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Auto insurance combines several different types of coverage into
one policy. New York State requires that you have certain
coverages. So what type of coverage do you need?
Although everyone's situation is different, the following chart
might help you find the coverages you should consider.
| Coverages |
Mandatory/Optional |
Required Limit |
Most Common |
| Personal Injury Protection (PIP) |
Required by NY State Law |
$50,000 |
$50,000 |
| Optional Basic Economic Loss (OBEL) |
Optional |
Not required |
$25,000 |
| Bodily Injury Liability |
Required by NY State Law |
$25,000/$50,000 split limit |
$300,000
single limit |
| Property Damage Liability |
Required by NY State Law |
$10,000 |
Included in combined single limit above |
| Statutory Uninsured Motorist |
Required by NY State Law |
$25,000/$50,000 |
$25,000/$50,000 |
| Supplementary Uninsured Motorist |
Optional |
Not required |
$50,000 |
| Medical Payments |
Optional |
Not required |
$5,000 |
| Collision |
Optional |
Not required |
$500 deductible |
| Other than Collision (Comprehensive) |
Optional |
Not required |
$200 deductible |
Trying to figure out for yourself what coverages you may need
can be very difficult. Choose one of our New York Central
Agents and give them a call. They can sit down with you
and figure out what coverages would best fit your needs.
Personal Injury Protection (also known as "No Fault Insurance")
New York State Law requires this insurance. The
minimum requirement is $50,000 to pay for medical expenses, loss
of income, and other miscellaneous expenses regardless of
fault. This coverage provides the following benefits.
- medical expenses - covers your various medical expenses
- loss of income - a maximum of $2,000 a month or 80% of your current monthly income (which ever is less)
- other expenses - $25 a day for reasonable expenses
- death benefit - $2,000
Optional Basic Economic Loss
In a recent ruling by New York State, maximum loss of income
received from no-fault was increased from $1,000 to $2,000 a
month for 36 months. However, with a $50,000 limit,
coverage may be used well before the 36 months. This is
where OBEL comes in to help you out. This coverage
provides an extra amount on top of the no-fault limit.
Bodily Injury Liability
Required by law, bodily injury protects you if you are
responsible for an accident in which someone is injured or
killed. The minimum requirement is $25,000/$50,000, which
means that the insurance company will only pay up to $25,000 per
person injured and up to $50,000 per accident. So if there
is more than one person injured, the most you are covered for is
$50,000.
Property Damage Liability
Required by law, property damage covers the damage your
vehicle causes to someone else's property, such as your car
running into someone's house or car. The minimum
requirement is $10,000, which means that the insurance company
will only pay up to $10,000 for damage your vehicle does to
someone else's property.
Uninsured Motorist
Uninsured motorist coverage pays for injuries sustained by
you and your passengers caused by an uninsured motorist.
Underinsured motorist coverage pays when you or your passengers are
injured as a result of negligence by someone with insufficient liability
insurance to cover your losses. In New York State, you are required to
carry at least statutory uninsured motorist with limits of $25,000 per
person and $50,000 per accident for those accidents that occur WITHIN New
York State. If you ever travel out of state, you should consider
supplementary uninsured motorist coverage. This provides the same
limits as statutory uninsured motorist, but it extends coverage to
accidents that occur outside of New York State.
Medical Payments
Medical payments insurance is coverage that reimburses you
and your passengers (whether or not they are members of your
family) for medical or funeral expenses stemming from an
accident, regardless of who was responsible for the accident.
Collision
Collision coverage reimburses you for damage to your own car
resulting from impact with another car or an object, such as a
house. This coverage is usually written with a $250
deductible, but may be higher or lower depending on your
specific needs.
Other than Collision (Comprehensive)
This coverage reimburses you for damage to your auto not
caused by a collision. Such losses include theft, hail,
vandalism, or hitting an animal.
Split Limit
Split limits restrict the maximum amount that a policy will pay
for a specific type of loss, such as property damage and bodily
injury. A split limit auto insurance policy, for example,
might pay $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily
injury benefits, and $10,000 in property damage per
accident. By contrast, a single limit policy might pay up
to $60,000 for all property damage and bodily injury resulting
from a single accident. Although the total amount of
coverage is the same, the single limit policy is more flexible,
because it does not cap the amount that can be paid for any type
of loss.
NOTE: difference between split limits and single limits below
Single Limit
A policy with a single limit of liability pays up to a single
maximum amount for any type of liability loss. By contrast, a
policy with split limits pays different maximum amounts for
bodily injury and property damage.
NOTE: difference between split limits and single limits below
| |
Split Limit Policy |
Combined Single Limit Policy |
| Bodily Injury 1: |
Pays $5,000
(because under $25,000 per person maximum) |
Pays $5,000
(because under $60,000 limit) |
| Bodily Injury 2: |
Pays $25,000
(because per person maximum) |
Pays $30,000
(because $5,000 and $30,000 total still under $60,000 limit) |
| Property Damage: |
Pays $10,000
(because property damage maximum) |
Pays $20,000
(because $5,000, $30,000 and $20,000 total still under $60,000 limit) |
| Total Paid |
$40,000 |
$55,000 |
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