Quick Facts

• Liability Insurance in Texas provides coverage for any injuries & property repairs for the other party (if you are found at fault) in an accident

• The State of Texas requires each driver to carry at least minimum Liability limits of $30,000 per person, $60,000 per occurrence, and $25,000 in property damage. However, your premium can increase or decrease based upon the coverage limits you select.

Liability insurance pays to repair or replace the other drivers’ car and pays the other parties medical expenses when you are at fault in an accident. Liability insurance is made up of Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability.

Bodily Injury (BI) Liability provides important protection if you injure someone and/or if an injury in an accident results in death while operating your car. This form of auto insurance is important and something you want to keep at a consistent level, even as your car gets older and declines in value. In the event of a serious accident, you want enough insurance (higher limits) to protect assets that may become subject to a lawsuit.

Property Damage (PD) Liability provides you with protection if your car damages someone’s property, and it also pays for your legal defense costs if you are sued as a result of these damages.

Together, Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability coverage makes up the minimum state required coverage for all Texas drivers.

Liability coverage does not pay to repair or replace damages to your vehicle and/or any medical expenses you may incur in an accident if you are at fault. Consider purchasing additional types of coverage such as medical payments, collision, and comprehensive to pay for these expenses.

Quick Facts

• Comprehensive & Collision insurance help cover the repairs or replacement of your car.
• Choosing a lower deductible will increase your premium and choosing a higher deductible will decrease your premium.
• If you lease or finance your car, Comprehensive & Collision is typically required by the lender.

Together Comprehensive & Collision insurance provides full protection for your vehicle in the event of an accident, whether you are at fault or not.
Comprehensive Insurance provides protection for your vehicle if it is damaged by something other than a collision with a vehicle or object, such as: Fire, Theft, Vandalism, and Collision with an animal, or other covered perils.

Collision Insurance is a form of car insurance that pays for damage to your car when your car hits, or is hit by, another object. Dos Amigos Auto Insurance offers a number of affordable insurance deductibles. You can opt for a higher deductible in order to lower your premium.

Deductible refers to the amount of out-of-pocket expenses you are responsible for to cover the repairs to your vehicle in an accident. Common deductible amounts include $250, $500, or $1,000.

Comprehensive & Collision provide full protection for your vehicle in the event that you cause an accident or another unpredictable event causes damage to your vehicle. Glass coverage is also included under the comprehensive portion. When you add comprehensive and collision to your policy, this is typically referred to as “full coverage”.

Quick Facts

• In the state of TEXAS, you can carry either PIP or Medical Payments coverage.
• PIP coverage begins at $2500 and Medical Payment Coverage begins at $5000
• PIP also covers you while you are walking as a pedestrian.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance typically pays for the medical, hospital, funeral, and/or lost wages incurred by you and any passengers injured in an accident in your car regardless of who is at fault for the accident.

Personal Injury Protection covers you and your passengers in the vehicle, without any standard deductible to pay before it pays out. It can cover the hospitalization and rehabilitation for you and your passengers, up to the policy limits that you choose. PIP only applies towards medical expenses, not any property damage. PIP also covers substitute services if the auto related injuries prevent you from performing your standard household tasks.

The state of Texas requires all drivers who do not want this coverage to reject it in writing, via a special rejection form.

Quick Facts

• 1 out of 5 vehicles in Texas is driving around uninsured. (Source: TexaSure.com)
• UM provides coverage for any injuries and/or medical expenses caused during an accident if the other party is uninsured or if you’re involved in a hit-and-run accident.
• UMPD provides coverage for any damages to your vehicle caused during an accident if the other party is uninsured and has a standard deductible of $250 per occurrence.

Given the number of uninsured motorists driving around today, this is very important coverage to have, even in states with no-fault insurance.

Dos Amigos offers 3 different types of uninsured motorist protection insurance:

• Uninsured Motorist (UM) Insurance
  Also known as Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UMBI) Insurance, it pays for you and your passenger(s) injuries such as medical expenses, in an accident caused by an uninsured driver, and/or a hit-and-run driver.
• Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD) Insurance
  This type of coverage pays for damage to your vehicle in an accident caused by an uninsured driver, and/or a hit-and-run driver.
• Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Insurance
  This Insurance covers your vehicle in the event it is damaged from an accident by another insured driver that doesn’t have enough coverage limits on their policy to cover the damage to your vehicle; in that case, having this coverage on your policy will cover the remaining difference for any damages to be repaired or replaced.

Uninsured motorist will cover you in those situations where you get hit by someone who didn’t decide to carry auto insurance. With roughly 1 out of 5 drivers on the road today without insurance, this coverage certainly comes in handy if you are one of the unlucky ones to get hit by someone without any coverage.

