General car insurance can be
described as insurance policy which covers the car as a complete entity – that
is, both the car and its occupants. It also covers other people (third parties)
who may not be occupants in the car, but who may suffer injury, or whose
property may be damaged, in any sort of a mishap involving the insured car. We
now venture to answer some frequently asked questions about general car insurance. These are, in other words, the things that (generally
speaking), a person conducting a search on ‘general car insurance’ is likely to
be interested in knowing.
Is general car insurance mandatory?
In most places, the only mandatory
car insurance coverage is that which caters for ‘others’ who may suffer bodily
injury or whose properties may be damaged in case of some sort of a mishap
involving the insured car. That is referred to as third party coverage. Beyond
that, in most places, the car owners get a leeway in making decisions on extra
levels of coverage that they need. A person may, for instance, decide that
beyond the minimum coverage required by the law, he or she will go ahead to buy
coverage for the car, to get benefits in case the car gets damaged in an
accident.
This can be extended, to include coverage against theft, fire and
other disasters. It is also generally considered wise to have coverage against
bodily injury (for the driver and other occupants in the car), even in
jurisdictions where this is not mandatory – that is, even in jurisdictions
where only third party coverage is mandatory.
Where can general car insurance be
bought?
There are insurers who specialize in
the provision of general car insurance policies. You just need to identify one
such insurer, and proceed to buy a policy from them. Many of the car insurance
providers nowadays have web-based portals, where you can get quotes from them
–and even proceed to buy policies (by paying the required premiums) online.
How much doe general car insurance
cost?
The cost of general car insurance
varies considerably: to such an extent that we can’t give a figure. What we can
say is that the cost depends on things like the exact level of coverage
preferred by the car owner, the car owners’ driving record, the car owner’s
demographic/personal details and the pricing structure of the insurance company
involved. Thus, a person who has a bad driving record will, for instance, tend
to end up spending more on general car insurance than a person with a clean
driving record.
Similarly, we have people who are in demographic groups that
are generally considered to be made up of good drivers (for instance on account
of age or gender). Those may be sold car insurance at a cost that is lower than
that which is available to folks who are considered to be risky drivers on
account of their personal details like age and gender. All in all, general car
insurance doesn’t cost too much – and buying it is a better bet than having to
deal directly with the costs/liabilities in case of a mishap.
