Towing and Roadside Assistance

Most insurance companies offer some optional coverage for towing or roadside assistance. Some companies will even add this coverage if you only carry liability coverage on your vehicle. Check your policy or call your agent to see if you have this coverage, or if not, what it would cost to add it to your policy if you are interested.

Roadside assistance services typically include fuel or fluid delivery, battery boost/jump-start, flat tire service and lockout service.

Comprehensive and Collision Coverages

Some clients add Comprehensive and Collision coverage to their policies during the difficult winter driving months. Remember that collision coverage is the coverage that will pay to fix your vehicle if you are involved in an accident that has been caused by an uninsured motorist. It will also repair your vehicle if you have a single vehicle accident, such as sliding into a curb or pole, that causes damage to your vehicle. These coverages require that you select a deductible amount that you must pay if repairs are necessary.

Comprehensive coverage is coverage for things other than collision or upset. It covers such hazards as fire, theft, windstorm, flood and vandalism. This is the coverage that will repair or replace your vehicle's glass if it is damaged by a rock that has flown up from the roadway.

Collision coverage is coverage for damages to your vehicle due to colliding with another vehicle or object or for damages caused by the overturn of the automobile.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Auto liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage that you are legally liable for causing to some third party if you have caused an auto accident. Liability coverage is required by the State of Montana at specified minimum limits. In contrast, Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverages are optional and are not included in the minimum limits of liability required by law, but must always be considered by the policy holder.

As reported by Jeff Brady with NPR, "The Insurance Research Council estimates that as the national unemployment rate rises, so will the number of drivers without auto insurance. By 2010, the group expects that more than sixteen percent of motorists will be uninsured."

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverages provide BODILY INJURY coverage for you and your passengers if you are involved in an accident that is caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Remember that uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverages benefit you and passengers in your vehicle.

Make sure you understand these coverage options and review your policy to see what limits you have elected to purchase, or if you rejected the coverage. Get a quote, increase your limits, or take comfort in the knowledge that you have included these important coverages at limits that are equal to the liability limits you have chosen.