Raleigh Car Insurance
Raleigh Car Insurance is not in place just to annoy you.
Raleigh car insurance is in place to protect you, your loved ones, and you wallet. Don’t think that you are a better driver than everyone else and will never get into a car accident. You can’t control the actions of everyone else on the road, and relying on your luck to keep you safe from the other drivers will only go so far.
Required Raleigh Car Insurance
The State of North Carolina determines what the best car insurance coverage is that their drivers need to have. The state also regulates the insurance companies in the state and sets forth other policies and procedures in regards to car insurance. As to the enforcement of drivers actually carrying the required insurance, that is handled by all law enforcement agencies – including the Raleigh Police Department.
To be able to drive you have to carry at least the following on your Raleigh car insurance:
- $30,000 of liability coverage to pay for the medical expenses from any injury that you may cause with your vehicle.
- $60,000 of liability coverage to pay for all medical expenses from two or more people being injured in an accident you cause with your vehicle.
- $25,000 in property liability coverage to cover any damage you do to another person’s property with your vehicle.
Raleigh Accident Statistics
Per the North Carolina Crash Data site, there were 12,958 car accidents in Raleigh in 2011. Of these accidents 4,321 of them had at least one injury, 31 of which were fatal.
Compared to the rest of North Carolina that had 208,509 car accidents statewide in 2011, Raleigh’s accident statistics seem extremely minor. But that is still 12,958 accidents in the course of the year in just one city, or 36 accidents a day. Sooner or later your luck will run out and you will be involved in one of those 36 accidents one day.
Why You need More Than the Required Raleigh Car Insurance
If you do end up being one of the 36 accidents one day you are going to be extremely grateful for your car insurance coverage. But, if you only carry the state minimum required liability insurance, you may find yourself without a vehicle after the accident, even if it was not your fault.
The insurance that you are required to carry by the state only covers the damage and injuries that you cause to another person if you are at fault for an accident. It does not cover any damages to your own vehicle.
So if you cause an accident you have to pay for the damages to your vehicle out of your own pocket. The sad thing is, that even if you don’t cause the accident you will have to wait for the other person’s insurance company to accept responsibility for the accident before they will pay for anything for you (rental car, towing bills, the cost to repair your vehicle). And while you are waiting, you either have to pay for things out of your own pocket, or just learn to live without.
To avoid all of this trouble, talk to your insurance agent about what coverages you need to add to your Raleigh car insurance policy in addition to the required liability coverage.