The underinsured motorist coverage works similarly, but it would only pay out when you get hit by someone who does have auto insurance, but your bodily injury damages that they caused are more than they carry, leaving them underinsured. Just like your bodily injury, the UMPD would pay to fix the damage to your car caused by the other driver, and you only have to pay the $250 deductible.

Quick Facts

• Not all health insurance policies pay for auto related accidents.
• You can carry $500 to $5000 per person in medical coverage
• Medical payments also covers you while you are walking as a pedestrian or bicycling.

Medical payments covers the medical, hospital, and funeral expenses for you and any passengers injured in an accident in your car, regardless of who is at fault.

Medical payments are known as goodwill, no fault type of coverage that will protect you and your passengers in the vehicle. There is no deductible to pay before it kicks in, and it pays out on a per person basis. Regardless of how reliable you think your health insurance policy is, medical payments can help out on several different levels after an accident.

Quick Facts

• Rental Reimbursement is an optional coverage with an additional low premium.
• Not all auto insurance policies include insurance coverage while you’re driving a rental car.
• You must have comprehensive and collision coverage in order to add rental reimbursement to your policy.

Rental Reimbursement is coverage that provides you reimbursement for the expense of a rental car if your vehicle is disabled from an accident and in the repair shop. This coverage cannot be used for leisure purposes.

Rental Reimbursement is an optional coverage that you can pay for, in the event that your car is in the shop due to a covered accident, and you still need to get to work or perform your daily tasks. There are different limits that you can choose from to be properly covered when renting another car. Rental car coverage can add up quickly after an accident, and this additional coverage might be worth the extra cost after an accident.

Quick Facts

• Towing coverage will assist in towing your car to the nearest facility when your car can’t be driven due to a covered loss
• Roadside assistance provides support across the United States if you run out of gas, lock your keys in your car, get a flat tire or even need a battery boost

Dos Amigos offers towing and roadside assistance as an optional add-on to your auto insurance policy for an additional low monthly premium.

If your car is in need of a tow after an accident, or you find yourself with car troubles on the side of the road, you can add this peace of mind coverage to your auto policy.

Everyone loves getting discounts and saving money; and at Dos Amigos, we offer a variety of discounts to help you save money on your insurance premium. Ask your agent if you qualify for any of our discounts today.

Multi-Car Discount

The more vehicles you add to your policy, the cheaper the price is per vehicle.

Proof of Prior Insurance (POP) Discount

Provides discount for having had insurance for the past 6 months or more, without any lapse in coverage or some lapse depending on underwriting restrictions, generally 30 days. In order to qualify for the full discount, the name of the insured needs to be listed on the declaration pages and/or insurance ID card.

Homeowners Discount

If you own a home you may qualify for a homeowner’s discount. The home has to be under the name of the insured or joint name, in order to get the full discount.

Customer Loyalty / Renewal Discount

If applicable, once a policy is renewed, without any tickets or accidents, a 5% discount will typically be applied.

Marriage Discount

Because one may be considered more responsible if they are married, you may qualify for a marriage discount. Your spouse can be either included or excluded from your policy to get the discount.

Paid in Full Discount

By paying your 6-month or 12-month policy premium in full, you will get a discount on the overall premium.

EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) Discount

Most companies offer discounts if you decide to make payments through your bank account, credit card, or debit card via electronic withdraw every month.

Good Driver Discount

If a driver does not have tickets or accidents in their records for the past 5 years, they are eligible for a good driver discount.

Anti-Theft Device Discount

Defensive Driving Discount

Liability – If you are at fault in an automobile accident, your liability coverage will pay for the medical expenses and additional damages for which you are liable for. It pays for the third party expenses from the accident, including their bodily injury and their property damage.

Uninsured Motorist – An addition to the standard automobile policy that provides coverage in the event that the other driver is responsible for the accident and is not insured. Uninsured motorist (UM) will pay for the injuries to the policy holder and their passengers.

Under Insured Motorist – An addition to the standard automobile policy that provides coverage in the event that the other driver is responsible for the accident and has auto insurance, but the damages caused exceeds the amount of auto insurance they are carrying.

Comprehensive – Provides coverage for your vehicle from the result of covered perils not related to a collision like fire, theft, hail, vandalism, falling objects and hitting an animal.

Collision – Provides coverage for your vehicle resulting from an accident from colliding with another vehicle or a stationary object.

Medical Payments – Coverage that pays for reasonable medical expenses or death benefits to anyone associated with an accident. It pays for medical expenses to you and your passengers, regardless of who is at fault in the accident. It can also help cover medical expenses from an injury as a pedestrian.

