Southfield Car Insurance

If you live in Southfield, Michigan, you must purchase insurance to drive around the Center of It All and other cities in the state.

In the state of Michigan, the insurance law is called the Essential Insurance Act instead of a mandatory or compulsory act. This act states that all eligible drivers in Michigan must be offered insurance and all drivers must buy coverage and keep this coverage in force as long as they have a vehicle titled in Michigan.

Buying insurance can be a very confusing process for new drivers and for newly independent consumers who have never faced the task of building their own personal policy.

If you have purchased insurance outside of Michigan in the past, you may be surprised to find that The Great Lake State has one of the most unique insurance laws and system structures in the nation.

This is because Michigan has its own special no-fault system that is designed to make it easier for injured parties or parties with damages to recoup for their losses.

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If you want to familiarize yourself with this unique type of system, there are plenty of resources that you can read through. These resources may have valuable information, but it can be difficult to find all of the information that you are looking for because you need to know what questions to ask.

Instead of scouring the world wide web and looking for information and frequently asked questions, read this guide to Southfield car insurance and find all of the unbiased information that you need to be a wise consumer.

What are the insurance requirements for consumers in Michigan?

The insurance laws are not written to be enforced nationally. Instead, every state has control over how much insurance they require their drivers to carry.

Michigan auto insurance regulations differ from others because of the types of insurance that you must carry and how these coverage types protect you.

Any owner of a passenger vehicle, light truck or personal van must have their Michigan insurance in place before they register their car.

If you are coming from another state, your insurance from that state cannot be used to meet the unique Michigan requirements so that you can title your car.

This is because only insurers in the state of Michigan offer the unique no-fault coverage that you must purchase. Read on to find out why no-fault insurance in Michigan is so different.

Michigan No-fault Basics

Not many states in the nation operate under a no-fault insurance system.

If you have never heard of the system, you may be wondering what the differences between no-fault and tort-based systems are. A tort based system will use fault to determine who will pay for the damages that are caused by the collision.

In states with no-fault laws, fault is not used to determine who is financially responsible. Instead, each party that gets in an accident will go to their own insurer to collect for their damages.

Some states have more strict no-fault policies than others, but there will always be scenarios where the injured party can sue.

The goal of the system is to reduce the likelihood that a claim will end up in court because it reduces court costs in Southfield and all throughout the state. Unlike other states, you must have three different types of insurance when living in The Great Lake State.

How much no-fault insurance must you carry?

All consumers in Southfield must have basic no-fault insurance. No-fault policies in Michigan consist of three different parts of coverage. Each part of coverage has its own purpose and knowing the purpose of each part of the required package is a must if you want to know what makes Michigan law different. Here is a description of each part of theNo-fault package requirement:

• Personal Injury Protection - Each of the 12 states that operates on the general type of no-fault system require that you carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP). PIP will cover your medical expenses and the expenses of the medical bills that a passenger has accrued.
• Property Protection - State law also requires you to carry Property Protection, which is called PPI on the typical policy. PPI coverage offers you $1 million of protection to pay for damage to property that you cause. This is the only scenario in a no-fault claim where fault will be determined.
• Residual Liability Coverage - You may be wondering why you are required to carry liability coverage in a state that is coined "no-fault". Michigan is not a purely no-fault state and neither is any of the other states operating under this type of system.

Residual liability consists of Bodily Injury and Property Damage. Bodily Injury pays when someone is seriously injured or dies in an accident that you cause.

You can have no less than $20,000 for each person and $40,000 for each accident if more than one person is hurt or killed. Property Damage will pay to repair property that you damage. It mainly applies when the property is located outside of the state of Michigan.

You can have no less than $10,000 for each accident in Property Damage liability cover.

Are there other coverage options available?

The basic coverage in Michigan covers so much that you might think that all you need is a basic no-fault policy to stay protected.

This is not necessarily the case. While you have more basic coverage than you would in any other state with a standard plan, there are gaps that you should know about and fill in with optional cover.

Here are the supplements that fill in gaps:

• Uninsured Motorist - If you are hit by someone without insurance, uninsured motorist could be beneficial. It will pay for your pain and suffering as well as lost wages that may be too high to be covered under your Personal Injury Protection.
• Physical Damage for your Car - Just because $1 million of property is covered does not mean that your car will be paid for if you cause the damage. If you are 51% at fault, you still need to pay for your own repair bills. If you do not have physical damage coverage, paying for these bills can be expensive.

Not everyone needs to protect their car, but if your car is financed or you cannot replace it with a similar model if it is totaled, you should consider the supplements.

Physical damage coverage consists of comprehensive and collision coverages. Comprehensive will pay for non-moving damage claims caused by things like fire, vandalism, explosion, hail, riot, theft and more. Collision pays for collisions, roll overs and other moving claims that lead to damage.

You will need to select a deductible that you can afford because you have to cover this deductible before the company pays.

How Are Your Insurance Rates Calculated in Southfield?

You want to know what you are paying for when you are buying insurance, but it can be frustrating when you are being asked to pay multiple rates for the same basic coverage.

Each insurer sets their own rates, and some insurers charge more competitive rates than others. Rating factors all change your risk class. Here are some of the rating factors that can raise your premiums or make you a lower risk:

• Age, gender, and marital status
• Number of years of driving experience
• Type of vehicle and vehicle safety record
• Moving violations
• Accident record
• Number of miles driven annually
• Commute or business use
• Credit history
• Discounts for driver training, multi-car, good grades or occupation

As you can see, a lot goes into calculating your premiums. If you would like to be prepared when you are quoting auto insurance plans, do your homework and choose the best insurer.

There is a long list of insurers that you can choose from, and you should only focus on financially stable insurers with a good track record of paying for claims. It is especially important in Southfield where your insurer will pay for most claims.

Use an online rate comparison system for quick quotes that can be compared side-by-side. Once you enter your information, you can choose the best coverage options.

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