Buying a car for the first (or second or third) time is always an exhilarating experience for many. After all, it represents a certain kind of freedom: the ability to travel at your own pace and the time of your own choosing, even if the task is as mundane as getting to the office everyday or driving the kids to school. But owning and driving a car entails a set of responsibilities, and automobile insurance is one way for you to meet those responsibilities, both to yourself and to other motorists.

Nearly all states in the United States require a car owner to have some form of auto insurance, of which there are many types. But the main thing to remember is that auto insurance exists to ameliorate the financial consequences of a car accident, and the basic types of automobile insurance do just that.

When you buy a new car (or a pre-owned one), you also buy auto insurance from an insurance company. If you are ever in an automobile accident, the insurance pays for the damages that are inflicted by you or to you and your passengers. But there are several types of accidents and there exist the appropriate types of insurance to cover them.

>> Get the Best Auto Insurance Rates <<

For instance, if you and your passengers are injured in a car accident, you would benefit from having medical payments insurance, but if someone other than you or your passengers is injured, bodily injury liability insurance would protect you from paying for that person's medical expenses. If, on the other hand, there are no personal injuries involved, only damaged property (either the other party's car or another object - say your neighbor's fence), then property damage liability insurance would pay for repairing the damage done or for the replacement of the damaged property altogether. Then there is collision coverage, which will cover the expenses needed to repair your car if you collide with another car or object.

What if you are hit by a driver who does not have adequate auto insurance to cover the cost of damages, or worse, by one who has no insurance at all? This is where uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage would be most beneficial; they insure YOU against the financial consequences of accidents involving you and such drivers.

Not all types of auto insurance are confined exclusively to incidents relating to traffic accidents. A type of insurance called "comprehensive coverage" does exactly what its name says - it reimburses you for damage sustained by your car because of causes other than a traffic accident or collision. Comprehensive coverage would be a blessing in case one's automobile gets carjacked or carnapped.

However, you, the consumer, need to remember that auto insurance is not a cure-all solution for your traffic accident problems. There are clauses in the fine print that make coverage null and void in certain conditions - make sure to clarify these with your insurance agent. And don't forget to be up-to-date when it comes to making auto insurance premium payments; you may be enrolled for the best coverage in the country, but failing to make payments on time could put you at risk for not getting the insurance payment at the time you need it most.

>> Get the Best Auto Insurance Rates <<