Palm Bay Car Insurance

Palm Bay car insurance is one of the few products that you are required to have by the state of Florida. While auto insurance is a requirement for all Palm Bay car owners, it is a financial product that is often misunderstood.

Misunderstanding auto insurance cannot only cost you a great amount of money, it can also put you at-risk when you or someone in your family is behind the wheel.

This is why it is extremely important to gather information and to verify that the information that you are referencing is accurate when you buy a product like car insurance.

Enter your zip code above for affordable car insurance rates in the Palm Bay area today!

There are plenty of resources that you can use to learn about Palm Bay car insurance. Unfortunately, not all resources are reliable. Others may only include bits and pieces of information that consumers need to make well-educated decisions so searching for all of the information can become time-consuming.

If you are looking for a resource that will provide you with all of the accurate information and tips that you need to make a smart purchase, read this straightforward guide to Palm Bay car insurance.

You will find information on Florida state requirements, how auto insurance coverage options work, and how to select the best insurer and the best policy by simply reading on.

What are the Palm Bay car insurance requirements?

If you live in Florida for 6 or more months out of the year, you are considered to be a resident.

All residents in Palm Bay must follow Florida laws concerning registering their vehicles and insuring those vehicles. When your vehicle is legally required to be registered in the state of Florida, you are also legally required to buy car insurance from a carrier that is licensed in the state.

It is a common misconception that insurance is one-size-fits-all.

You cannot keep auto insurance that was purchased in another state and simply change your address because that policy is written based on different laws and different rates.

This is why you will need to review your needs, the new laws, and the companies that you can purchase coverage from before you buy a plan.

What is the auto insurance system in Florida?

Coverage requirements vary from state to state.

In Florida, which is a no-fault state, the requirements are very different because most states operate under a tort system. No-fault states are states where drivers will first collect payment for their damages from their own insurance company.

This type of system is designed to reduce the cost of litigation as far as car insurance claims are concerned. While Florida is a no-fault state, there may still be situations where the other insurer will be ordered to pay for certain expenses.

What type of coverage options are required?

There are several types of coverage that you can add to an insurance policy, but you should first familiarize yourself with the coverage that you are required to carry.

The required coverage is different in Florida because it is not a tort state. Legally, you are only required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage Liability (PDL). In most other states, you would be required to carry Bodily Injury Liability (BIL) as well.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal Injury Protection will pay for your own medical expenses that you have as a result of an accident.

It will pay up to the limits stated in your plan to pay for medical transport, medical treatment, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs. It will also pay for disability and death benefits, which typically have a separate limit.

If you were to purchase the state minimum requirement, you would have $10,000 in PIP coverage and $5000 in death benefits. You can purchase higher limits if you so desire.

Property Damage Liability

Property Damage is a third-party liability coverage that will pay for the damage that you cause to another person's property in an accident. Only medical damages fall under the no-fault system, so when you damage a car the other party can sue.

You can have no less than $10,000 per accident in Property Damage and this limit applies no matter how many cars or people were involved.

Bodily Injury Liability

It is shocking for many to hear that Bodily Injury is not always a requirement in Florida. Bodily Injury is not required because in a no-fault system you are not always required to pay for the treatment of injured drivers and passengers.

If, however, you have been in an accident in the past that led to injury, you could be required to carry Bodily Injury coverage.

You also have the option to add this to your plan to pay for serious injuries that you cause and are taken to court for.

The coverage not only provides payment for settlements and judgments, it also pays for your legal defense.

How Do Other Coverage Options Work?

Insurers do only offer the required coverage options in Florida, they will also offer you the option to add on options for additional premiums.

The bare bones policy will satisfy the law, but it may not protect you and your assets if you are in an accident that leads to injury or property damage. Each optional coverage has its own purpose.

Here are other coverage types that you should price:

• Comprehensive - Will protect your finances by paying for the cost to repair or to completely replace your car if it is totaled or it is damaged from fire, theft, glass breakage, vandalized and more. If your vehicle is leased or financed you will have to carry this to satisfy your contract or the lender will force-place insurance.
• Collision - Will protect you if your vehicle is damaged in a moving accident. If you are in an accident and you are at-fault, the other party's insurer will not pay for your repairs. This is why you would need collision to pay for your damages no matter what.
• Towing, Labor, and Rental Car -You can purchase roadside assistance and also rental car reimbursement coverage on your plan for more. Each is a supplement that will reduce the costs if you have a breakdown or need a replacement car after an accident.

How to Choose the Best Insurer and Policy

The first step to finding the best Palm Bay car insurance policy is to find the best insurer.

The coverage that you purchase can only be as good as the carrier that is providing the protection. There are reputable and secure insurers in Florida and there are also fly-by-night insurers that are here today and will be gone tomorrow. Sifting the good from the bad is crucial.

To find a company that will be there if you ever need to file a claim, you should focus on the company's financial ranking.

You can check the company's ranking by searching for the company on a consumer ranking site like A.M. Best.

A.M. Best assigns letter grades for companies that will represent their stability and their creditworthiness. By choosing a company in Florida with a strong letter grade, you know they will be able to cover claims payments without dodging their liability.

After you review the credit ranking, the next step is checking a company's complaint index.

This complaint index is public record and shows you the official complaints filed and what the consumer complained about. If you see that several consumers have complained about the same issues, then this may show trends that you do not want to follow.

You can find the index by entering the company's name in the official national consumer information source tool.

Shopping Tips

Once you have a list of the best insurers licensed in the state of Florida, the only think you have left to do is price the cost of insurance. What you might not know is that companies use several rating factors to calculate their rates and each company has their own system.

Some common rating factors include:

• Driving record
• Accident history
• Age, gender, years licensed
• Annual mileage and usage
• Marital status
• Type of vehicle
• Zip code

With so many different rating considerations, it is important to comparison shop when you want to pay the most competitive premiums.

Comparison shopping can take time if you do not know about the resources that you have at your disposal. The best resource to use is an online rate comparison tool where you can enter your information in the system and then you can compare pricing right from your own house.

Be sure that the information you enter is as accurate as possible so that the instant quotes you receive are accurate as well.

Once you provide your information, choose coverage options, choose a company, and then choose a Palm Bay insurance policy.

Receive FREE car insurance quotes now by simply entering your zip code below!