I live in central Alabama. the AC is fine once you get moving. If you are stuck in stop and go traffic when you first get into a hot (over 100%) fit the AC struggles. helps to put the window down for a minute or two when that much heat has built up

 

Agree. We had over 100F weather a couple of times last year, and the Fit didn't cool off much around town but above about 40MPH the AC works pretty well.

 

Yes, I do not have "collision". I only have "liability".

I thought that "liability insurance" means my insurance covers me from any lawsuit from whomever arising from an auto accident, whether is collision or theft or fire or injury or whatever. The rental car is not mine, so shouldn't it be covered by "liability"?

Hypothetical:
I get into accident (my fault). The other driver sues me for damage to his car, and my "liability" pays him, I'm pretty sure. And the rental company sues me for damage to rental car. Shouldn't my "liability" pay the rental company too?

 

I saw your 14-inch wheels in your post. It really looks great!

I'm thinking of going to 14 ...for the bigger tires, i.e. increase comfort factor on highway.

Do you notice any improvement in making the car ride softer?

Where do you buy 14-inch wheel?

Does it mess up your speedometer/odometer?

 

In most states, there are three major components to your auto insurance coverage and they are priced separately.

Liability
Collision
Comprehensive

Liability (personal injury and property damage) covers damage that you cause to another person or persons and other peoples property (usually vehicles).

Collision covers damage that you caused to the vehicle that you are driving.

Comprehensive covers things like wind, hail, flooding, fire, theft, and animal strikes. My daughter hit a deer and totaled her car about 2 months ago. The loss was covered under comprehensive.

There are also other minor (optional) add-ons that you can get like towing, car rental, accident forgiveness, etc.

The rules and options can vary from state to state, so check with your agent to find out exactly what you have and what it covers.

 

That's a good summary. The only one that is legally required by the state is usually liability insurance. If your car is financed or leased, usually the lender or lessor will require collision and comprehensive coverage.

Sometimes there's also uninsured motorist coverage, which covers you and your car if another driver is at fault who doesn't have insurance or who leaves the scene of the accident. It's required in my state of Vermont and I assume some other states as well.

 

I forgot about uninsured motorist coverage. It is cheap here but I do not think it is required. The only time that I tried to turn in a claim under uninsured motorist, it was denied. So I have no experience with that option. I'm not sure exactly what that covers. if I already have collision, why do I need uninsured motorist?

Another one is coverage for medical payments for me and passengers when I am at fault. I believe this is also an add on.

 

Collision covers your car when you're at fault. The other driver's liability insurance covers your car (and you, for that matter) when they're at fault. Uninsured motorist covers your car when someone else is at fault but they can't or won't take care of you for some reason. The obvious example would be someone driving without insurance (illegal in most states, of course); another one would be if damage was received in a parking lot but no note left on the car. (I think many uninsured motorist policies require that you file a police report before you can get reimbursement.)

 

My daughter was riding her motorcycle behind a county owned fully loaded dump truck. The truck stopped in front of her and proceeded to back up. When she could not get out of his way, she bailed off the motorcycle and dove into ditch along the side of the 2 lane county road.

The motorcycle was completely crushed and then dragged down the street in a forward direction under the truck for about 80 feet before the truck stopped because he heard the gas tank explode.

She had liability and uninsured motorist, but not collision. The county claimed that she ran into the truck driving the truck down highway 80 feet even though she was not injured. The county refused to pay for the damages and our insurance company said the police report (by a county cop) said that the damage was a result of a collision even though she was not on the bike at the time.

She carried uninsured motorist to cover medical bills in case she was injured in an accident where someone else was at fault. It was only a few dollars per year. The bike was not worth covering it with collision coverage.

In the end she collected $00.00 for damages as a result of the accident. From that experience I has never figured out what uninsured motorist really pays for.

When I have an accident, no matter who is at fault, my collision covers the loss and then the insurance companies argue between themselves as to who is at fault.

 

By the above definition, Liability would, if I'm at fault, cover:

• my rental car
• other person's car
• his personal injury

Since the rental car that I would be driving is "other peoples property."

Right???

 

It's best to ask your insurance agent. Typically, I don't think it would cover the car you're renting; that's "your car" at that time. "Other people's property" means things like a fence you happen to careen through.

 

This was stolen off of the Allstate web site. I do not like Allstate but this was the first one that I found when searching:


Your personal auto insurance policy includes liability coverage and any additional coverages you've opted for, such as comprehensive or collision. Those coverages may extend to your rental car.

• Liability coverage may help pay for another person's medical bills or damage to another person's property if you cause an accident in your vehicle (or your rental vehicle).
• Comprehensive coverage may help pay to repair your vehicle (or your rental car) if it's damaged by a covered peril, such as theft, wind, fire or natural disasters. Your comprehensive coverage's deductible will apply.
• Collision coverage may help pay to repair your vehicle (or your rental car) if it's damaged when you collide with another vehicle or object, such as a fence or a tree. Your collision coverage's deductible will apply.

Here is a statement from USAA's web site:

Dec 10, 2013 - If you cause an accident while driving the rental, your liability insurance would pay up to your policy limits for the damages to other cars or property. Likewise, if you carry collision coverage on your regular policy, that would pay for accident-related damages to the rental car you're driving.




Ask your insurance agent again and make sure that agent understand exactly what coverage you have when he/she answers your question.

 

In some states, it's required. In those states, the insurance companies have lobbied to require insured motorists to create a risk pool to cover when someone is uninsured. So basically, you are paying for yourself and for someone else who causes an accident but isn't paying for insurance even though they are required to by law.