Who should buy uninsured motorist car insurance?

auto insurance in texas tx

If you have your own health insurance and you have purchased collision coverage, you may be able to skip uninsured motorist coverages if your state allows.

It is a good idea to keep uninsured motorist coverages if you can afford to, because they can minimize your financial losses from deductibles and coverage caps.

Your state may require that you buy uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, which pays your hospital bills if you are hit by an uninsured driver. Your state may require only that you be offered this coverage but allow you to turn it down.

If you buy this coverage, it typically will come in the same amounts as your own liability coverage.

Uninsured motorist coverage costs an average of $83 a year, according to a CarInsurance rates analysis.

A few states also require uninsured motorist property damage, which usually pays for some -- but not all -- of the damage to your own car. It doesn’t cover hit-and-run accidents in most states, though.

Do you need comprehensive and collision coverage?

Yes, if your car is less than 10 years old.

Yes, if you can't afford to repair or replace your car.

Yes, if you live in an area prone to flooding, hail, tornadoes or animal strikes.

Comprehensive insurance pays for damage to your car from severe weather, fire, collisions with animals and theft. Collisions pays to repair your car if you cause an accident.

This is where car insurance for a 10 year old car comes into play. If your car is less than 10 years old, you should consider buying comprehensive and collision coverage. You should also carry comprehensive and collision insurance if your car is 10 years old or older, but worth more than $3,000, or if you can’t afford to repair or replace it.

If you owe money on your car, your lender requires you to have collision and comprehensive coverage, which would repair or replace your car. Liability insurance pays only for others’ cars.

You must choose a deductible amount for collision and comprehensive coverages. Damage below this amount is your responsibility to fix.

We recommend that you keep deductibles low while you are still making payments on a car. Once the car is paid off, build an emergency fund and raise your deductible to match it.

Comprehensive costs an average of $172 a year, collision costs an average of $488 annually, according to CarInsurance.com’s rate analysis.