The bottom line is that more than likely you have to have automobile insurance but need to decide if liability is enough for you. There are many factors that can go into determining whether you should get full coverage or auto liability insurance. Some of it could depend on the age and condition of your car or even the state in which you live. Whatever the case may be, you will need to know about both liability auto insurance and full coverage to make the decision that best suits your car insurance needs.

State Minimums and Other Deciding Factors

The type of car insurance you get isn’t always determined by you the driver, and therefore in some cases liability car insurance isn’t enough to cover it. At the very least almost every state in the county requires a minimal amount of liability auto insurance. In fact the only state in the country that has not made it mandatory to carry at least liability insurance to be able to drive your car legally is New Hampshire.

If you are financing a car, especially a new car, you will need to have full coverage. If you already own your car, the choice is more or less up to you and could probably be best determined based on the value and condition of your car. If you have a financed car, however, the lender wants to be assured the full value of the car will be recouped in a circumstance where there is a wreck and the car is totaled out.

Some Other Things to Know

First you will need to know the two basic types of full coverage insurance to get a better understanding:

Collision insurance – This covers the car if you collide with another vehicle and, depending on your policy, collisions involving other objects including those that are private or public property. In some states collision is the minimum requirement instead of just liability car insurance even if you are not financing a vehicle.

Comprehensive insurance – This type of insurance generally covers things that cause damage to your car aside from a collision such as storm damage, theft or an act of God. Again some states require this to be able to drive legally even if you are not operating a financed vehicle.

The state minimum requirements for liability auto insurance are offered in a three part system. The three parts may appear like this 20/45/20 and are determined by your states minimum requirements and your policy’s maximum payout. The three parts are:

1. This is the amount of personal injury per person per collision included in your auto liability insurance policy and in this example would be $20,000.
2. This is the amount of personal injury total to be covered per accident and as demonstrated here would be $45,000.
3. This is the total amount of property damage covered per accident and would be the amount of $20,000.

How This Relates to No Fault States

There are no fault states in which the no fault car insurance you carry means both drivers and their passengers are covered by the driver’s own insurance regardless of who is at fault. This helps prevent too many lawsuits over damages and medical expenses. Compared to liability car insurance, this is a much safer route to go.

If the accident you are at fault in exceeds the amounts your insurance provider will cover for personal injury or property damage, the remaining balance is yours to pay. In other words, if you injure another person who has hospital bills of $100,000 and you only have your state minimum of $20,000, the remaining $80,000 is yours to cover from out of your pocket.

Deciding Between Liability Car Insurance and Full Coverage

If the choice is actually yours to make about whether to get liability auto insurance or a full coverage policy you have several things to think about. Keep these things in mind when making your choice:

• You still must meet the state requirements based upon where you live in the country. If you finance a new car, are getting your first auto insurance policy ever or have relocated to another state, make sure you understand exactly what your state requires.

• The value of your car can help you decide. If your car is older or needs work, then what you pay per month for full coverage may end up being more than what you would get for its value should the car be totaled out in a wreck.

By providing your zip code, you can get free liability car insurance and other types of quotes today from providers who want to compete for your business.