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When you live in Cambridge, Massachusetts and you own a vehicle, you are required by law to carry a minimum amount of personal auto insurance.

As the registered owner of the vehicle, you can face serious and expensive penalties if you fail to purchase the right type of coverage or keep an insurance policy active. It can be difficult to shop for coverage or select a plan when you do not know the next thing about state requirements, coverage options, or how you can shop.

If you are looking for a helping hand, read this guide to Cambridge car insurance and find the direction that you need to build the best policy.

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What type of coverage are you required to carry in Cambridge?

Car insurance laws are drafted and mandated by state officials. This is why vehicle owners in different states need to familiarize themselves with different auto insurance requirements.

When you live in Cambridge and you register a vehicle at your local Department of Motor Vehicles, you are agreeing to comply with the auto insurance laws in the state of Massachusetts.

According to the vehicle code, all automobiles that are licensed to be stored and driven primarily in Massachusetts must by covered with Liability, Personal Injury Protection, and Uninsured Motorist Protection.

Unlike some states, where the requirements are purely focused on purchasing third-party coverage, officials in Massachusetts have decided that everyone needs coverage for their own medical expenses.

Read on, and learn more about what each coverage pays for and how much coverage you are required to carry at a minimum.

Liability Coverage

Liability coverage pays for third-party damages when you are found to be at least 51% at fault in an accident. It consists of two separate limits that pay for different types of damages and these are called Bodily Injury and Property Damage.

– Bodily Injury

Bodily Injury (BI) pays when you are responsible for injuries to other drivers or passengers. It will not pay for the medical treatment of passengers who were in your vehicle.

When you select limits for your Bodily Injury coverage, you will be asked how much you want per person and per accident. The first limit is the maximum amount of money that will be paid to a single person, and the second limit is the maximum limit paid in total.

You must have at least $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident to comply with state law.

– Property Damage

Property Damage pays when you are responsible for damages to real property caused when you are operating your vehicle or a replacement vehicle.

The coverage will also pay when someone in your home gets into an accident or when someone who has permission to drive your car is driving. While you can select higher limits, the state requirement is that you carry no less than $5000 per accident.

Uninsured Motorist

According to the Insurance Information Institute, about 3.9 percent of drivers in the state do not have insurance.

While Massachusetts has the lowest number of drivers who drive uninsured, there is still a need to protect you against the more than 4,100 drivers who do not have liability coverage in Cambridge.

This is why state officials require all insured drivers to carry at least a minimal amount of Uninsured Motorist Protection (UM).

UM will pay for your medical expenses much like it was Bodily Injury coverage when there is no Bodily Injury coverage to pay. It will also kick in when the person who hits you has insurance but does not have high enough limits to pay for your treatments in total.

Just like the BI requirements, you must have at least $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident in UM.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

It can be difficult to pay for your medical bills when you cause an accident and you take on the responsibility of paying for your own treatments.

If you do not have medical insurance or you have an individual plan that has a high out-of-pocket charge, you can dig yourself into debt following an accident.

State officials in Massachusetts require that you carry Personal Injury Protection to pay for your medical treatment even when you are at fault. It may also pay for the loss of wages and other rehabilitation expenses.

You will need at least  $8,000 per person in PIP to comply in Massachusetts.

Are there additional coverage options for added protection?

You may need the above coverage limits to register and drive your car in Cambridge, but you do have more options than just buying a basic policy.

Before you choose the bare minimum limits and only required coverage types, you should price the cost of carrying higher liability, uninsured motorist, and personal injury protection limits.

Most agents recommend that drivers buy no less than $100,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for third-party injuries and $100,000 for property damage.

If you can afford these raised limits, they will provide you with more peace of mind and more asset protection if you do need to file a liability claim. In addition to raising your limits, you should consider these optional coverage types that will make life easier on your if you ever file a damage claim:

– Collision

Registered owners do not always hold the title to their car. If you do not hold the title, the title holder is going to require you to buy physical damage coverage that protects their interests.

This is why you need collision when you lease or finance a car. Collision will pay when you are at-fault in a collision or when you are a victim of a hit and run. You must pay your deductible before your coverage will pay to repair the car or to buy a new one when it is totaled.

– Other Than Collision

Other than collision, more commonly called comprehensive, will pay for all other covered losses that do not involve a collision.

This may include fire, theft, vandalism, glass breakage or hitting a live and unpredictable animal. Unlike collision claims, comprehensive claims are typically not considered to be a fault claim that is surcharged.

– Rental Car

If someone hits you or you hit someone else and require a rental car, paying for the fee for a week or even a month can get expensive. Having

Having rental car coverage helps you avoid the expense while your car is getting body work so that you can follow your routine without breaking the bank. You can select a daily limit or a maximum limit for a single claim.

How do you select an insurance company that you can trust?

There are dozens or even hundreds of carriers that service drivers who reside in Cambridge and other surrounding areas in Massachusetts.

You cannot reasonably call every insurer and interview the agents or representatives so that you can see if they are reputable. Instead of doing this, you can do some research to find the most financially secure and honest companies licensed to do business with the Department of Insurance.

Here are some of the major considerations you should know about:

– Financial Health

Insurance companies can be affected by catastrophic loss or even by economic downturns.

If you choose a company that is not financially healthy because you failed to check their records, you could face uncovered claims and policy cancellations that you would have never expected. It is important to check the financial standing of any carrier that you are going to get quotes through.

You can easily do this by searching for the company through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and reviewing their company profile.

This profile will also show you if the company has complaints or if they have an active license status in your state.

– Customer Service

After you find the safest of companies, you need to find companies that believe in offering quality service. You are a customer first and not a dollar sign.

You can call the companies and see what your first impression is, or you can check ratings with agencies like J.D. Power and Associates. Only after you see what people have to say about their experiences should you decide if you want to make your own.

Buying Cambridge car insurance does not have to be difficult. Once you decide how much coverage is enough, you can start to price policies and make adjustments.

The best way to comparison shop and find the insurer with a value price and a good reputation is to use the Internet. By using a rate comparison tool and reviewing the instant quotes that are displayed on the screen, you can make the smart choice when you buy your Massachusetts coverage.

Be sure to do more than just look at price and your Cambridge car insurance will actually protect you on the road.

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