How many deductibles does your Texas car insurance policy have? That depends on the coverage you selected when you purchased your policy. There are up to three deductible types available on most Texas policies including comprehensive, collision, and uninsured motorist. Before outlining each one, let’s first examine what a deductible is.
An insurance policy deductible is the amount of money a policyholder pays when a claim is filed. Deductibles are paid by the policyholder before the insurance company pays for repairs, if the car can be repaired. In the case of a total loss, then the amount paid to the insured, or policyholder, is reduced by the amount of the deductible from the value placed on the vehicle.
Comprehensive: This deductible, which is also referred to as “other than collision”, addresses all non-collision claims. These include a rock hitting your windshield, a tree falling on your car, hail damage, someone vandalizing your car, your car being caught in a flood, or even catching on fire. It even covers hitting an animal such as a deer.
Collision: The collision deductible applies to all types of collisions such as rear-ending another car, running into a fence, or even hitting a pedestrian. It also applies when someone hits your car while it’s parked at the grocery store, mall or elsewhere.
The collision deductible always applies when you’re involved in an at fault accident (you run into the car and it’s your fault). It may also be used in a not at fault accident, one where the person hits you and they are clearly at fault. In these cases, you may decide to file the claim on your policy rather than theirs either because they have a policy with a substandard company, they’re difficult to deal with, or you receive a low-ball claim offer. This money may be returned to you once your company has pursued the other company for damages, or subrogated against the other carrier.
Uninsured Motorist: The third deductible type is for those policyholders who have uninsured motorist coverage (see https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/texas-car-insurance-and-uninsured-motorist-coverage/). Texas insurance law stipulates the uninsured motorist deductible is $250, no more or less. This deductible only applies if you’re hit by someone driving without a valid car insurance policy and they are determined to be at fault.
Texas insurance companies offer a wide range of comprehensive and collision deductibles ranging from $100 to $2,000 in some cases. Here are four things to remember when thinking about deductibles:
- These are all optional; you can have none, one, two, or all three. If you don’t have a deductible, then you don’t have that type of coverage.
- The higher the deductible, the lower your insurance will cost.
- The lower the deductible, the more your insurance will cost.
- The comprehensive and collision deductibles can be the same or different amounts, but the comprehensive deductible cannot be more than the collision deductible.
When comparing insurance rates be sure to look at different levels of deductibles. The comprehensive deductible doesn’t impact the cost of the policy as much as the collision deductible. Keep your budget in mind too. It may be easy for you to write a $500 check for a claim repair, but not $1,000. Do you have a question, comment, or experience you’d like to share? You can do so on our Facebook, Google +, and LinkedIn pages. I’d love to hear from you!
