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Millions of Americans pay large amounts of money for their auto insurance policies every year, but it seems that many may not understand exactly what is and is not covered in the event of an accident. As a consequence, it may be incumbent upon their insurance agents in particular to walk them through the policies they're paying for, so that they know exactly what they should expect when things go wrong.

Today, nearly 2 in 5 drivers across the country got a number of questions wrong when it came to a quiz about the basics of simple auto insurance concepts like liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, according to a report from Insurance.com. For instance, about 30 percent of those polled said they thought that if a friend borrowing their car got into an accident, it would be that person's insurance covering the damage, when this is, in fact, not the case. Likewise, only 46 percent of respondents were able to correctly name which person was liable for an accident in each of three different scenarios.

Why is this important?
Experts say that when it comes to this kind of knowledge, the more consumers know, the better they may be able to protect themselves from potentially harmful fallout from an accident. While no one plans to crash their car, the fact of the matter is that such incidents can have a major impact on a person's coverage, and some may drive in such a way that there's a greater need for more comprehensive plans. That, in turn, might mean that people don't have the kind of coverage that's best suited to their personal driving habits, and could leave them in a bit of a bind when or if they do happen to get into an accident. 

Insurance agents should keep in mind that working closely with clients in this way can have an overall positive effect on their relationships with policyholders. That, in turn, may increase overall satisfaction with the coverage they buy, and keep them from shopping for better deals. Recent research shows that a dissatisfaction with service - not policies themselves or even cost - is often the primary motivator behind consumers shopping around for different insurance plans, and as such, the more that can be done to connect with people on this level, the more business it might ensure going forward.

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