Unless you work in the car insurance industry, the topic is probably a mystery to you. The words deductible, comprehensive, collision, liability, premium, loss of use and bodily injury are all gibberish when they reach your ears.

Unfortunately, insurance is something that you are required to have by law if you want to drive. Because of how confusing it is many people go around in almost an insurance daze while they get car insurance quotes from the auto insurance companies that they have heard of. In reality, they are completely lost as to what they are actually buying.

Instead of looking at what each insurance company offers in the terms of protection for both themselves and their car, they are instead looking for cheap car insurance. Finding the cheapest car insurance coverage makes having to buy the required product all that much less painful, but misses the whole point of having insurance.

Learning about insurance through your insurance agent or websites like Car Insurance Guidebook will give you the upper hand when you looking for car insurance. You can take your knowledge and not only find the best price for insurance, you can use it to find really great insurance to protect you and your assets. Then you aren’t stuck settling for just average car insurance that can hurt you financially if you ever need it because there isn’t enough protection.

For example, when looking for insurance the car insurance rates are just the first of many factors that need to be taken into account when you are shopping around for car insurance. You also need to take into account the type of vehicle that you are driving. Many people don’t know this.

Are you driving around a vehicle that is a new sedan and can be protected under any blanket insurance policy? Or do you have an old car that you fixed up that needs special protection and could be better covered under classic car insurance?

Don’t just assume that when you compare car insurance that it will be a one-size-fits-all policy. This is where the insurance knowledge will come in handy; you will know what you need to protect yourself and your vehicle.

You will understand what your insurance agent is talking about when they use insurance terms and you will actually be able to make an informed decision. This is much better for you instead of the “nod and smile” approach people take in their insurance agent’s office.

Also just like your life changes your insurance needs will change. This year you may just need to learn about the best deductible to have. Next year you may need to educate yourself on car insurance for young drivers. As the years pass, motorcycle insurance may be something you will need to know.

Many wise people say that you never stop learning, so take their advice and educate yourself on the insurance that you spend a lot of money on and can’t get away with not having.

Non-owners insurance extends to anything you drive that you do not own.

Yes, non-owners insurance can provide coverage for you when you are renting a car. This type of policy is specifically designed to cover vehicles that you do not own, which includes rental cars. To be sure of your coverage and what will extend from your non-owners policy, talk to your insurance company.

As with all insurance policies, there are some expenses associated from being in an accident in a rental car that will not be covered under your personal insurance policy. The biggest expense that is not covered by your personal insurance is the loss of use fee. This is a daily fee that the rental car agency will charge you for each day that the rental car is being repaired and cannot be rented out.

Connecticut UM/UIM coverage is not to protect your vehicles, it’s to protect you and your passengers.

Connecticut Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UIM/UM) pays only for injuries caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver to the passengers in your vehicle. UIM/UM coverage in Connecticut does not pay for any damages to your vehicle, that’s what your collision coverage is for.

So what type of vehicle you have should have no bearing on the amount of UIM/UM coverage you need. Instead you should be thinking about medical bills and how much they may cost if an uninsured or underinsured motorist hits you. As always we recommend that you sit down and talk to an agent as to your personally situation so that they may provide you with coverage counseling.

UIM/UM is not a required coverage in most states. It is instead considered an optional coverage and the residence of those states have the right to waive that coverage if they feel they don’t need it. In Connecticut, it is a mandatory coverage that their drivers must have. Here you have to carry the minimum amounts of $20,000 per person and $40,000 total for all injuries in the accident.

(Other than the posts we have concentrating on a specific state and their insurance laws, normally we don’t isolate a specific state when we answer an “Ask a Question”. However, because this particular coverage varies so greatly from one state to another we felt that it was best to specifically answer the question from the state that the question came from. If you have questions about this coverage for your own state, you may find a previous post for your specific state that can answer your question here on our site.)

Cheap car insurance is the treasure chest at the end of a treasure hunt.

There is no special company to go to that you are absolutely guaranteed to get the cheapest car insurance in your area. First, each car insurance company has different rates that they charge and they fluctuate.

For example, you could get a quote from State Farm for one rate and then give the same exact information to Progressive and get a different rate. Call them again a year later with the same information and the one that gave you the cheaper rates last year could be the expensive one this year.

Second, each driver has different driving information that will affect where they find the cheapest car insurance. So as you can see there is no set place that you could be sent to for the cheapest car insurance.

The only thing that you can do to find the cheapest car insurance for yourself is to call around and get quotes from different car insurance companies and agencies.

Whether a check will be written to you for a claim depends on who you are insured with.

Each insurance company has their own policies and procedures in place to pay for claim damages. If you choose not to use one of their preferred shops, they will have you get quotes from other body shops for damages. Some insurance companies are okay with you just getting one quote from the body shop that you are going to use. Others want quotes from 3 different body shops.

Once you get the quotes, most insurance companies won’t have a problem with just writing you a check (minus your deductible) for the amount of the quote. Others prefer to have the body shop do the work and then send them a bill so they can send them a check directly.

Again it all depends on your insurance company.