A property damage claim is a request for financial compensation from an insurance company when a person’s property has been damaged by a collision or other covered cause. The most common property damage claim is when a not-at-fault driver files a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurer after a car accident. On the other hand, when a driver with collision or comprehensive insurance causes an accident or otherwise suffers vehicle damage, they would file a property damage insurance claim with their own insurance company.

Ultimately, the process of filing a property damage claim is a tedious one that depends on what caused the damage, what types of coverage you carry, and who is at fault if the damage was caused by an accident.

You need enough car insurance to satisfy your state’s minimum coverage requirements and adequately protect your finances if you’re involved in an accident or your car is otherwise damaged. Drivers in nearly every state need at least a minimum amount of car insurance in order to drive legally. A similar financial investment is needed in the two states where insurance is not required: New Hampshire and Virginia. The exact amount of coverage you should buy depends on multiple factors, like your financial situation, the value of your vehicle, your driving habits, and where you live.

3 Steps to Determine How Much Car Insurance You Need:

1. Find out your state’s minimum coverage requirements.
2. Compare the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage to the cash value of your car. If the cost is greater than 10% of your car’s value minus your deducible, consider skipping it.
3. Calculate how much liability insurance you need to cover the total value of your net worth.

Certificate of Financial Responsibility (SR-22)

States ensure that risky drivers carry at least the minimum auto insurance required by having them file a certificate of financial responsibility called an SR-22 (or in some cases, an FR-44). This is important since high-risk drivers may be more likely to commit other violations in the future. Although sometimes referred to as “SR-22 insurance” or an “SR-22 bond” it is actually just a form filed with the state on the driver’s behalf by the car insurance provider that verifies state insurance requirements have been met.

If you drive safely and carry sufficient insurance, you may never have to bother with an SR-22. For the most part, only high-risk drivers who have committed serious traffic violations will have this requirement. Violations triggering an SR-22 may include:

Property damage liability coverage helps pay for damage to someone else’s car or other property due to an accident you caused, up to the policy’s limits. It will also cover damage you may cause to structures and stationary objects, including houses, stores, offices, trees, fences, guardrails, lamp posts, telephone poles, and more.

Property damage liability insurance does not cover damage to your own car. To repair that damage, you will need the physical damage coverage of your collision and comprehensive policies.

The U.S. is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, and different states have reopened at different rates. Some states have paused their reopening plans or have even reversed course and issued new restrictions. The U.S. experienced a slight increase in new unemployment claims week-over-week, which shows that we’re in a saw-toothed shaped recovery.

There are currently 11.1 million Americans unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in total. Last week, there were 778,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, which is a lot fewer than the 6.9 million during the peak of the pandemic (an 89% reduction).

Driving without insurance is illegal – not to mention, financially risky – but that doesn’t stop some drivers from doing it. A study by the Insurance Research Council found that approximately one out of eight U.S. motorists in 2012 lacked any insurance coverage.

The penalty for driving without insurance can be steep – hundreds of dollars in fines and the revocation of your driver’s license, for example – but that’s nothing compared to the potential out-of-pocket costs of an accident without proper protection.

Car repair insurance, or mechanical breakdown coverage, is available from a few insurance companies such as GEICO and Mercury Insurance. Adding this coverage to your car insurance can save you from bearing the cost of major repairs like a blown engine or transmission on your own. But for most people it’s just not a good value.

So that you can decide for yourself, we summarize below how this insurance works. We’ll also offer some better alternatives that can help protect you from expensive car repairs.

Driver’s license points are demerits added to your driving record when you are convicted of a moving violation. The number of points that are assigned to your license for each violation depends on the seriousness of the infraction. For example, minor violations like speeding aren’t worth as many points as major offenses like DUI or reckless driving. If you accumulate too many points within a certain period of time, you could have your license suspended by the state DMV. Most states have their own unique points systems, while some don’t use points at all.

Key Things to Know About Driver’s License Points

• Points are assigned after you are convicted of a moving violation.
• The number of points added to your license depends on the severity of the violation.
• Accumulating too many points in a certain timeframe will cause your license to be suspended.
• Each state’s points system is different, and some don’t use points at all.
• Insurance companies use their own points to calculate premiums, but a moving violation still affects your rates.
• You can take a defensive driving course and practice safe driving habits to reduce the impact of points on your license.
• If you’ve recently committed multiple moving violations, you should check your driving record to stay aware of exactly how many points are on your license.

A Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is an optional service sold by rental car companies to cover you in case of an accident or other event that causes damage to your rental car. The waiver covers only the rented vehicle and means that the rental company waives its right to pursue you for damage. Your rental car company may call it a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), and—even though it is not actually a form of insurance—it may also be referred to as Collision Damage Waiver or Loss Damage Waiver insurance.

Key Things to Know About Collision Damage Waivers:

• A CDW covers damage to the rental car, but not to other people’s property.
• Collision damage waivers for economy vehicles typically cost $10 – $30 per day.
• Damage waivers do not cover theft or risky behaviors that result in damage, such as drunk driving.
• Personal auto insurance and credit card benefits serve as alternatives to collision damage waivers.

Creditors consider a variety of different factors when establishing credit limits, but the two most important pieces of information are your credit history and disposable income. The former tells them how responsible of a borrower you’ve been to date as well as how much debt you’ve incurred and the latter tells them how much additional credit you can comfortably afford.

The bottom line is that lending is about risk, and the institutions putting up the money want to minimize the chances that their customers will ultimately find themselves unable to pay back what they owe.