Car Insurance Coverages

Elephant offers many auto insurance coverage options to protect you, your car and others. So you can choose the car coverage that’s right for you. Select from options including Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Coverage, Comprehensive and Collision Coverage, Rental Reimbursement, Roadside Assistance and more.

Interested in learning more about what coverages you need on your policy?

Check out our Coverage Wizard!

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Liability Coverage – Bodily Injury & Property Damage

Liability coverage is a “third-party coverage”, which is some insurance jargon meaning it covers other people (not you) for their injuries and property damage if you cause an accident. Even though it technically doesn’t cover your injuries or damaged property, liability coverage does protect you from being financially on the hook if you cause an accident.

Liability coverage is broken into two main types – Bodily Injury and Property Damage.

Bodily Injury Liability (or BI)

This covers other people’s bodily injuries if you are at fault in a car accident. It also provides for a legal defense if another party in the accident files a lawsuit against you related to an auto claim. Claims for bodily injury may be for such things as medical bills, loss of income, or pain and suffering.

Bodily Injury Liability coverage can be a bit confusing, in that limits are broken into two numbers (i.e. $25,000/$50,000) — the first number is the maximum amount your insurance will pay out per person, and the second is the maximum amount your insurance will pay for all injuries suffered per incident.

Here’s an example:

You’re stuck in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway, get distracted, and rear-end the vehicle in front of you, which had a driver and two passengers. All three occupants of the other vehicle go to the doctor for whiplash treatment, and each of their bills is $20,000. Your insurance, which carries $25,000/$50,000 BI limits, will pay out up to $25,000 for each occupant, with a combined payout ceiling maxing out at $50,000 for all injured parties.

If you’re looking at just the first number, you may think you’re covered since the amount insurance will pay out per person is greater than each individual’s bill. However, since the total amount owed is $60,000 and your insurance payout is capped at $50,000 for all injured parties per accident, you would likely be on the hook for $10,000.

This example highlights the importance of carrying higher limits because those medical bills can quickly add up.

Property Damage Liability (or PD)

This covers you if your car damages someone else’s property. Usually, it is another car, but it could be a fence, a house, or any other property damaged in an accident. It also provides you with legal defense if another party files a lawsuit against you. It is third in the string of numbers you may hear when people are talking about coverage limits — $25,000/$50,000/$20,000.

 

Comprehensive and Collision Coverages

Comprehensive and Collision coverages pay to repair or replace your car if it damaged, regardless of who is at fault. You select a deductible that you pay out of pocket and your insurance company pays for the remaining damage up to the limits you select.

Collision

This covers damage to your car when you collide with another vehicle or object. If you hit a car, a pole or another nonliving object, Collision coverage will apply.

Comprehensive (or Other Than Collision)

This covers your car for losses resulting from incidents other than a collision. For example, Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car if it is stolen, or damaged by flood, fire, or animals. If there’s a windstorm and a tree branch lands on your windshield, Comprehensive coverage will cover that cost. It also covers glass only claims.

 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

These coverages will cover damages for you, the insured members of your household, and your passengers incur that the at-fault party is legally liable for when the person at fault for an accident does not have car insurance. Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) coverage will cover medical treatment and lost wages up to the limits you select.

If the driver or owner of a vehicle is legally liable for an accident but does not have insurance, you can use Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD) to cover damage to your insured auto, up to the limits you select.

If your injury expenses exceed the at-fault party’s Liability limits, you can use Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UIMBI) coverage to pay for the amount not covered by the at-fault person’s insurance. Underinsured Motorist coverage is designed to cover the gap between the other person’s Liability limits and the amount of your injury expenses, up to the Underinsured Motorist limits you select.

 

Loan/Lease Payoff

Loan/Lease Payoff coverage protects you if your financed vehicle sustains a total loss. Loan/Lease coverage pays the remaining loan balance (subject to policy terms, conditions, and exclusions). You can purchase Loan/Lease Payoff coverage for vehicles that are leased or financed.

After your Comprehensive or Collision coverage has paid the actual cash value for your vehicle, less your deductible, your Loan/Lease Payoff coverage will pay the difference between the actual cash value and any additional amount you owe under the terms of your vehicle lease or loan. Your coverage limits, deductibles, and certain exclusions may apply.

 

MedPay & PIP

The name and some minor specifics of what is available with these coverages varies by your state.

MedPay (or Medical Payments)

This coverage pays the cost of necessary medical care resulting from injuries you and your passengers receive as a result of an auto accident, and applies regardless of who caused an accident.

Coverage is also provided to the insured and resident relatives, while they are riding in someone else’s car at the time of the accident or if they are struck as a pedestrian.

You may not need medical payments coverage if you and your passengers are fully covered by health insurance, but this coverage can also pay for items which may not be covered by your health plan, such as dental treatment, professional nursing services, and prostheses.

PIP (or Personal Injury Protection)

PIP generally covers everything that Medical Payments covers, plus it reimburses you for lost wages and can also cover non-medical expenses related to your accident.

 

Rental Reimbursement

Rental Reimbursement provides rental car coverage if your car isn’t drivable for more than 24 hours because of a covered loss under Comprehensive or Collision coverage. Rental Reimbursement helps to reduce the hassle of an accident by providing a replacement car while your car is in the repair shop, subject to coverage limits.

Or, in the event your car is a total loss, your policy will provide an additional 3 days of rental from the time your settlement is provided by the total loss adjuster, subject to your coverage limits.

 

Roadside Assistance

Roadside Assistance coverage saves you from being stranded on the side of the road when something goes wrong with your car. If you lock your keys in your car or you get a flat tire, you can call Roadside Assistance to get help as soon as possible. This is a 24/7 service that’s available nationwide. We’ve partnered with Urgent.ly to bring our customers the help they deserve when they need it the most.

Find out more out our unique Roadside Assistance coverage here.

Custom Parts and Equipment Coverage

Custom Parts and Equipment coverage (CPE) covers permanently attached equipment, devices, accessories, enhancements and changes, other than those that the manufacturer originally installs, that alter the appearance or performance of a car. CPE coverage is available only in conjunction with Comprehensive and Collision coverage. When you purchase Comprehensive or Collision coverage, at least $1,000 of Custom Parts and Equipment coverage is included.

 

Legal Assistance Coverage

Legal Assistance is a unique coverage offered by Elephant. Just add this to your policy and you and the drivers on your policy will receive discounted access to an attorney for as little as $5 a month.

Read more about this coverage here.

 

Pet Injury Coverage

Elephant policyholders with Collision or Other than Collision coverage that have a dog or cat that sustains an injury while inside a covered auto or non-owned auto at the time of a loss, would receive up to $1,000 for veterinary fees incurred or up to a $1,000 death benefit if the pet dies in, or as a direct result of, the covered loss.

 

Income Loss Coverage

Income Loss coverage covers any income loss resulting from bodily injury caused by an accident and arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle. You can receive income payments of up to $100 per week for a period not to exceed 52 weeks if the injured person is engaged in an occupation for which he receives compensation.