With this coverage, people often make the mistake of focusing on just getting the lowest price possible, rather than making sure they also have the right amount of protection as well as reliable claims service.
Are you looking for a new car insurance policy for a vehicle you are about to purchase? Or are you shopping around for a more competitively-priced option than what you currently have on your car or truck?
Conventional wisdom might lead you to believe that you can get a suitable and low-cost auto insurance policy in just a matter of minutes by going online. However, while this might appear to be the fastest and most cost-effective route to go, the Austin Insurance team is waving the yellow caution flag. We encourage you to take a little more time before you decide to purchase an instant online policy from a national carrier because, by doing so, you might unknowingly downgrade your vehicle’s insurance protection to a risky level just to save a couple of bucks.
To ensure that you get the level of car insurance coverage that is the best fit for both your vehicle and financial situation, consider working with a local and knowledgeable insurance team, like Austin Insurance, who has decades of experience insuring Massachusetts drivers just like you.
That way, instead of responding to a standard list of predetermined questions on the internet, you will have the opportunity to tell us about yourself and ask your questions throughout the insurance process. Plus, rather than getting automated responses from a virtual agent, you will get advice from insurance specialists who make it a priority to do the right thing by you and your family. And, instead of a one-plan-fits-all solution, you will get straightforward and detailed information to help you understand all your options and assist you in selecting the optimal insurance, from top-rated insurance providers, for your specific needs.
Why Massachusetts state minimum insurance coverage is not nearly enough to protect you, your passengers, or other drivers, in the event of an accident.
In Massachusetts, all vehicle owners are required to have the following minimum auto insurance coverage:
- Bodily Injury to Others, $20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident. This covers injuries to other people as a result of an accident caused by you, a family member, or a person using your car with your consent.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP), $8,000 per person. This covers medical expenses, rehabilitation, and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses for you or someone else injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.
- Bodily Injury Caused by an Uninsured Auto, $20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident. This covers your injuries, as well as any suffered by passengers in your car, if the accident is caused by an uninsured driver/vehicle or if the incident is a hit-and-run.
- Damage to Someone Else’s Property, $5,000 per accident. This covers the damages you cause to the property of others in an accident.
Because Massachusetts has established these minimums, you may think that it doesn’t matter where you go to get your insurance. After all, as long as you can get a plan that fulfills these requirements at the lowest rate possible, you, your vehicle, your passengers, and other drivers on the road should be protected, right? But here is why that logic does not work:
- These minimums have not changed for over 20 years. While medical and legal costs, as well as car prices, have soared, the state has not revisited these auto insurance requirements for over two decades. Today, these minimum coverage limits will probably barely make a dent in what you might owe for injuries to other drivers and their passengers and damages to other’s vehicles and property should you be involved in an at-fault accident.
- These minimums don’t travel well. If you only get the minimum required coverage levels, and your accident occurs outside of Massachusetts, the Bodily Injury to Others coverage does not apply. So, if you get in a crash outside of the Bay State, you’re essentially going to be stuck paying out of pocket for any expenses related to injuries to other people.
- These minimums provide zero coverage for your vehicle. While these minimum requirements provide limited coverage for damages that you cause to other people’s property, there is no coverage for your own vehicle. So, if your car or truck is damaged in an at-fault accident, you are either going to have to pay to repair your own vehicle or dip into your hard-earned savings to purchase another vehicle.
One of the primary benefits of having auto insurance is supposed to be that you can have peace of mind that your policy will provide you with meaningful financial protection in the event of an accident. But, it’s pretty evident, that carrying just the state’s minimum coverage is not going to do that.
For an accurate determination of the level of auto insurance protection you need, above and beyond the state of Massachusetts requirements, it’s important to work one-on-one with a local, and very thorough, insurance professional, like Austin.
How Austin takes care of Massachusetts Drivers is different from all the rest.