Personal Injury Protection – An extension of auto insurance that pays for the same medical expenses that ‘medical payments’ would cover, plus it pays for lost wages up to 80% and any rehabilitation services resulting from the auto accident. In the state of Texas, you can choose to either carry Medical Payments or PIP, but you can’t carry both.

Perils – The reason for the cause of loss to the insured property like fire, theft or vandalism. Vandalism is the peril that would be listed in their policy to show that they are covered.

Deductible – The amount of money the insured pays out to the insurance company before their vehicle gets repaired. Common deductible amounts are $250, 500 or $1,000.

Rental Reimbursement – A set amount of money per day to help assist with renting a car when the insured’s car is not movable due to a covered loss.

Roadside Assistance – A service for the insured to provide them assistance when their vehicle has run out of gas, lost their keys, need a jump start or essential fluids, flat tire, etc.

Towing – Pays for towing charges used to tow the insured’s car to the nearest facility for repair.

Endorsement – The process of making a change to an active policy that increases or decreases the premium. Common endorsements include adding a second vehicle or a second driver.

Binder – A temporary insurance contract given to the insured while their policy goes through the underwriting process and their policy is issued.

Declarations Page – The front page of a policy jacket that includes the name of the insured (s), the premium, the amount of coverage and the name, description and location of the item being covered.

Insurance Contract – The policy paperwork between the insured (customer) and the insurer (insurance company) that explains the details of the contract.

Cancellation – The termination of an insurance policy before the policy has expired.

Lienholder – The organization or bank that has a financial interest in the property up to the amount that was borrowed by the insured, which is typically a finance or leasing company.

Reinstatement – The process of putting the insurance policy back into force after a lapse. If the insured fails to pay the premium on time, the policy will be cancelled, but can usually be reinstated if it is within 30 days of cancellation.

Renewal – The process of continuing your insurance policy after it’s set to expire. When a policy contract is set to expire after six months or one year, the customer needs to renew their policy to keep it in force.

Actual Cash Value (ACV) – The replacement cost of an item minus any sort of depreciation that the item incurred over time.

Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) – The report of the insured’s driving history that would include any violations, convictions and license status updates.

Loss Ratio – The ratio of total losses incurred in claims and expenses divided by the total premiums earned.

Installment Fee – A monthly installment fee charged by the company for breaking up the premium into monthly installments.

Subrogation – When the insurance company goes after the third party that is responsible for the insurance loss, in an attempt to collect the amount of the claim paid to the insured for the loss.

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) – A unique code given to each vehicle made up of numbers and letters to help an insurance company get specific details and characteristics of the vehicle.

Salvage – The damaged property which is taken over by the insurance company after the claim is paid out. If a car is totaled, the insurance company will pay the insured for their car and keep the damaged car in hopes of selling parts to recoup some of the money paid out.

Effective Date – The date on which an insurance policy starts or goes into effect.
Premium – The price of the insurance policy that the insured pays in exchange for the insurance coverage.

Claim – The request by the policyholder (aka the insured) to have an item fixed or repaired by the insurance policy.

Exclusion – Specific hazards or perils that are not covered on the insurance policy. There are common exclusions like intentional acts that are excluded. You can also exclude a driver so that they are not covered on the auto policy.

Grace Period – The period of time after the due date of a payment during which the policy will remain in force without any penalty. After the grace period runs out, the policy will cancel if no payment is made.

Expiration Date – The ending date of an insurance policy. After the insurance policy expires, the insured would have to restart or renew a policy.

Policy fee – A fee the company charges to issue the policy, and is non-refundable and fully earned.

Concealment – Failure to disclose the facts which could void an insurance policy

Indemnity – The process of bringing the insured back to where they were prior to the claim or loss. If an insured has a $5,000 loss, the insurance company will indemnify the insured by paying for the claim to assist with repairs to bringing the insured back to where they were.

Policy Period – The time frame of a policy that is in force, during the effective and expiration dates.

Underwriting – The process that each policy will go through so that the insurance company can decide to insure the risk or not. Underwriting determines who is insured and how much in insurance premiums to charge the insured.

Insured – The customer or client that is covered by the policy.

Insurer – The insurance company that is covering the customer, or insured.

Customization – Additional equipment that has been added to a vehicle after it has been purchased from the manufacturer, altering or changing the original vehicle model. Coverage can be purchased to insure these additions added by the insured, such as special rims or stereo equipment that has been upgraded.

Hazard – Something that increases the chance of a loss occurring such as a dead tree branch hanging over a house or black ice on the road.

Risk – Something that increases the chance of a loss. Driving a car in the rain is a risk because it can increase the chance of an accident occurring.

Artisan – A customer who is a craftsman or skilled worker and using their vehicle at their job to carry tools, or deliver goods.