Category Archives: Auto Insurances

Car Insurance A Guide to Coverage

Car insurance protects you in the event of an accident or damage to your vehicle, but many people dont know how much coverage is necessary. Heres some information to help you select the right types and right amount of auto insurance to properly protect you when driving.

Sufficient insurance coverage is essential and is required by law in most states. You may opt for the minimum insurance coverage required by law, but that may not fully protect you if you’re at fault in an accident. For your protection, it’s better to carry more than the minimum insurance coverage.

Most car insurance companies offer a variety of coverage options to protect you and your passengers, your vehicle and other drivers, including:

Liability
Collision
Comprehensive
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist
Medical
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Umbrella (optional)

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance pays for injuries and property damage caused by a crash if its determined you were at fault, and is required in every state except New Hampshire. Liability insurance does not cover injuries to vehicle occupants, or damage to your vehicle. Your policy should provide coverage for no less than $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident and $50,000 for property damage, or no less than $300,000 if your policy has a single limit. You will be liable for claims exceeding your coverage, so consider buying additional coverage if youre able.

Collision Insurance

Collision insurance pays for damage to your vehicle in an accident. If your car is totaled, you’ll receive what the insurer considers to be the pre-crash market value of your car, minus your deductible.

Comprehensive Insurance

Comprehensive covers theft of your vehicle and non-collision damage to your car, as well as animal collisions. You may be eligible for car insurance discounts if your vehicle has anti-theft or tracking devices.

Liability, collision and comprehensive insurance are what finance companies require when purchasing or leasing a vehicle. There are other types of insurance you may wish to include with your auto insurance coverage, including:

Uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist protection is required by many states, and covers injuries to the occupants of your car if the other driver has insufficient or no insurance. In the event of a qualifying accident, the insurer pays the difference between what the uninsured driver can pay and what the injured driver would be entitled to.

Medical protection provides coverage for you and your passengers, regardless of fault.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance provides additional protection including rental-car coverage and roadside assistance.

With Umbrella coverage, “umbrella” refers to how the policy shields the insured’s assets more broadly than primary coverage, and provides extra protection beyond your car insurance limits, in case of something unexpected.

Facts About Car Insurance Renewal Process

Auto Insurance is vital if you own any vehicle whether it is a two-wheeler or four-wheeler. You can buy a new car insurance when you purchase a new car and then renew it every year. Car insurance renewal carries utmost importance because as per India traffic norms it is mandatory to have a car insurance to ensure safety to your life and vehicle and towards the protection of third party life and property. If you failto renew your car insurance and your car meets with an accident then you would be in great legal and mental trouble.

Is it mandatory to opt for car insurance renewal with the same insurance company that was involved in initial purchase?
No. You may change your auto insurance provider if:

you are not satisfied with your current insurance provider
you are relocating to another state
you are purchasing a new vehicle
you are getting better premium rates and coverage benefits from another auto insurance provider
claim settlement experience was not good
customer service response is not up to the mark

Can I cancel my old policy and change my service provider anytime in a year?
You may change your service provider anytime but it is advisable to cancel your existing policy when it is about to expire. This will help you save cancellation fees and administrative charges on car insurance renewal. So, notify your auto insurance provider one month prior the car insurance renewal is due.

Inquire your current provider for the cancellation procedure so that there are no last moment hiccups. It is better that you give in writing about you considering cancelling your policy and mention the date when the policy should be terminated. So when you switch to new provider be careful to match your termination date of old policy and activation date of the new policy.

However, if you choose not to wait for the renewal date and plan to terminate your policy in midyear then you would have to wait for the prorated refund but need to pay the new company the premium for the whole year.

What documents are required for car insurance renewal?

If you are renewing with existing provider then you just need to quote your policy number and give a cheque for insurance renewal and you receive a temporary insurance document. You receive the original insurance document on cheque clearance. If you are paying online, the insurance document is delivered at your address and you receive soft copy on your email immediately.
However, if you are planning to renew your existing policy with new service provider then you would need to provide documents such as RC of the vehicle, signed cheque, address proof and photo ID.

Car Insurance Terms Explained No Claims Bonus

A no-claims bonus (NCB) is a discount on an auto insurance premium that is earned by not making any claims on your insurance policy. The amount of discount varies for different insurance companies. A NCB of five years can potentially be worth a 60 – 70 % discount on car insurance premiums. For every year that a driver has auto insurance and does not make a claim, they earn a year on their NCB. The maximum is usually five years though some companies continue to offer discounts for six to eight years. When shopping for new car insurance, it is essential to find out more about the no-claims bonus.

It is very important to understand that the no-claims bonus is not a no blame or a no-fault bonus. The NCB will be denied irrespective of who was to blame. Even if your car gets stolen, the no-claims bonus is lost. Any claim you make will cause you to lose the NCB. Some insurers offer NCB protection; for a small additional fee you can protect and keep your no-claims bonus even if make a claim during the year. This NCB protection is relatively new and is treated differently by different insurers. The protection may keep your NCB intact or it may move it back two or three years. The special coverage may be good for only one claim and the costs will vary depending on your policy and insurance carrier. If you are looking to change insurance companies and are shopping for new car insurance, your no-claims bonus can usually be transferred to your new company.

