Why is it important to have the best South Bend car insurance coverage? Say you're driving to a Fighting Irish Game out at Notre Dame when an uninsured driver cuts you off, damages your car and causes some minor injuries to both you and the people with you. This is not the time to wonder if you have adequate car insurance or the funds to cover all of the medical and vehicle costs that will be involved.

If you are a South Bend resident looking for cheap South Bend auto insurance coverage, you need to know what the average cost of this coverage is in Indiana, why the rates are what they are, and your best option for finding affordable costs that meet your needs.

Average Cost of South Bend Car Insurance

In Indiana, we pay about 2% less than the national average for auto insurance coverage. This means that statewide an annual premium is about $1,648. So, the typical Hoosier pays almost $140 each month to be protected. In our tort state, you have to have bodily injury liability protection of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident; and $10,000 to cover property damage.

Liability coverage is to pay for damage to other people, not you or the passengers in your car. So, in the scenario above, if you only carry these required minimums you would not have any means of paying the costs except to sue the uninsured driver or to pay out of your own pocket.

Causes of Accidents that Raise Your South Bend Car Insurance Rates

According to the crash statistics for Indiana drivers, 73 out of the 397 fatal accidents that took place occurred on roads with 3 or more lanes of traffic. Luckily, in the imaginary scenario above, no one in your car or the other one was killed on the way to the Notre Dame game. However, since 48% of fatal accidents happen when one of the drivers is going 55 miles per hour or more, you can consider yourself pretty lucky that you and the other driver we going the speed limit.

The cost of all crashes for Indiana drivers is estimated to be over $3.46 billion every single year. So let's get back to the cost of the "minor" accident that you and your passengers are involved in on the way to the game. The actual cost to you will be directly related to the type of insurance coverage you have at the time.

Rates and Types of South Bend Car Insurance

In addition to the bodily and property liability minimums that the state requires, you will be better off in the above accident if you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection (PIP). Both of these will help you to cover the medically related costs of injuries to the people in your vehicle. This is almost always a better bet than going through the stress and cost related to suing the other driver, and hoping they have money to pay your expenses. Chances are if they don't have the money to buy auto insurance then they don't have money to pay for your injuries.

Whether or not having collision coverage on your vehicle will help you will depend on the age and value of your car. It may not be worth the cost if your car is rather old. If you still owe money on the car, your lender will require you to carry both collision and comprehensive.

In the drive to the Fighting Irish game, comprehensive coverage wouldn't help you because it is meant to cover damage from things like theft, weather and acts of nature. Of course, if you do make it to the game and your car is vandalized, or if the lake effect weather causes hailstorms that damage your vehicle on the way home then you will be glad to have it.

In order to get the coverage you need at affordable rates, take the time to look at a few of your options. Instead of going to Progressive and getting a quote, then going to GEICO and getting a quote, just use a third party quote tool that will send you rates from  a bunch of the auto insurance providers that offer South Bend residents coverage. Compare their quotes and see which ones offer the benefits you need at prices you can live with.

Free South Bend Car Insurance Quotes!

Now you know what the average premium rates are, you can aim to do better. Make sure you ask about discounts, and even look at piggybacking other insurance policies with one provider if they have coverage you want. This way, you can take a drive to Chicago, Notre Dame or anywhere else life takes you with a feeling of security.

Start comparing free South Bend car insurance quotes online now!