When it comes to car insurance, there are certain things we all know.  If you get in an accident, full coverage means that after you pay your deductible, your insurance company will pay the rest for repairs or for replacement of your car.

If someone gets hurt, liability insurance pays that.

However, there are several things that are often covered on your auto insurance policy that you might not know – here are my top 7 (these assume you have full coverage):

1) Pet Injuries

Even I was a little surprised to learn this one.  Pet injuries are common in even minor accidents because Rover typically isn’t strapped in by the seat belt like you.  Your insurance will typically cover the vet bills up to a certain amount, $600 seems to be common, which in the animal health world is usually enough to patch Rover up and make him good as new.

2) Friends

Imagine this – your uninsured friend borrows your car to go pick up a pizza and instead of picking up the pizza like he’s supposed to, he runs it into a light pole instead.

Now what?  Fortunately, as long as you’re insured, since it’s your car, you’re covered even if they aren’t.

3) Lockouts and Flat Tires – Roadside Emergencies

A lot of vehicles make it downright hard to lock yourself out of your car these days… that doesn’t mean you can’t do it, though.  Heck, I did this about two weeks ago with the engine running (and it didn’t have an auto unlock feature).

If you have roadside assistance on your car insurance policy, this will be covered, as will flat tires or even if you manage to run out gas on the highway.

It pays to ask here.  Sometimes it’s built right into your full coverage policy, but others will have it as an inexpensive add on.

And it’s not just auto insurance companies like State Farm, Progressive, Geico, American Family, and Allstate that offer it – even my cell phone provider (Verizon) has an “emergency roadside assistance” option I can add to my monthly plan.

4) Windshield Replacement

This isn’t covered by all insurers, but many do.  If you get a crack on your windshield, it’s not as safe as it was because it’s structural integrity has been compromised (that’s a fancy way of saying it’ll break easier if it hits anything else).

Some policies will cover it without any out of pocket costs to you – others will cover it if you pay a small deductible (smaller than your actual deductible).  However, if you have a chipped or cracked windshield, it never hurts to ask your insurance company if they’re willing to foot the bill.

5) Meteor Strikes

Okay, you’re vehicle probably isn’t going to get hit by a meteor, or even blown up by terrorists, but if it did, you’d be covered… usually on the comprehensive portion of your policy.

The comprehsnsive policy also covers you if you hit a deer or other large animal that damages your car.  If you have full coverage, you have comprehensive coverage, if you have liability only, you don’t.

6) Sales Tax On A Replacement Vehicle

Here’s the list of states that require your insurer to pay for the sales tax on your new or used replacment car: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin

Even if you’re not in one of those states, ask anyway.  Most insurers will pay it if you ask.

7) Car Rental Insurance

If you rent a car, the rental agency is going to offer you an expensive daily insurance policy.  It’s a major money maker for them.  However, if you have full coverage on your vehicles, you might already be covered or it’s very cheap to add to your policy – far cheaper than the insurance offered through rental agencies like Enterprise and Hertz.  Take the couple minutes to call up your insurance agent and ask, it might save you a hundred dollars or more.