hail, flood, theft, vandalism and hitting an animal is covered.
How It Works
In a covered accident, comprehensive coverage extends beyond your own vehicle to include temporary substitute cars, newly-acquired cars, and cars you’re using but aren’t owned by anyone in your household.
Comprehensive insurance is limited to the actual cash value of the vehicle, and may or may not have a deductible, which is the amount you’ll need to pay before receiving benefits.
What Comprehensive Coverage Doesn’t Cover
• Collisions with other vehicles or objects (trees, buildings, etc.)
• Injuries or fatalities
To insure yourself against the costs of damage from these and other sources, Universal Financial and Insurance Agency offers a range of auto insurance options.
Should You Have Comprehensive Coverage?
To help you figure out if you should purchase comprehensive coverage, you should estimate the approximate value of your vehicle. While there are a number of online resources that can help with this, including Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds, we recommend you speak with a Universal Financial and Insurance agent. In addition to helping you determine the value of your vehicle, our agents can tell you how much extra you’d pay to add comprehensive coverage.
Once you know the approximate value of your car and the cost to carry comprehensive coverage, you can make an informed decision about purchasing that coverage. Many people find that it’s a good idea to cover newer cars, but as cars get older, their values decrease, and you might consider omitting or dropping this coverage to save money on your auto insurance. Consider, though, whether the savings would be enough to offset the risk of having to pay the entire cost of repairing or replacing the vehicle.
Liability Car Insurance
Liability car insurance is required by 49 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia. But like a lot of drivers, you may not know what it is, how it protects you, or how much you need. Universal Financial and Insurance is here to help.
“Liability car insurance” or “liability coverage” is insurance that pays other parties when they’re hurt or their property is damaged in an accident and the insured is considered “at-fault.”
And while drivers must have liability car insurance with minimum required limits in almost every state, it’s often a good idea for drivers to purchase more coverage than the law requires.
Liability Insurance Example
Let’s say you were distracted while backing out of a parking space and didn’t see the car behind you. You hit the other car, slightly injuring the driver and her passenger. After the impact, one of the two cars rolls into a nearby fence.
In this case, you’d be considered “at-fault,” and your auto liability insurance would pay damages for the bodily injury to others. These damages include medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages. Your liability insurance would also pay to repair the damage to the other car and for damage to the fence.
What Does Liability Insurance Cover?
There are two kinds of liability car insurance. Each covers different items:
Bodily Injury Liability pays damages due to bodily injury to others when you are responsible for the accident. Medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages are some examples of bodily injury damages. If you are sued, it also pays your defense and court costs.
Property Damage Liability pays for damage done to another party’s property and for the loss of use of that property.
What Liability Car Insurance Doesn’t Cover
If you’re responsible for an accident, your liability coverage won’t pay to repair damage done to your vehicle or for any injuries you may have received.
How Much Liability Coverage Should You Have?
The minimum amount of liability coverage you’re legally required to carry varies by state. If you choose to get additional liability coverage, your premiums will be higher, but you may be in a much better position if you have an accident.
We suggest you ask yourself, “How much can I afford to pay out of my own pocket if I’m responsible for an accident?” Minor “fender-benders” are often fully covered by the minimum insurance required by law. But bad accidents – ones involving serious injuries, major property damage and even fatalities – can be very costly, and the at-fault driver is responsible for expenses not covered by his or her liability insurance.
You should purchase the coverage amount you feel comfortable with and can afford.
Car Rental and Travel Expenses Coverage
If your car is in the repair shop because of damage that’s covered by your comprehensive or collision insurance, car rental reimbursement will help pay the cost to rent a car you can use to get to work, to school, or for other day-to-day activities. If you rent from a company in our network, we’ll pay them directly. If not, you’ll need to pay the rental fees to start with, but we’ll reimburse you.
Travel expenses coverage pays for meals, lodging and transportation if your vehicle is disabled in an incident covered by your comprehensive or collision insurance more than 50 miles from your home.
How It Works
• Car Rental Expense – pays up to the amount you specify in your policy, when you or a relative who lives with you rents a car while your car isn’t drivable because of damage that would be payable under your comprehensive or collision coverage.
