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Show AUTO INSURANCE IS J NECESSITY The proud possessor of a brand new I automobile is advised that he Bhould 1 never take his purchase out on the road until he has fully protected him ! self and it against any chance blow of capricious fate. Automobile, insur-ance insur-ance hns grown from very small beginnings be-ginnings a few years ago to an enor mous industry. When this form ot protection is carefully selected the car owner is practically immune from pecuniary loss through accident No man with a modicum of good common sense will ever tako a car on the road without being so protected. What Is Covered. The understanding of what, constitutes consti-tutes satisfactory protection In tho uae of a car does not seem to be generally gen-erally diffused even in the motoring community. There are scores of car owners who have covered their cars and themselves with policies and yet who are extremely hazy as to the j exact limits of the protect ion the) I J enjoy. This is absolutely wrong. The car owner ?hould know exactly what protection he has bought. Sup pose we glance briefly at what auto 1 mobile insurance really means and what the car ow ner should look for in his policy If he is to be really safe Automobile insurance may be divided di-vided into four major classes. Fir-' comes fire risk, which almost every one carries, then collision dam.Tpe to the vehicle, property damage, which covers injury done by the ear to another an-other vehicle or other property, and lin.tlly liability. Every thinking man will agree that the last is the most important. Daro-aqe Daro-aqe through fire or collision la limited lim-ited to the value of the vehicle involved in-volved Damages awarded to an in jured person in the courts maj l un to as much as lao.rtOii. Seral ver-I diets of this amount have been brought in, and for the ordinary man this means something very like ruin. 1 ,'ow, liability insurance is the mosi expensive of the lot. On what i3 known as the standard policy for a ear listed at 91,000, the premium for liability insurance will be in the ni'Uhborbood of ?27 This, a? you sec, is not very expensive, but manv men arc tempted to 'underwrite" themselves and save the original out-j lay The only advice to be given any ! one trying to save money in this way j is .Mr. Punch's advice to a joung man about to be married: "Don't. Let us put it another way. If one were i about to buy a ear and yet telf that the added cost of taking oul liabilitj insurance was too much for him, we would frankly advise him not to buy a car. In ndditlon t covering damages a jessed hy the courts for injuries in- I flicted, the standard insurance in'llcy places the costs of defending such suits on the insuring company, Such companies have the best attorneys obtainable, ob-tainable, as minimizing damages is part of their business enterprise. They also pay for medical attentions given at the time of the accident. The other classes of automobile In- , surance are more obviously necessary and almost every car owner appreciates ap-preciates the need lor them. Fire is always a possibllit.'- about a vehicle that derives Its power from a highly inflammable liquid like gasoline. Yet fire insurance is comparatively cheap. On the standard policy for a medium priced car it will run about $15 per year. There Is not much need for 'emphasising the necessity for fire insurance, in-surance, but any car owner who is not so covered should Instantly take out a policy. Collision insuram e protects the car against damage suffered in the course of any accident. Any one who has driven much on our crowded thor-ouqhfares thor-ouqhfares understands the ever pres I enf possibility of damage to his ve hide, through no fault of his own and will gladly pay the $.su that this class of Insurance will co?t him for a J2,0t.u car. Finally, an investment of $1 per year will protect him against payment for,, damage done to another ehicle or other piece of property, up to lha value of $1,000. The damage to any piece of property on the highway will seldom exceed $1,000. so mat we may call this full protection. Some insurance companies write what is known as a "valued policy." That is to say, a definite value is put I upon the car and this sum Ib paid over j in case th" car is lost through fire, thoft or explosion. Other companies have other rules for assessing the value of the lost vehicle and the car owner in taking out hsi policy should be sure that the writing companj makes generous provision iu this respect. re-spect. Appraisers are sometimes a bit whimsical in their methods of placing values on lost cars and the car owner does not want to suffer the annoyance of a lawsuit in addition addi-tion to the inconvenienco of losing his ear That stock and sterling piece of advice, "Buy only from responsihle concerns." holds exactly as much in this purchase of automobile insurance ns It does for accessories or the car itself. There are lots of fly-by-night companies writing automobile insur ance today and many of them have neither assets nor responsibility. Pat ronle one of the well established insurance in-surance companies and be sure that the policy you are taking covers all the major classes of liability. The protection and peace of mind gained are worth the $160 a year that it will cost you to cover yourself and your car |