The NCB is only one of the factors that determine your insurance cost when calculating your premium price. Most insurance carriers have a list of questions they ask when applying for new car insurance. These questions are used as part of a complex calculation to determine your final insurance cost. The discount for the NCB is not applied at the end of this calculation; it is applied somewhere in the middle. Dont expect your premium cost to be reduced by 60- 70 % as the reduction will take place somewhere during the underwriting process. However, though you will not see your insurance premiums cut by more than half, the no-claims bonus provides you with substantial savings and should be considered when shopping for auto insurance.

The NCB is important to lowering your insurance costs. Protect by driving safely, securing your vehicle, maintaining your car, and following the rules of the road. Having earned the NCB will make shopping for new car insurance a more rewarding and less costly experience.

Compare Car Insurance Policy Quotes the Simple Way

If you’d like to obtain the cheapest car insurance, you have to compare car insurance rates from different insurance firms. Here’s the quickest and easiest way to do that.

The very best strategy to find the least expensive car insurance rate is to compare car insurance policy rates from multiple companies. In this article I’ll show you how to do that quickly and effortlessly.

Comparing Quotes

In the days preceding the World-Wide-Web, you needed to phone many different insurance agents and answer a whole lot of questions to be able to get sufficient quotes to get a cheap quote. Now, thanks to the World Wide Web, comparing auto insurance policy quotes is easy.

Because prices can vary by $1,000 or more from company to company, you need to pay a visit to an insurance comparison website where you can obtain quotes from many different auto insurance companies.

Not only can you receive a number of rate quotes from these websites, several of these sites are offering money-saving tips in their “Articles” section, and offer an online chat feature and toll-free telephone support which means you can receive answers to your inquiries from an insurance specialist.

Insurance Discounts

In order to get your car insurance rate quotes, you’ll need to fill out a simple form where you are able to list all the discounts and deductibles you would like. Here’s how to save the most money:

Increase your deductible. This could save you as much as 55% on the price of your insurance policy.

Bundle your insurance policies – By placing your homeowners insurance and your automobile insurance through the same insurance company, you could save as much as 15% on your insurance coverage cost.

Install security devices – Outfitting your car with a car alarm or other theft-prevention devices can get you a sizeable discount.

Eliminate unnecessary coverage – Consider getting rid of your comprehensive plus collision coverage if your vehicle is over 5 years old, or if the price of your annual premium is the same as the value of your car.

Car Insurance Companies

Before you purchase insurance you need to be certain the company you select has a favorable insurance claims history and first rate customer support. Use these sites to help you determine if a company is a good one to insure your car with.

1. Your state’s department of insurance site will show you how many complaints were lodged against an insurance company.

2. J.D. Power and Associate’s site provides you with consumer ratings.

3. The A.M. Best (ambest.com) site provides you with a company’s financial and credit ratings.

By taking these extra steps, you will know that you’re not only getting the lowest rate, but that you are getting a dependable company.

Post Office Car Insurance And Exchange Rates

This article explains all about the car insurance and exchange rates services from the Post Office in order for you to make an informed purchase decision and decide whether they are the right provider for you.

The Post Office Exchange Rates are some of the best ones out of all the providers including banks and supermarkets, so is well worth considering whenever you need to convert some mosney into another currency. You can order between 500 and 2500 online or in branch if it is much less than this. You also get free next day delivery on any order so that you can receive it as soon as possible, which makes it ideal for going on holiday. The Post Office charge 0% commission with no handling fees, and offer more than 70 different currencies, so you should be able to find what you are looking for. The public as the Best Foreign Exchange Provider at the British Travel Awards has awarded them for five years running. With very competitive rates and a great service, you would be crazy not to consider the Post Office as your currency exchange provider.

Post Office Car Insurance is available at great rates; helping you to save some extra money, up to 419 in fact, compared to other providers. They are able to offer the best price by comparing deals amongst several of their top insurers so you can be assured that you are getting the most out of your money. You also get one years worth of breakdown cover for free.

The friendly support team are experts in the field and can deal with any queries or claims quickly and professionally. Payments can be made very easily on a monthly basis and there are various options to choose from, making it much more convenient for you. Plus, immediate cover is available should you need car insurance on an urgent basis.

With the car insurance deal, you receive up to nine years no claims discount and a courtesy car to drive on the road if yours breaks down. It also protects you against malicious damage such as vandalism if you inform the police within 48 hours of it happening. Approved claims repairs come with a three year guarantee and windscreen damage can be fixed free of charge by calling the specialist glass help centre. It is great news if you travel abroad a lot, as you can also get cover for up to 60 days per holiday in the EU. Recovery Breakdown and Roadside Assistance worth 49 is also available for free to help cover some other eventualities.

There are different deals on offer for drivers over the age of 50 years old, which are also, well worth checking out if you fit into this age category. Be sure to read all the term and conditions of any car insurance offer to check that you are fully eligible and covered for everything that you expect to be.