• Travel Expenses – pays for meals, lodging, and transportation home or to your destination – up to $500 for all covered individuals – if your car isn’t drivable because of damage done more than 50 miles from home that’s covered by your comprehensive or collision insurance. A return trip to pick up your car is also covered.
• Rental Car – Repayment of Deductible Expense – pays up to $500 for the deductible if you have an accident in a rental car.
What Car Rental and Travel Expenses Coverage Doesn’t Cover
If your vehicle is disabled in an incident that isn’t covered by either your comprehensive or collision insurance.
Rental car and travel expenses that go above your policy’s limits.
Should you get Car Rental and Travel Expenses Coverage?
Consider how you’d get to work, school, or the store if your car were out of commission. If you depend on having a vehicle, can you afford to pay for a rental if it’s in the shop for a few days or weeks after an accident?
If you’ve got Comprehensive or Collision Coverage, then your vehicle is probably worth repairing if it’s in an accident. Adding car rental and travel expense coverage probably makes sense for you since it’ll help you stay mobile if you won’t have your own car for a few days.
Uninsured Motor Vehicle Coverage
Uninsured motor vehicle insurance, or uninsured motorist insurance, helps pay your medical expenses, lost wages and related damages if you’re in an accident caused by a driver who doesn’t have liability insurance.
How It Works
Motorists are legally required to have liability insurance in nearly every state in the U.S. But that doesn’t stop some people from driving without it. And if you’re in an accident caused by an uninsured motorist, they may not have the money to help pay your damages.
If you have uninsured motorist insurance and are in an accident with a motorist who’s at fault and has no insurance, it’s your own insurance company that’ll help pay for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
Should You Have Uninsured Motor Vehicle Coverage?
If you or someone in your family is hurt in an auto accident, can you afford to pay for medical care, or be without an income during recovery?
Uninsured motorist coverage may protect you from these potential hardships.
Under Insured Motor Vehicle Coverage
Under insured motor vehicle coverage pays for your medical expenses, lost wages, and related damages, if you’re hurt in a car accident caused by someone with liability insurance, but whose coverage limits are lower than those you choose for this coverage, and aren’t high enough to pay your damages.
How It Works
Motorists are legally required to have liability insurance in nearly every state in the U.S. But many people just carry the minimum amount that’s required by law. If you’re in an accident caused by one of these motorists, their liability coverage may not be enough to cover all of your damages.
With underinsured motorist insurance, your own insurance company helps pay for covered expenses if the at-fault driver’s liability insurance limits are lower than those you set in your policy, and aren’t sufficient to pay your damages.
Should You Have Under Insured Motor Vehicle Coverage?
If you or someone in your family is hurt in an auto accident, can you afford to pay for medical care, or be without an income during recovery?
Underinsured motor vehicle coverage may protect you from these potential hardships.
Medical Payments Coverage
Medical payments coverage helps pay medical and funeral expenses when a covered person – the policyholder, passengers, or a member of the policyholder’s family – is hurt in an auto accident, no matter who is responsible.
For example, if you’re hurt in a motor vehicle accident while riding in someone else’s vehicle, using public transportation, or even walking across the street, medical payments coverage will help pay your medical expenses.
How It Works
Here are some examples when medical payments coverage will help pay for medical or funeral expenses caused by an auto accident:
• You’re hurt when you accidentally hit another car while driving through a parking lot
• Your spouse is injured when she’s hit by a car while walking across the street
• Your child is hurt when she’s in an accident while a passenger in her friend’s car
• One of your passengers complains of neck pain after the car you’re driving is rear-ended by another vehicle
What Medical Payments Coverage Won’t Cover
• Injuries in excess of your policy’s coverage amount
• Damage done to vehicles or other property
How Much Medical Payments Coverage Should You Have?
Most states don’t require it, and if you have health insurance through your employer, you may wonder if adding medical payments coverage to your auto policy is worth the cost.
If you’re considering this coverage, keep in mind that – unlike health insurance – there are no deductibles or co-payments with medical payments coverage. It starts paying with the first dollar of incurred expenses, and pays regardless of who’s responsible for the accident.
Another excellent reason to have medical payments coverage – even if you already have health insurance – is that it’s comparatively inexpensive. We can’t tell you how much medical payments coverage will cost you until we look at your specific circumstances, but many policyholders find they can add coverage for $5 to $8 per month. The cost goes up with higher coverage limits of course.
