Normally, when you ask someone, "how much car insurance do you have?", their answer is "Uh............."

Basically, they don't know!

Choosing the right coverage is important, so your bank account isn't crashed, if you're involved in a real crash.

Dee Bruker has been selling insurance for more than 30 years. During that time, cars have sure changed, but one pattern hasn't.

Bruker says, "The one common thing we see, the shortcoming, is that people carry low limits. You're only required, by law, to carry $25,000-$50,000-$25,000.

That means, $25,000 for each person, $50,000 for each accident and $25,000 for property damage.

"A lot of people think they're saving money when they buy the bare minimum when it comes to car insurance coverage. For example, $25,000 in property damage. However, if you have $25,000 in coverage and you hit a $50,000 car, that's a really big problem."

Bruker adds, "So, you hit a $50,000 Mercedes, your policy will pay $25,000 and you'll pay $25,000."

Ouch!

Yet, you can avoid such a painful financial crisis. Bruker says, at the very least, your coverage should include $50,000 for each person, $100,000 for each accident and $50,000 for property damage.

Bruker says, "We obviously recommend high limits. And, it doesn't cost you that much to go up to $100,000-$300,000-$100,000 or $250,000-$500,000-$100,000."

Something else to keep in mind are deductibles, or the amount you pay out of pocket, if you have an accident.

Bruker recommends a $250 deductible for comprehensive coverage and $500 for collision.

"Collision is two things. You hit a tree, you hit a car. That's collision. Insurance companies call it upset. In high school, we said, you rolled a car. That's collision. Comprehensive is defined as anything other than collision. Somebody steals the car, a tree falls on it, hail damage, fire, flood is covered under a car policy."

That last tip is important since your basic home policy doesn't cover flood damage, but auto insurance does.

If you're wondering about rates, it depends on many factors including your age, credit score, driving record and the type of car or truck you drive.

For more information, we've left some helpful links at the top of this story.