This coverage also pays for legal defense costs in the event the policyholder is sued as a result of the automobile accident.

The most common way to write this coverage is termed as *split limits*. As an example, the Bodily Injury limit on the policy will read $20,000./$40,000. The first portion of this limit ($20,000) is the amount of coverage that applies to each PERSON injured in the automobile accident. The second portion of this limit ($40,000) is the amount of coverage that applies to each ACCIDENT. Therefore, with this example, your insurance will pay $20,000 to each person injured in the automobile accident but no more than a total $40,000 will be paid out for the accident with regard to medical injuries sustained in the accident.

The most common way to write this coverage is termed as *split limits*. As an example, the Property Damage limit on the policy will read $15,000. This is the total amount of coverage available for all property that is damaged in the automobile accident. To further illustrate this example, if you are involved in an accident and the other party's vehicle is a 1997 Toyota Camry, the most the insurance company will pay is $15,000 regardless of the cost to repair the vehicle.

This coverage provides additional benefits that are not found in the Medical Payments coverage:

• Loss of income from employment (80% limit, must be employed at the time of the accident and be an income producer)
• Expenses incurred for obtaining services that would normally have been performed without pay during the period of disability for the care and maintenance of the family or household, such as maid or cleaning service.

Rental Reimbursement Coverage pays a set daily amount for a rental car if your car is being repaired because of damage covered by your auto policy.

• Insurance companies check your driving record. Drivers with no "at fault" accidents or major traffic convictions usually get the best rates.
• The type of car you drive affects your rates. Rates may be higher for luxury, sport, and high-performance cars. Some companies will not insure cars built for speed.
• If you are an older driver or have a young driver on your policy, it may be harder to get a new policy from some companies.

You may be able to drop some coverages and lower your premium. You may not need personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments coverage if you have health and disability insurance. Remember, though, that PIP and medical payments also cover other people if they are injured while in your car. If you belong to an automobile club, you may already have towing and labor coverage and don´t need it in your policy.

When you add your children to your policy, they may be rated on the most expensive auto in your household. The rules for this are complex and address a variety of situations, however. Generally, if a teen-ager is the "principal driver" of a particular automobile, his or her rate will be based on that car. If not, the teen-age driver is assigned to the car (usually the most expensive) that produces the highest rate.

It´s probably not a good idea to remove your children from your policy who have moved because they are attending school away from home. An insurance company may require you to keep them on your policy, even if you would like to have them removed. Technically, you could remove your child from your policy with a "named driver exclusion" endorsement. Few companies will agree to this, however. Besides, it´s risky to drop coverage when your teen-ager might occasionally drive at school or when home on visits.

You can sometimes remove a teen-aged driver from your policy by purchasing a non-owner policy. This usually is a bad idea. A non-owner policy merely provides additional liability insurance when driving a non-owned vehicle. If your teen-ager has an accident while driving your car, neither your policy nor the non-owner policy will pay for your vehicle´s damage. You might also be unprotected financially if held liable for an accident caused by your minor child. Finally, if the non-owner policy is rated properly, your teen-ager´s liability insurance might cost as much as or more than if he or she was on your policy.