Do You Need Rental Car Insurance?
Chances are, if you already have car insurance with collision and comprehensive coverage, it’ll carry over to your rental car. But what’s covered and how much depends on your specific policy and several other factors.
For most people traveling for personal reasons, paying extra for coverage from a car rental company is probably a waste of money. But there are a few situations when you should consider it:
• Your personal car insurance has a very high deductible, doesn’t include adequate collision or comprehensive coverage, or doesn’t cover rental cars (some don’t).
• You have no other source of coverage. For example, if you don’t own a car and therefore have no personal car insurance policy, and you’re not using a credit card that offers rental car coverage.
• When an accident might cause your insurance rates to go up or lead to cancellation.
• You’re traveling for business, and your personal insurance policy won’t cover you.
• You’re traveling in another country and the insurance agreement or local laws prevent you from leaving until you’ve fully paid for any damages that might occur.
Credit Card Coverage for Car Rentals
Many credit card companies offer rental car insurance as a perk. Contact your card issuing company to learn if they provide this car insurance coverage, how much, and what limitations there may be. There is no reason to pay extra for coverage if it is already provided.
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)
At the rental car office, you’re likely to encounter certain insurance-related terms. “LDW” stands for Loss Damage Waiver, and it limits the amount you’d be responsible for if your rental vehicle is damaged or stolen. “CDW” is similar, but it only covers losses caused by collisions.
While these options are usually referred to as “insurance,” they’re really “waivers” since the rental car company is waiving its right to hold you accountable for certain types of loss.
You may also be offered “PEC” (Personal Effects Coverage) which covers personal effects, or “PAI” (Personal Accident Insurance) which covers personal injuries while renting a vehicle.
Big Protection for Your Business Autos
Whether you use your own car or a fleet of pickups, box trucks and even trailers to get the job done, we offer the protection — liability, personal injury/medical, comprehensive, and collision coverage and more — to keep your business moving forward. Plus, if your employees use their own vehicles to perform deliveries, make sales visits, or run errands for your business, you could be liable for any accidents they cause.
We have the business auto insurance to help meet your needs. Your Universal Financial and Insurance agent can help you determine what deductible amounts and coverage limits best fit your situation and provide business auto insurance quotes.
Business Auto Insurance Coverage Options
• Bodily Injury Liability Coverage: Helps pay damages due to bodily injury to others for which you are responsible. If you are sued, it also helps pay your defense and court costs.
• Property Damage Liability Coverage: Helps pay damages due to property damage to others for which you are responsible. If you are sued, it also helps pay your defense and court costs.
• Personal Injury/Medical Payments Coverage: Helps pay reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses for covered persons.
• Collision Coverage: Helps pay for a covered auto that is damaged by collision with another object. Coverage is subject to a deductible.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Helps pay for loss of or damage to an insured vehicle, not caused by a collision or vehicle rollover. Coverage may be subject to a deductible.
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Coverage: Helps pay for injuries, and in some circumstances property damage, when you are involved in an accident with another person who is uninsured or does not have sufficient liability insurance. You’d be surprised how many people only carry minimum limits. Would you like to have the same coverage for yourself that you are providing the other person?
• How much liability coverage do you need? No one can predict exactly how much you would have to pay if you or an employee were to cause an accident. Only you can decide how much protection you need so ask yourself how you would pay for any damages exceeding your coverage limits. The higher the limits on your commercial auto insurance, the more likely your policy will be able to pay all the damages.
• What amount of a covered loss are you willing to pay? A deductible is the portion of a covered loss that is your responsibility. For example, if you had a $500 deductible, you would need to pay $500 of the covered loss. Deductibles apply to both Collision and Comprehensive coverages.
Employers Non-Owned Car Liability Coverage (ENOL)
A Universal Financial and Insurance ENOL commercial auto insurance policy protects you when your employees drive their own vehicles for business purposes. If your employees even occasionally use their own cars for your business, don’t be driven to economic loss. Protect your business with this competitive-priced coverage.
In addition to your business property insurance needs, you may also want to consider business owners policy, commercial liability umbrella, workers’ compensation, business life, retirement plans, and business liability insurance.