At Austin Insurance, we want to start the car insurance process by getting an understanding of your risk tolerance and how valuable it is to you to have peace of mind that, if something bad were to happen involving your vehicle, that you would be covered. When you partner with our team to protect your vehicles, we start by evaluating a variety of different aspects of your life, not just what type of car you drive or where you drive, but also …
- what assets you have accumulated that you’d like to protect from lawsuits, such as your home, personal belongings, vehicles, business, current cash, future earnings, and even a potential inheritance
- whether you have an alternative vehicle at the ready should your primary one be in the shop or a complete loss
- if you might ever need roadside assistance or towing services in the future
- how much you have left to pay off on your car loan or lease
- what amount of money you have saved up in an emergency fund
- are you using any of your personal vehicles for business purposes
- who are all the licensed household members, including any kids in college
Gathering all of this information, along with details about your vehicle and driving behaviors, enables us to assess if you might currently be under- or over-insured and if you could be paying less for your car insurance.
Some of the cost-saving options you may be eligible for, but not taking advantage of, as well as additional insurance options that you may want to consider in order to close risky gaps in your coverage, include:
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Discounts for…
- Bundling Auto & Home Policies
- Multi-Car Individual/Spouse
- New Customers
- Automatic Bill Pay/Pay in Full
- Energy-Saving Hybrids or Electrics
- Advanced Driver Training
- Motor Club Membership
- Student Away at School
- Good Student
- Military Away
- Low Mileage
- AARP Membership
- Safety Systems, e.g., automatic seat belts, air bags, and anti-theft alarm
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Endorsements such as…
- Accident Forgiveness
- Auto Loan/Lease Gap Coverage
- Disappearing Deductible Credits
- New Auto Replacement Cost
- Collision Coverage
- Umbrella Insurance
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
- Medical Payments Coverage
- Rental Car Coverage
- Roadside Assistance Coverage & Towing
- Pet Coverage
- Accident Air Bag Discharge Coverage
- Aftermarket Parts Coverage; e.g., plows, pickup truck caps, and toolboxes
The real value of partnering with the experts at Austin, though, will be most evident should you ever have to file a claim. We know that any accident, no matter if it’s a minor fender-bender or a catastrophic loss, can be stressful and that the claims process can often add to your level of frustration. That’s why we take a unique approach to getting you through it as quickly as possible.
First, we have carefully selected to work with only the top-rated state and national insurance carriers that have a reputation for fast and friendly claim service. Second, we have a dedicated claims specialist on our team – who has a background in car mechanics and auto repair – to help you with paperwork, answer your questions, uncomplicate any issues, and assist you in any other way that you need. Once your claim is filed, our job will not end there; we feel it is our responsibility to work closely with you and your insurance adjuster to ensure that your claim continues to be resolved promptly and fairly.
Giving you, and your auto insurance needs, 110% of our time and attention, is simply the Austin Insurance way and, more importantly, the only true way to ensure that you get the optimal level of coverage and protection to fit your vehicle and your budget.
The Austin Family takes care of your Motorcycle and Recreational Vehicles too.
Just as drivers in Massachusetts are required to have a minimum level of insurance coverage for their cars, bikers in the Commonwealth also face mandatory insurance requirements for their motorcycles. The state’s minimums are:
- Bodily injury to others, $20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident
- Damage to someone else’s property, $5,000
But, similar to the auto insurance requirements, these coverage levels are inadequate to protect you financially in the event of an accident. Specifically, if you only carry these minimums, then you are not covered for injuries to you or a passenger on your bike, or for damages to your own motorcycle. To help you fix up your ride after a crash and get you back out on the road as soon as possible, you may want to consider additional insurance options like:
- Guest Passenger Liability
- Collision
- Comprehensive
- Custom Parts and Equipment
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist
- Roadside Assistance
- Trip Interruption
- And more
For three generations, Austin Insurance has been here to help bikers, as well as our clients who own scooters, boats, jet skis, snowmobiles, motorhomes, campers, RVs, ATVs, travel and 5th wheel trailers, golf carts, and other similar vehicles, with all of their insurance needs. We look forward to finding you the right insurance, at affordable prices, to protect your preferred mode of transportation too.