All 50 and the District of Columbia states have specific car insurance requirements. Your insurance agent will know what is required in your state. You can find the minimum levels for each state at Insure.com. However, you may want more than the minimum. Talk with your agent about what is appropriate for you in your area and what the additional coverage will cost.

• Bodily Injury Liability If you are at fault in an auto accident, this coverage pays for medical treatments, rehabilitation, or funeral costs incurred by another driver, the other driver's passengers, passengers in your car, and pedestrians. It also pays the legal costs and settlements for losses from pain and suffering.
  Recommended coverage: at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident.



• Property Damage Liability If someone covered by your policy damages another person's vehicle or property, repair or replacement of the vehicle or property is covered. Each state requires drivers to have property damage liability coverage up to certain specified limits, typically $15,000 per accident.
  Recommended coverage: at least $100,000 per accident.



• Collision and Comprehensive Collision coverage pays for the repair of your car or replacement of its market value, regardless of who is at fault. Comprehensive coverage pays for replacement or repairs if the insured's car has been stolen or damaged as a result of events such as fire or windstorm.
  Recommended coverage: $250 collision deductible; $100 comprehensive deductible.



• Medical Payments (also known as Personal Injury Protection) This coverage pays physician and hospital bills, rehabilitation costs, and some funeral expenses for the insured and the insured's passengers. It also provides limited compensation for services needed during convalescence.
  Experts recommend: Buy this coverage if you do not have adequate health insurance. Some states require this coverage, so accept the minimum amount (for example, the minimum is $2,500 in Maryland).



• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage This coverage pays the insured and members of the insured's household for medical costs, rehabilitation, funeral costs, and losses from pain and suffering from an accident caused by a hit-and-run driver or by a driver who lacks enough insurance or has no insurance at all.
  Experts recommend: Buy at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident because this coverage is essential when driving on present-day city streets and highways.



• Uninsured Motorist Property Damage This coverage pays for damage to the insured's property by someone lacking insurance or having insufficient insurance to reimburse the insured's costs.
  Experts recommend: Buy at least $100,000.



• Glass Breakage This coverage pays for replacement of cracked glass to the insured's car, regardless of how the damage occurred.
  Experts recommend: Buy this coverage if you live in an area prone to car break-ins, a rural area with unpaved roads, or an area where roads are under construction or repair.



• Rental Reimbursement and Towing This coverage pays for towing your wrecked vehicle and the payment for a car rental while the automobile is being repaired after an accident.
  Experts recommend: Buy rental coverage only if you have one vehicle and no alternative transportation, but buy towing coverage because it is cheaper than auto club dues if your car is immobilized (about $15 per vehicle, per year).

The amount of liability insurance you have is usually a series of three numbers. For example, 100/300/100 means that liability limits are $100,000 per person for bodily injury, $300,000 in bodily injury/injuries per accident, and $100,000 in property damage per accident. A few insurance companies combine the liability and property damage into one number, say $500,000.