Do you know what your car insurance covers?

can say everything what does car insurance cover of your car? Probably not – and it’s not even for lack of zeal… it’s actually because most people take out insurance taking into account the main coverages, but then they don’t consult the list of those that they actually have at their disposal.

Being aware of everything covered by car insurance is very important for two reasons: on the one hand, to know when you can ask for help and when it’s not worth wasting time.

On the other hand, so as not to have bad surprises for thinking that you will get help in a certain situation and, after all, discovering that it is not quite like that.

Get to know the different types of car insurance on the market, what is and is not mandatory and the coverage you can take out.

What does auto insurance cover?

Civil liability insurance

We start with the most basic version of car insurance, which is also the one that the law obliges all drivers to have. Civil Liability insurance assumes responsibility for compensation paid for bodily and material damage caused to third parties and occupants of the insured vehicle (with the exception of the driver).

the coverage civil liability insurance is at least 6,070,000 euros for personal injury it’s from 1,220,000 for property damagealthough these values ​​can be extended (in exchange for an increase in the annual premium, of course).

“All risks” insurance

First of all, it should be clarified that there is no insurance that is truly against all risks. What is there is a own damage insurance – that is, an insurance that, to the minimum coverage of civil liability insurance, adds coverage for the driver of the accident vehicle.

What car insurance covers after that is always additional and payable individually.

additional coverage

When deciding what auto insurance covers, the policyholder is confronted by the insurer with a list of possible coverages. Each of these coverages is considered individually. Some may be included in the base insurance plan (depending on the insurer, each one will have its offer); others will have to be contracted and paid separately, causing the insurance price to gradually increase.

Enter the list of additional coverage available you will findfor example, options to protect your car in case of shock, collision, rollover, ray, explosion, fire, theft, theft, acts of vandalism It is glass breakage isolated – which cannot be provoked by a theft.

Can also insure your luggage who is in the car and still hire support for travel assistance or replacement car loan.

In principle, the insurer will allow you to take out tailor-made car insurance, that is, choose from this list the covers that interest you and put together a personalized policy, for an amount corresponding to the sum of each of the covers. Still, it will not be insurance against all risks, because there will be situations where the insurer does not assume responsibility.

the franchise

To avoid less pleasant surprises, it’s important to know what auto insurance covers even within the coverage itself – because deductibles, in the pinch, can make a lot of difference.

The deductible is the amount for which the policyholder assumes responsibility in the event of a claim – that is, the policyholder pays this amount and the insurer completes the remainder until reaching the total expense.

The deductible can have a fixed or variable amount, that is, it can be a percentage. The option will be up to the policyholder, but the choice will impact the calculation of the insurance premium – not least because, the lower the deductible, the higher the premium payable to the insurer.

Bonus and Malus

Also as important as knowing what your car insurance covers is knowing the bonus and malus table, that is, knowing how much your premium drops for each year that goes by without registering claims, as well as, on the other hand, how much your premium increases each time you file a claim (don’t forget that the premium is what you pay, so the higher the worse).

Does being at fault in an accident make a difference?

Being at fault in an accident doesn’t change what your insurance covers, but it does change how the case is handled. For example, if another driver hits you, your insurance doesn’t have to pay anything, because that driver’s liability insurance has to pay your compensation. Since it wasn’t your fault, you don’t have to pay anything to the other driver, which means that, in practice, you don’t touch your insurance.

On the other hand, if you are at fault for the claim, you will have to activate your insurance to pay the claims, which means that you will be prejudiced in calculating the premium for the following year.

Thus, and despite not changing the coverage of your policy, being at fault in an accident can indeed have a direct impact on your bills.