For anyone that owns and drive a vehicle, the high cost of automotive insurance can certainly be frustrating. Some car owners pay thousands of dollars per years to insure their vehicles. For some, the high cost of insurance is justified, but for other drivers there is a low cost option that may beget perfect sense for you.
Typically, cars are insured through a large automotive insurance company. The customer selects the type of insurance that they prefer and they pay a yearly premium based on the amount of coverage chosen, the type of vehicle insured, and the driving record of the owner. There are several other factors that affect your individual rate, but they are not considerable to discussing obtaining cheap insurance.
Most owners occupy collision coverage for their vehicle. Collision coverage basically means that if your vehicle is involved in an accident, your insurance company will cover either part or all of the repair costs. Collision coverage is required if your vehicle is a lease of financed by another party. Collision coverage is costly and mainly make financial sense for cars 5 years obsolete or less.
Stepping down from collision coverage is something referred to as comprehensive coverage. This type of insurance will not cover expenses from repair absorbing the collision between your vehicle and another vehicle. However, comprehensive covers your vehicle for theft, vandalism, fire, and acts of nature. This coverage is significantly less expensive than collision coverage.
Now we will move on to the next form of coverage which also is the cheapest insurance you can purchase. This coverage is referred to as PL/PD. PL/PD stands for personal liability and property damage. This type of automotive insurance does not actually screen damage to your vehicle. It covers any damage that your vehicle may partake in. For example, you drive your vehicle into a building a destroy the building. Your insurance will veil the damage done to the building but will not cover the damage done to your vehicle. Liability coverage also protects you from lawsuits that may come forth involving damage done by your vehicle.
PL/PD insurance is significantly cheaper than either comprehensive or collision insurance. However, this type of insurance also has its downsides. Weighing the costs against the benefits is a tough choice to make, but for those on a tight budget who currently own an older model vehicle, PL/PD may be the right choice for you. It can save you thousands per year over other forms of insurance and may be perfect for you.
Filed under Auto Insurance Reviews by on Mar 14th, 2011. Comment. 
Car insurance for seniors and older drivers can be less expensive than normal car insurance rates. Beginning at the age of 50, auto insurance rates often decrease. The risk of claims and accidents decreases for older people. This causes auto insurance for seniors to decrease in cost. Older people shopping for auto insurance should keep this in mind as they compare prices.
Auto insurance for seniors can be significantly lower in price. In most cases auto insurance providers will not mention this to the consumer. It’s wise to bring the subject of reduced rates on car insurance for seniors to the auto insurance provider’s attention yourself. Remember, these people are in business to originate money. It’s the consumer’s responsibility to eye the lowest auto insurance rate possible.
Senior discounts are not the only discounts available to older consumers. Auto insurance for seniors might also include discounts for low mileage driving. As we age, we tend to do less joy riding and stay at home more. Even when they still work, senior citizens tend to be more conservative drivers. Once again, be positive to discuss gross mileage and other applicable discounts when getting quotes on car insurance for senior citizens.
Auto insurance for seniors might include discounts for any number of other reasons as well. When shopping for car insurance for seniors, look into all possible auto insurance discounts. Mature driving classes are often available through AAA. These classes will cleave your rate for auto insurance significantly. Retired individuals may be in line for a discount of up to 5%. Also ask your insurance provider to keep your safe driving record in mind when assessing your rates.
Sources :
www.42across.com
Filed under Auto Insurance Reviews by on Feb 22nd, 2011. Comment.
GEICO stands for “Government Employees Insurance Company.” That really doesn't have anything to do with this fraction, but is anecdotally interesting.
I just got my revised insurance information from the lizard auto insurance company (…'the gash rate insurance company' the 'fifteen minutes insurance company' or any of the other dig names which competitors take out on them) and I was not blissful. My wife and I have been accident free for some time now. No absorbing violations, no points, no incidents, no expired meters, no cutting off old ladies at the service station. We have largely been very good drivers, for all the driving we do.
So when I got the email the other day about our policy renewal, I was very excited. I had figured we had made a beautiful substantial dent in our admittedly reasonable insurance policy. We composed have a loan out on our car which is Titanic-style underwater (ours is a 3 year ragged car with 110,000 miles) and we're anxious to get ahead of these things.
Our plans have always been to retire our shrimp remaining plastic debt and then tackle the car head on. The fact that our policy is up for renewal and we haven't had any incidents in several cycles should mean that our policy will go down, honest?
