Car insurance is a sort of financial protection that most people take for granted. Lulled into a false sense of complacency through clever advertising, the average driver trusts that the insurance they carry will fully cover them after a major car wreck.
Unfortunately, when you don’t understand what protects you after a car crash, you may fail to make use of the systems in place for your benefit. There are three things that most drivers need to understand about car insurance in New Mexico.
Insurance coverage protects you from liability, not costs
The policy that you carry may not do anything to help you in a car crash where someone else is to blame. Instead, you will make a claim against the policy that the other driver carries. It is fault that determines what policy pays.
This system helps reduce the expenses that you personally have to incur, like a higher annual insurance premium, because of another driver’s bad behavior.
Many drivers have low insurance coverage
New Mexico requires that drivers carry liability insurance, and many people only pay for enough coverage to comply with the law. There are also some drivers on the New Mexico roads who don’t have any insurance whatsoever.
A basic policy in New Mexico should have at least $10,000 in property damage liability coverage. The amount of bodily injury coverage available depends on how many people get hurt. The lowest amount of coverage available is $25,000 of protection when a crash hurts one person and a $50,000 total limit per crash.
You can increase how much protection you have
You don’t have to risk financial devastation after another driver causes a wreck that injures you or leaves your vehicle undrivable. Every driver in New Mexico can add more coverage to their policies.
From significantly increasing your liability coverage so that you won’t be at risk of someone suing you if you cause a wreck to adding additional kinds of coverage to your policy, you can better protect yourself if you are willing to invest a bit more in your annual insurance costs.
In addition to more liability protection, you may want to add uninsured and underinsured motorist protection, comprehensive coverage or collision coverage to your policy. If you have extra insurance, you can rely on your own policy even if the other driver has a bad policy or has allowed their coverage to lapse.
Understanding the basics of New Mexico car insurance will help you cover your costs after a motor vehicle collision.