There will come a time in your life when you just might have to make a claim on your auto insurance policy. This may not even be your fault. Someone could just hit you in a parking lot. Filing a claim may seem easy, but a few issues could leave you scratching you head in wonderment:

Close the Gap

There is a type of auto insurance that nobody is ever willing to freely offer customers. That insurance is called Gap Insurance. This just might be the most important any car buying can purchase.

Gap Insurance is mainly designed around people who are buying a brand new car. The reason is just how much of a value a new car suffers as soon as you sign those papers and drive off the lot.

Let’s say you get into a collision ten minutes after driving off the lot. Your auto insurance will only cover a portion of your auto loan. Gap insurance fills in the rest so you are not left holding a grand bill for a car that is no longer operable. If you are buying a car that will surely lose its value when you drive away, get that difference covered with some Gap insurance.

Repair parts come in two forms

Your auto insurance can also dictate the parts you get with your repairs. Replacement parts from the manufacturer are often referred to as OEM parts. Parts from third parties are referred to as aftermarket parts. Knowing this difference can ease that understanding of the auto insurance fine print.

This plays out as follows. You take your car in for some repair work after a storm put a tree branch into the backside of your vehicle. You take the car to the repair shop for the work it needs. The auto insurance company can dictate to that repair shop that they are only going to pay for aftermarket parts. While you may think your getting genuine parts, you might actually be getting third party parts.

Deductibles vary in many forms

Auto insurance policies come polluted with lingo and terms that mean so many different things. Deductibles are one of those terms that come with several meanings. Knowing the difference can save you plenty of stress in the long run.

You may think you had a collision deductible of a measly $200. Yet, that tree branch hitting your car is comprehensive damage. Your comprehensive deductible could be $1000. Make sure you know the difference on all your deductible before you sign the dotted line.

Uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage rocks fun lingo

Underinsured protection applies to motorists who are at-fault for an accident. They have auto insurance, but they don’t have a policy big enough to cover the damages for the accident. Underinsured protection then kicks in to cover the difference.

Uninsured is a policy to pay for treatment, property damage, and other costs associated with an auto accident. This coverage comes into play when the at-fault driver does not have any auto insurance. These two coverage’s sound the same, but they cover vastly different situations.

Filing a claim on your auto insurance policy can be tricky and stressful. Take all the time you need when making that claim to know exactly where you stand and how costs are derived. You can even take this time upfront when you’re signing that new policy.