The Automobile Insurance Blog

Auto-insurance Agents

If you want someone to help you with your auto insurance, you could consider having your very own agent. You could choose a captive agent who represents only one insurance company or a broker who represents several. An agent (captive or not) is someone who can guide you towards the policy that is suitable for you. A broker could help you choose between insurance from different companies. You could change carriers but keep the same agent. However if you choose, you could interact directly with a company if you feel that your agent is not working as you expected or the agent is pressuring you into purchasing policies you don’t like.

Basics of Auto Insurance

Before parting with your hard earned money and putting the security of one of your most expensive investments in the hands of your insurance company, learn first the basics of automobile insurance to make sure that you have exactly the coverage that fit your needs.

Many times we take for granted the basic things until it is already too late and we are paying more than we planned for or worse is not getting the coverage we expect to just because we failed to look at the fine print. Your payments are calculated based on a number of factors that will dictate how much premium you are going to pay. Here are some automobile insurance basics to guide you along the way:
1.The actual amount of coverage you have
2.The type of coverage you have
3.How much deductible are you paying
4.Your driving record
5.How secure is your automobile
6.What type of neighborhood you live in
7.How frequently you drive
8.Other drivers covered by your policy

FAQ About Automobile Insurance

Purchasing an automobile insurance may not be as easy as it seems. Although there are a lot of references that an automobile owner can use in order to help him decide what type of automobile insurance and what company he will get to provide the insurance coverage for him.

In an attempt to further simplify things for the automobile owner, here are some frequently asked questions that you can use as a gauge if you are making the right decision. You can ask these questions from your prospective insurance provider and see if you can get a satisfactory answer.
1.If automobile insurance is sometimes called packaged policy, what are included in the package?
2.Do I really need an automobile insurance if I have a very old car with very low market value?
3.If my friend is using my car and he gets into an accident, will he be covered?
4.What is my coverage for a car rental?
5.Is there a difference between collision physical damage coverage and comprehensive physical damage coverage? If so, what?
6.In an accident what should I do?
7.What causes by premium payments to go up?
8.Can my motorcycle be covered by an automobile insurance?
9.What does no-fault insurance mean?
10.Are there benefits to giving up my tort rights?
11.Which is better, no-fault or traditional tort coverage?
12.What factors do I need to consider when purchasing automobile insurance?
13.How do I lower my premiums?

What is an Insurance Broker?

An insurance broker or insurance agent is a person that acts as a bridge between the prospective client and the insurance provider. The broker negotiates, effects or solicits policies of insurance for the insurance provider. By closing a sale, the broker is paid by the insurance company a specific commission for his efforts. The broker is licensed by the insurance company to deal directly with prospective clients. The broker-agent is not an employee of the insurance company but rather acts as a representative of the client to the insurance company.

Any broker-agent will receive commission from the insurance company and may in certain conditions also charge the client a fee for the services he performed in behalf of the client. A broker-agent will be very helpful for those who do not have time to personally negotiate an automobile insurance or do not have an idea of what to do.

You can do without expensive premiums

Paying expensive auto insurance premiums in this time of worldwide financial crisis is really something you should do without. Everyone needs extra cash these days, and you need to save all you can for those unforeseen situations.

One way you can decrease auto insurance premiums is by buying a cheaper car, if you’re in the market for one. Cheaper cars are not only light on the budget, but they also have cheaper premiums. And as long as you’re not too picky, there are many cheap but good performance cars out there in the market.

Another thing you need to consider is repair and maintenance. Vehicles with low projected costs for repair and maintenance have also lower premium payments.

So do away momentarily with your dreams of driving a hot spots car out of your garage. Maybe in the future, when things start to look up.

Prompt Claims – Better

Accidents are a fact of life, driving being one of the most dangerous modes of transport anywhere in the world. There are hundreds of accidents on the millions of miles of roads the world over and having auto insurance assures you have the ability to recover from such unseen events if you should happen to have ample coverage for you, your counterpart driver and both your vehicles. One has to be prompt in filing claims to minimize effort and maximize your claim. Requirements are clearly stated in the policy and a prompt call to your agent would allow them to asses the damage for prompt repair of your vehicle and disbursement of funds for medical costs should they be necessary.
A photo is worth a million words and can prove the establishment of blame in accidents in many cases. In some countries, a properly filled out police report duly signed by the responding authority makes everything easier. Others simply require basic requirements to facilitate processing so read the fine-print and get to know what and what not to file for so you build a good standing with your insurance provider and agent.

Car Insurance : What You Should Know 2

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Paying a bit more in this time of crisis may be a pain in the pocket now, but just think of the rising numbers of uninsured or under insured drivers these days. What if you were on a collision course with one? You will thank your lucky stars that you prepared for this eventuality. Know the factors that affect your car insurance rate. Companies have various parameters that they use when scrutinizing your application during underwriting. Your claims history is very important when deciding how much premium you should pay. If you have been in too many accidents in the last 3 to 5 years, chances are, you will have a higher premium than someone who has not or the insurance company will think twice before offering you a policy. Another factor insurance companies consider is your credit history, to determine whether or not you are a good credit risk. You don’t think that any insurance company will enjoy doing follow up collection calls just so you could pay your monthly premium, do you?

Don’t be a Victim Of Car Insurance Scams!

Insurance fraud is one of the oldest scams in history. For car insurance fraud, not only is it costly, it’s also dangerous because it may cost you and your family your lives. To avoid being an unwitting victim, you should educate yourself with the different types of insurance scam used. Here are a couple:

• Staged rear-end car accidents is when a scam driver gets in front of an innocent car and then slam on their brakes. The innocent driver will rear-end the scam driver, and the scam driver will get to collect money for vehicle damages. Some scammers also fake medical injuries to collect more.
• After an accident, either staged or not, the scam driver will go to another location and cause extensive damage to their vehicle and claim that the damage happened during the original accident.
If an accident does happen, take notes on everything about the other car, the accident, and everybody that was in the other car. Keep a disposable camera in your car to record damage to both vehicles. And when you talk to your insurance company, let them know if you felt something was suspicious.

Definition of Terms

We feel that just because we have automobile insurance we are already protected from all eventualities. The truth is because we fall into a false sense of security, we do not take the time to find out the details or understand what is actually covered by the policy that we paid for.

Here are common definitions of automobile insurance terms to help you understand just what you are paying for:
1.Bodily Injury Liability � this is for injury sustained by another person caused by the driver of the vehicle.
2.Property Damage Liability � primarily covers damage to other cars or property caused by the driver of the vehicle.
3.Uninsured Motorist � covers involvement in a hit-and-run or an uninsured driver hit your vehicle and caused damage to it.
4.Medical Payments (Personal Injury Protection) � PIP covers medical expenses of the policyholder or the driver of the insured car in case a different person. The coverage also includes passengers and other persons involved in the accident.
5.Collision � pertains to the damage sustained by your vehicle in the accident. The policyholder has a deductible share.
6.Comprehensive � covers your vehicle against eventualities not covered by Collision and provides insurance against theft.

What is Automobile Insurance?

Automobile insurance as with any type of insurance is a contract, called a policy, between the insurance company and the automobile owner that provides financial security to the owner in case of accidents or unforeseen natural events. The policy is executed with the understanding that in exchange for a regular payment, called premium, to the insurance company, they will provide coverage for liabilities of the automobile owner in case he is involved in an accident.

Automobile is usually required especially for new vehicles prior to registration with the appropriate government agency. Every country has a minimum automobile insurance coverage requirement that the owner of the vehicle has to purchase from a private insurance company before his vehicle is considered road worthy.