Well…No.
Our policy actually went up by some two or three dollars per payment (with five payments the added amount is something like $13.00 total). Still, that bugged me.
So as I've done since my earliest days of being fed up with a teething ring and wanting my bottle, I spoke up about it. I emailed GEICO and basically said, “what's going on? ” The always vigilant Gecko was quick to get back in touch with me. This is the truncated version of what he said:
“…You do have a great driving record and your policy did not change because of the way you drive. Right now on your policy you are receiving our 5 year safe driver discount which is saving you $66.10 every 6 months on your premium.
Your renewal policy reflects a statewide rate revision. As with all insurance companies, GEICO periodically reviews its loss statistics to determine if our rates are adequate to cover the cost of claims. The results of our analysis indicated that it was distinguished to increase our premium levels.
Insurance companies frequently reevaluate their rates in the light of economic conditions and the driving describe of the insuring public. In this intention, we are able to realize the purpose of insurance – the equal distribution of the losses amount the insuring public. All insurers use this principle.
We appreciate the time you have been insured with GEICO. We regret that it is necessary to increase your rates due to the overall loss experience in your place. Please be assured that we share your worry over the rising cost of insurance and are doing everything we can to keep our rates as rude as possible.”
So I hope I'm reading that right, because that sounds to me like socialized auto insurance. I mean, the way GEICO tells it, whatever I do with any insurance company as a driver doesn't matter because of the risk of what could happen. I don't want to begrudge the Gecko, but I don't want to be responsible for the poor decisions of strangers. I didn't get in that accident, I didn't total my car, I didn't sideswipe some strangers parked car; someone else did.
When did we all get so comfortable together in the great big bed of auto insurance? If you can't call that socialism, you might as well call it communism.
Filed under Auto Insurance Reviews by on Feb 17th, 2011. Comment.
No, I am not an attorney! Nor, am I with legal aid, or any apt agency affiliated with insurance companies. I am unbiased some poor slob that’s been hit by other drivers too many times and “literally forced” into learning the best ways to settle with insurance companies!
A driver has not lived until they experience the “horrors” of being keen in an auto accident with severe injuries and your vehicle is completely totaled. Unfortunately, the actual “Nightmare” does not begin until you try settling with the insurance company.
I’ve been operating motor vehicles for the past 36 years here in U.S.A. and it seems like at least every two years another driver hits my vehicle, normally in the rear! Believe it or not! None of these accidents have been my fault in 30 years! This information is based on documented facts from 16 auto accidents I have personally been keen in over the years. Some of them went to court.
Here are the 10 best ways I have found to settle an auto accident insurance claim.
1. Whenever you are involved in an auto accident. DO NOT get out of the vehicle if it is a busy street. Call 911 for encourage. If you don’t have a cell phone, someone driving by will normally call for aid. The reason why, you could net ran over by another vehicle! Wait until the rescue workers arrive at the scene. If you are not severely injured, the rescue team will have the traffic blocked, by then, you can get out and talk to the police officers and paramedics.
If you are not injured, be certain to get the other drivers full name, phone number and the name of their insurance company, policy number and the insurance companies claim phone number (if available). Also, try to get a name and phone number of anyone(s) that witnessed the accident. Normally, police officers don’t do this, unless it’s a severe accident with major injuries or fatalities and that also really just depends on how much time they have. Police officers will fill out an accident report, but if it’s a minor accident, a lot of the important details could be missing if you have to go to court years later regarding this accident.
If you have a camera phone or any camera available, take any photos you may mediate that would be relevant to this claim, especially your vehicles and possible injuries. Ironically, if your vehicle is drivable, you could get hit the very “next day” and the insurance adjuster will try to dispute your property damage. Take photos of your vehicle as soon as possible. The body shop, insurance appraiser and insurance inspectors will take photos, especially if you have filed a personal injury claim. DO NOT Bid THE INSURANCE COMPANY that you have these photos in your possession. This is what attorneys call “keeping an ace in the hole” If you hire a law firm to handle your claim, they will define the reason why?
