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Collision covers your car for collisions. Like you rear-end someone, slide into a tree, or run into a fence. If you accidentally hit another car or object or another car accidentally runs into you, your car's covered by collision.

Comprehensive covers your car for the stuff that's not a "collision." Like a tree falling on your car. Or hail. Your car catching on fire. Running into an animal. Your car getting stolen. It basically covers the crazy stuff that you never really expect to happen … but still does. For this reason, it's sometimes called "other than collision."

Emergency roadside assistance, sometimes called towing and labor coverage, is there to help when you're stranded. Broken down? We'll tow you. Blown tire? We'll put your spare on. Ran out of gas? We'll bring you some. Emergency roadside assistance covers up to $75 per incident to help you get rolling again.

This coverage reimburses you for the cost of your rental car if your insured vehicle is in the shop or is unavailable due to an accident. You need to have comprehensive and collision on your policy in order to add rental car coverage. In certain states, Esurance offers CarMatch Rental Coverage^®, which covers the rental cost of a vehicle comparable in size and body type to your regular ride.

Simply put, loan/lease gap coverage is insurance that helps you pay off your loan or lease if your car is totaled and you owe more than it's worth. If you decide on this coverage, it'll pay up to 25% more than your car's actual cash value to help you take care of your loan or lease.

So let's say you're in an accident and your car's a total loss. Your insurance company values it at $20,000 but you still owe $25,000 on your loan. Your comprehensive or collision would pay the car's $20,000 value, minus your deductible. Loan/lease gap coverage would then cover the extra $5,000 you need to pay off your lender. Without it, you may have to pay that $5,000 out of pocket. Ouch.

Medical payments coverage (or, as some call it, med pay) is there to pay medical bills for you and the passengers in your car if you're injured in an accident. It doesn't matter whether or not you're at fault for the accident.

Say it's your turn to drive your work carpool or take the kids to baseball practice. You have an accident and there are injuries. Medical payments coverage — within your selected limits — can help make sure you (and your passengers) are covered for the resulting medical bills. Think things like doctor visits, hospital bills — even dental care.

Personal injury protection (often called PIP) covers your medical expenses, regardless of who was at fault for an accident. In some states it's called "no fault" coverage, because it could help cover your treatment, even if you're at fault or there were no other drivers involved.

Say you slide into a tree in slick conditions and break your leg. PIP covers things like ambulance bills, emergency room charges, follow-up medical visits, lost wages, prescriptions, and transit to and from your appointments.

In some states, your PIP will kick in before your health insurance to cover your accident-related injuries.

PIP is required in the following states: FL, KS, KY, MD, MA, MI, MN, NJ, NY, ND, OR, PA, and UT.

PIP is optional in TX and WA.

PIP is complicated to say the least, and requirements vary by state. But rest assured — when you get a quote, we'll only show you the limits that are available where you live.

Say you rear end another car at a stop light. The other driver's injured. You're held responsible for their damages, like treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Do you want to foot those bills? Probably not. That's exactly why you have bodily injury coverage. Simply put, it'll help pay these costs if you're at fault for injuring someone in an accident. If you drive, you need this protection. In fact, just about every state requires it.

Let's say you hit another car. Or you skid into someone else's fence. Or house. Whatever it is, if you cause damage to someone else's property (including their car) while driving, you're on the hook for fixing it. That's where property damage coverage comes in. It'll cover the cost of repairing someone else's stuff, up to the limit you choose.

Imagine you've been in an accident with an uninsured driver. You're injured and have to take time off work. Uninsured motorist bodily injury (or UMBI, if you don't want to say all that) is designed to cover you and the people in your car for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering if you're in an accident with someone who doesn't have insurance (and it's their fault).

Say you're injured in an accident with a driver who doesn't have enough insurance. It's their fault. Underinsured motorist bodily injury (or UIMBI) can step in to help with medical bills and expenses (for you and the people in your car) beyond what that driver's insurance covers.

Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) and underinsured motorist property damage (UIMPD) are designed to protect your car if someone hits you and doesn't have insurance or enough insurance.

Say another driver causes a 3-car accident. The damage is significant, and the responsible driver is uninsured (or their insurance is used up quickly). These coverages could then step in to help cover the remaining repairs, up to the limits you choose.

They could also help to cover your collision deductible, rental car costs, or other out-of-pocket expenses you might have.