Vehicle insurance

What exactly is a vehicle insurance?

Vehicle insurance (or auto insurance, car insurance, motor insurance) is insurance people can purchase for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of traffic accidents. An insurance company may declare a vehicle totally destroyed ('totaled' or 'a write-off') if it appears replacement would be cheaper than repair.

What does a vehicle insurance exactly do?

An overview

Coverage levels
Insurance can cover some or all of the following items:

The insured party
The insured vehicle
Third parties
Different policies specify the circumstances under which each item is covered. For example, a vehicle can be insured against theft, fire damage, or accident damage independently.

Public policy
In many countries it is compulsory to purchase auto insurance before driving on public roads. In the United States, penalties for not purchasing auto insurance vary by state, but often involve a substantial fine, license and/or registration suspension or revocation, as well as possible jail time in some states. Usually the minimum required by law is third party insurance to protect third parties against the financial consequences of loss, damage or injury caused by a vehicle. Typically, coverage against loss of or damage to the driver's own vehicle is optional - one notable exception to this is in Saskatchewan, where SGI provides collision coverage (less a $700 deductible) (such as a collision damage waiver) as part of its basic insurance policy. In South Australia Third Party Personal insurance from the State Government Insurance Corporation (SGIC) is included in the license registration fee. South Africa allocates a percentage of the money from petrol into the Road Accidents Fund, which goes towards compensating third parties in accidents. Most countries relate insurance to both the car and the driver, however the degree of each varies greatly.

Related research
A 1994 study by Jeremy Jackson and Roger Blackman showed, consistent with the risk homeostasis theory, that increased accident cost caused large and significant reductions in accident frequency.