2. Personally, I would go ahead and call the other drivers insurance company to find out if they have a “pleasurable” insurance policy, even if your at the emergency room. The reason why, is because there are so many drivers without valid insurance. You can always file a claim with your insurance company for an un-insured motorist accident, if this is included in your insurance policy, unfortunately, you will have to pay the deductible. “Hit and Run” accidents are treated in the same manor. If the other driver does not have valid insurance, you should report this to the police department and your insurance company immediately!
3. Go ahead and file your claim with the other drivers insurance company, be sure that you give them the proper phone number where you can be reached night or day. These adjusters will normally only call you once and it’s literally impossible to call them back without getting their voice mail! DO NOT VOLUNTEER a lot of unnecessary information when filing your claim, I don’t know this for sure, but the CSR claims taker could possibly be recording your conversation for the claims adjuster to analyze whenever they do finally call you. These adjusters get paid good money to keep their cost of expenses down. Unfortunately, because there are so many counterfeit or fraudulent claims, adjusters are forced into this situation.
4. Write down immediately what happened on a notepad the events that took place regarding this accident or place it on a computer file. Be sure to write down every detail you can possibly reflect of such as: Was it raining? What time of day was it? Was there a lot of traffic? How were you struck? Was the other driver helpful? Did you have any witnesses? Was your vehicle drivable? Did you go to the emergency room? What happened in the emergency room? Also, if you have to hire an attorney, the first thing they will ask for, is to study your notes.
5. What documents do you need to keep after this accident? All medical bills, rental car receipts, gas card purchases, time of expenses driving back and forth to the doctors office, loss of wages check stubs, photograph receipts. Also, get a copy of the value of your vehicle, such as the blue book that banks often use or the www.nadaguides.com in the consumer section. Majority of the time, the adjuster will only offer you the wholesale value or the lowest price if your vehicle has been declared totaled. This is what claim adjusters call “Fair Market Value” versus expense of repairs.
6. Whenever the insurance adjuster does finally call you, they will most likely also offer you the lowest price for repairs to your vehicle. This is standard procedure. “Do Not scream at these people!” This will only make matters worse and they might not call you back for a month! You can always decline their offer and wait a couple of weeks, to see if they may up the offer especially if your vehicle has been totaled! Also, if you have personal injuries, they may assign a different claims adjuster that specializes in personal injury claims. This usually happens in the bigger insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate from what our attorneys have told us. Be distinct to also obtain the adjusters fax number, and you can fax them your decision. DO NOT send them unnecessary statements, they can and will use this against you in court! We found this out the hard way with State Farm Insurance!
7. If you have a personal injury, you can always use this as leverage to get a rental car, especially if your vehicle has been totaled, by telling them you need a vehicle to drive back and forth to the doctors office. If your vehicle needs to be repaired, I would recommend getting an estimate from someone that is NOT affiliated with the insurance company. Some of these insurance appraisers will try to cut their losses on repairs and you may have to end up paying the balance. Some insurance companies will issue you a check and some will make out the check to the body shop once your vehicle has been repaired.
8. If you settle your property damage claim without using an attorney, be sure that the contract does not have any words like “injury” or injuries sustained” anywhere in their contract, especially if you filed a personal injury claim. You will have to give them the title and of course the vehicle, before they can give you the check, if your vehicle has been declared a total loss. The larger companies will just give you a check without a contract, that’s what State Farm did with us. Over all, most attorneys do not handle property distress claims.
9. If you have the time, you can always get a copy of the accident report at the courthouse in the same city normally within 3 days. Some of these insurance companies will take up to three weeks to glean this record and until then, they will normally offer you absolutely nothing! Simply because they want to find out who’s fault it was! If you hire an immediate attorney, this is also very estimable to have on your initial visit.
10. The best contrivance I have found to hire an attorney, is to check with friends and family members. My advice, if you have sustained personal injuries that will be permanent, I would use an expert trial attorney. You can always interview different attorneys. Be sure to choose an attorney that you feel comfortable with. These people can sometimes end with you for years and years! I would also recommend viewing this attorney in court to see what kind of tactics they are using against these insurance attorneys. In most states, you have a minimum of 1-2 years before you have to file a lawsuit to recover your losses and expenses. Insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate are notoriously acclaimed about waiting until the last week to settle your personal injury claim. Remember also, lawsuits are filed against the other driver and not the insurance company! Go to your local library and research personal injury books.
I hope this information has been helpful,
Thanks,
Phillip Chambley
Filed under Auto Insurance Reviews by on Feb 17th, 2011. Comment.
