I’m not really thinking that I’ll get into an accident because I don’t want it to happen but I know that it’s a possibility. In case I’ll be involved in such and my car will be declared as a total loss, do I have the right to tell my auto insurance company here in Oklahoma not to auction it and let me keep it?

Adam

Oklahoma City, OK

Getting into an accident is one of the things a driver is really not thinking about. However, you have to be concerned that it can happen especially if you are looking around for a car insurance policy. If your car is declared as total, you may not agree with your auto insurance company regarding their evaluation of the damages. But the question still stands as to what happens if you want to keep your car. When you purchase a car insurance policy, you sign an agreement with the car insurance provider. You could not push your insurance provider to make a payment for more than the value of your car. However, you are intended to be “made whole” by the insurance company, which means you must be put back into reasonably the same place that you were prior to the accident.

In case your vehicle is totaled but you’d like to repair it anyhow, you must be able to hold on to it. Your car insurance company in Oklahoma nevertheless has to compensate you in your vehicle’s actual cash value, less the deductible. You must inform the claims adjuster that you want to hold on to your vehicle. Be sure to think it over because you now have to pay for the repairs yourself.

Is it true that the number of miles you drive in a year affects how much you pay for insurance? I seem to be paying a lot for my coverage here in Oklahoma and I would like to learn how to cut costs.

Francis

Norman, OK
The number of miles you accumulate annually while driving will definitely have an impact on how your insurance rates will be computed therein Oklahoma. Someone who drives an hour to work everyday will have a higher insurance rate as compared to someone who drives once or twice a week only. This is because the longer and farther you drive, the higher the chance or likelihood that you will get involved in a car accident or file a claim for damages. Your auto insurance agent will ask you questions such as where you live, where you drive to work and how often as well as how far you usually drive in a regular basis.

Aside from this, you may also be interested to know about other factors that could affect your car insurance premiums, The Kind of car you own drive has an impact on your rates. If you drive a second-hand, older car then you would pay a lower auto insurance premium as compared to owning a top-of the line expensive vehicle. This is because the more expensive your vehicle is, the higher the likelihood of car theft, vandalism or it would be expensive to make repairs or reimbursement should you file a claim with the auto insurance provider. Your driving history and credit history also has an impact on how your insurance premiums will be computed

I live in Oklahoma and I am wondering how much car insurance do you recommend that I get for my vehicle?

Cheng

Oklahoma City, OK
The amount of auto insurance you need to get depends on the following factor: The type of vehicle you own, where you live, the annual mileage you accumulate but the most important of all is that the the auto insurance you choose falls within the minimum state liability insurance coverage requirements, as mandated by the Financial Responsibility laws of Oklahoma. To explain further:

Your Type Of Vehicle
The type of vehicle you own should be a consideration when you look for the right auto-insurance policy. A second hand or used, older vehicle would cost you less to insure and you might even save more if you drop comprehensive and collision coverage. A brand new, expensive car will have higher insurance premiums due to an increased likelihood of theft and higher costs to replace when you file a claim.

Where You Live
Urban dwellers pay more for auto insurance as compared to rural folks. Accident and Car theft rates in your area greatly affects the insurance rates available for you.

State Minimum Requirements
Your auto insurance should have adequate liability insurance that falls within the minimums required by your state. For Oklahoma that would follow the 10/20/10 rule. That will be $10,000 total payment for each individual you injure per accident, minimum of $20,000 for injuries per accident and $10,000 to pay for damages to private or public property.

What is the difference between collision and comprehensive coverage? Will they have the same auto insurance premiums Oklahoma?

Caroline

East Canadian Oklahoma OK

They will not have the same auto insurance premiums, Caroline, this will never happen – not in East Canadian Oklahoma and not anywhere else. Collision coverage is just a component of comprehensive coverage. You can have collision coverage as a stand-alone, but you can not have comprehensive coverage without collision coverage because it is already built in the policy. Collision pays for the damages to yourself and to your car resulting form a crash, and does not take into account who has initiated the crash. Whether it was you or the other driver, collision coverage will still pay for the expenses. This is usually an add-one to the mandatory liability insurance which is like collision coverage, but only pays for the damages to the offended party and property. Comprehensive insurance includes these two coverage and more. Say your car was stolen while you were shopping around East Canadian Oklahoma. You can not claim reimbursement for this through liability or collision coverage because there was no collision. Only comprehensive coverage can pay for stolen cars and so it is really ideal to have this type of coverage. By logic, comprehensive insurance will always have higher premiums than collision coverage. You can see how much these things cost from this page by just entering your zip code on the space at the top.

Can you please explain to me once again the importance of the sets of numbers I see on my auto insurance policy in Lawton Oklahoma OK?

Vanessa

Lawton Oklahoma OK

No problem, Vanessa, I can explain as often as you want. The numbers you see are the liability limits usually written this way – 20/40/10. It represents the amount in thousand dollars you can claim against your insurer in Tulsa Oklahoma OK when you are involved in a vehicular accident that was due to your wrongdoing. The first number – 20 for $20,000 – is the limit for bodily injury per person. It can pay for the hospitalization, medical bills, therapies and other items related to the recovery from injury resulting from the crash. The second number – 40 for $40,000 – is the limit for bodily injury expense per accident. So you should pray that the vehicle you will be crashing into will only have two passengers, otherwise you’d have to find the cash to pay them elsewhere. Or if they are more than two, you should pray that their total medical expenses will be less than $40,000. The third number – 10 for $10,000 – is the limit of the money you can claim from your insurer to repair the damages you have caused. It can be another car, somebody’s bike, a fence, any property that was damaged because of you.

I only used this set of numbers as an example for easy illustration. You can definitely have higher liability limits in Tulsa Oklahoma OK. You can try getting them from his page by shopping online, which is easily done by entering your zip code on the space provided.

Don’t hesitate to contact me again, Vanessa, if this is still unclear, or there is another matter you’d like to clarify.

I have never gotten into a car accident here and of course I don’t wish to. But in case I’ve been involved in one, what if my auto insurance coverage is not enough to pay for any damage or injury to other people?

Nathan

Lawton, OK

Having liability coverage for your auto insurance in Lawton, Oklahoma is very necessary. The state mandates particular levels of minimum auto liability insurance because that would be the coverage that would pay for the damage that you cause to other people, and that includes bodily injury and property damage. It would also pay for your legal bills if you are the one who causes the accident.

The bodily injury coverage would include the medical bills and lost wages; coverage for the repair or replacement of property that has been damaged such as other vehicles and properties you run into. It could also pay for “pain and suffering” damages if another person files a lawsuit against you after a car crash. However, that would only be up to your auto liability limits so keep in mind that your obligation does not end at your liability limits. In case your car insurance is not enough to pay for the damage or injury that you cause to other people, you are going to obliged on the hook to pay the remaining worth of damage that your insurance could not cover and you can be sued for it.