Infographic: Understanding Your Auto Insurance (Renewal Guide)

Understanding Your Auto Insurance Renewal Guide

1. First you start with a basic auto policy that includes common coverages like:
   • Liability insurance-- helps protect drivers when they’re responsible for an accident that injures other people or damages other people’s property.  This insurance coverage is  required in nearly every state.
   • Personal injury protection (pip)—if you or others covered on the policy are injured in a car accident, this reimburses for medical expenses.
   • Uninsured motorist coverage (state requirements vary)–this protects you if you’re injured by a hit-and-run driver or a driver who doesn’t have auto liability coverage.
   • Underinsured motorist (optional in some states) protects you if the person doesn’t have coverage required to cover the full cost of the injury claim.
   • Collision – Covers the costs if your car or truck collides with another car or object like a tree or pole.
   • Comp (short for comprehensive) provides coverage for your car from loss due to fire, theft or damage not caused by a collision (for example, hitting a deer).

2. You can also pick your auto insurance deductible. The deductible—which is the amount of money you pay before insurance kicks in—can be as little as $0 and go to several thousands of dollars. If you choose a lower deductible, you can generally expect to pay more in premium. Some people prefer to keep a higher deductible and pay less in premium. It comes down to your personal preferences and financial situation (your Agent can help you pick a reasonable deductible).

3. Then you stack on your extra options (these are called endorsements):
   • Rental Car coverage –ou may need to drive a rental car while your car is being repaired after an accident.  Basic rental car coverage for a compact car is automatically included in your ERIE auto policy in most states (as long as you have comp coverage). But this is coverage gives you access to a larger vehicle (let’s say you have five kids – a compact car may not cut it). It’s also easy to add rental car coverage for collision losses, too. Talk to your Agent for all the details.
   • ERIE Rate Lock® feature—this feature allows you to pay the same price year after year even if you have a claim (until you make changes to your policy such as adding or removing a vehicle or a driver from the policy, or changing your primary residence). Not available in all states where ERIE does business, and in Virginia, it’s limited to three years.
   • ERIE Auto Plus®—this includes things like Diminishing Deductible and extends limits to the basic auto policy. For about $30, you can cover all the vehicles with higher limits to many of the extra features. And for each consecutive claims-free year, the deductible will be reduced by $100, up to a max of $500. It also includes a $10,000 death benefit. (This deductible reduction does not apply to Uninsured Motorist Property Damage deductibles found in some states.) In New York, comprehensive deductible cannot be reduced to less than $50 and collision deductible cannot be reduced to less than $100. Death benefit applies to covered persons, for death within one year due to bodily injury by an auto accident.
   • Auto Security—With this endorsement, if your new car (of less than two years) gets totaled, you’ll be reimbursed the cost to replace it with the newest model year. And if your car is older (more than two model years), ERIE’s Better Vehicle Replacement Coverage will pay the cost to replace it with a comparable model that is two years newer and 30,000 or fewer miles (deductible does apply).

4. Your basic coverages plus your extras are factored into your premium. Premiums are based on lots of criteria like your driving record, the type of car you drive, how far you drive, your age, policy limits, and endorsements (see above).

5. Check out if you qualify for discounts. ERIE also offer lots of ways to save $ on your premium too. For example:
   • Safe driving discount
   • Multi-car discount
   • Multi-policy discount
   • Reduced usage discount
   • Safety features discount
   • Higher deductible
   • Payment plan
   • Youthful Driver discount

6. Consult with an ERIE Agent to see whether the discounts are available in your state and whether you qualify.

7. Now that you know all that, you’re ready to renew with ERIE! How?

• You’ll receive your renewal notice about 30-60 days* before your policy automatically renews.
• Talk to your Agent for any questions you may have and to review your individual policy details.

To better understand your policy and what your insurance covers, talk to a local ERIE Agent today.

*depending on the state you live in

For more information about auto insurance coverage, check out the auto page on erieinsurance.com.

This information provided in this document is a summary and does not include all coverages and benefits that are available or apply to all states. Talk to an ERIE Agents for details and go to erieinsurance.com for company licensure information.