What would you say is the best part of living in the U.S.? Is it the great scenery? The democracy? The ready availability of hot dogs from street vendors in just about every city in the country? Or is it the fact that at a moment's notice, without having to do more than fill your tank and make hotel reservations, you can hop in your car and drive across state lines?

There's nothing like spending your vacation touring the United States-and there's nothing like taking that vacation knowing that your auto insurance company has your back every step of the way.

Most of us never actually take the time to think about our auto insurance when it comes to making that hop across state lines, unless we're planning on making that hop a permanent one. We assume that we're perfectly fine regardless of where we happen to be going, and for the most part we're right. Even though every state has its own policies when it comes to auto insurance we still manage to amicably handle accidents that happen across state lines from our "primary garaging location". After all, insurance is insurance, right?

Not necessarily. For example, did you know that U.S. insurance is practically worthless in most parts of Mexico? (And that you can go to jail for getting busted driving around without a Mexican insurance policy?) If you're going to be leaving the country you might want to look into your auto insurance options. If you're staying in the U.S., you're probably all right.

There are a few things you need to know about driving around with an out of state auto insurance policy. First and foremost, although every state has its own definition of minimum when it comes to liability you're not required to adjust your own limits just to make sure you match expectations. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea. As a matter of fact, it's usually a good idea to surpass expectations all the way around! Most experts recommend you carry at least $100,000 and $300,000, respectively, in liability auto insurance. This exceeds state minimums in every state in the U.S. and also makes sure you're covered even in the event that you're involved in a serious accident.

Also (and if you have a teenager in the house this is a big one) every state has its own policies when it comes to minimum driving age. Some states say 15, some say 16, I believe some have even raised their limit to 17 (or they're threatening to). Even though your auto insurance will take care of them while they're on the roads just about anywhere they want to go, if your teen is too young to drive in the state you're heading too it's best just to keep them out from behind the wheel.

You get less grief from local law enforcement that way.

Being a part of the U.S. population means you're entitled to all the privileges, and that includes freely cruising on your auto insurance policy from one coast to the other. Kick back, relax and let your auto insurance take care of you this vacation. You've earned it.