Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Is Pay As You Drive the Right Auto Insurance for You?

By Tom Martens

The Brookings Institution tells us that their studies find that 2 out of every 3 households in the United States would save money if they switch their auto insurance to a Pay As You Drive plan. Pay As You Drive insurance is based on the numbers of miles an insured's car is driven. They give you an incentive to drive less and lower your premiums.

Anyone can consider switching to a Pay As You Drive insurance program, but these programs really benefit low income and low mileage drivers. Low income drivers tend to also be low mileage drivers because of the high costs associated with frequent driving. While the amount of miles driven doesn?t impact premiums under a more traditional insurance program, high mileage driving does require spending more money on gasoline and auto maintenance and repairs. There is also more wear and tear on your vehicle, which means vehicles will need to be replaced more frequently.

Another benefit of Pay As You Drive is fairness. Under traditional coverage, low-mileage drivers subsidize the high-mileage drivers who pay the same premiums, but, because of how much time they spend on the road, are more likely to be involved in crashes. This inequitable subsidy is removed under Pay As You Drive. Higher-mileage drivers pay higher premiums, and lower-mileage drivers pay less.

Of course, not all low-mileage drivers are low-income drivers. Many people don't drive just because they care about the environment. The fewer miles people drive, the less automobiles contribute to greenhouse gases, and the less congestion there is on the road. Any driver interested in protecting the ecology should also consider Pay As You Drive.

Who else benefits from Pay As You Drive? Auto owners looking to save money in a tight economic environment should also consider these plants. Since premiums are computed on the basis of distance driven, there's a real reason to drive less?because the savings aren't limited just to gas costs. And don't forget, the fewer miles you drive each year, the more years you can drive your vehicle. Cars last longer when they are driven less.

Pay As You Drive insurance can be a benefit to almost any driver. Drivers interested in learning more about how Pay As You Drive insurance can save you money, protect the environment and help your vehicle last longer should contact a qualified insurance provider. This provider can answer your questions and help tailor a specific Pay As You Drive insurance program to help meet your driving and insurance needs. Remember, the average U.S. household can save $270 a year on insurance premiums just by switching to Pay As You Drive insurance.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

A Look into Car Insurance Costs

By Calvin Wapasa

Rather than the cost of many common things coming down, it looks that everything is going up especially the likes of gas, food, power and particularly auto insurance which has been steadily growing for a few years. The high price has made many low income family units to opt between paying for food and paying to protect their automobile - with this cost most frequently losing out. However, there is a great deal of money to be saved with the premium charged, if you know what to look for.

The driver's age will affect the motorcar insurance costs greatly as drivers who have not hit twenty five years of age are often penalize because of their perceived inexperience. In the United States, the figures establish this assumption to be right as the number of accidents or driving infractions are considerably higher in this age group. To recover the costs of these accidents, all people who are under the age of 25 are asked to pay higher premiums.

The type of motorcar you drive can also be a determining element in your car insurance cost and sports cars typically have the biggest insurance premiums while station wagons and older model autos have the lowest premiums. Newer cars and cars with higher values are also pricey to insure because the insurance firms is at a wider financial risk - if there is an accident and the car requirements repairs or in the event of it being wrecked. Great savings can be made just by buying an older vehicle or one with a better safety record.

Insurance Companies also look at a driver's history for accidents and convictions as this tells them about your driving ability and the risk they may be taking by insuring them. Insurance Underwriters also like to reward safe drivers with lower car insurance premiums as an inducement for good driving; they will increase the premiums for drivers who are not careful or do not worry about other peoples safety. This is mirrored in the amount of times a person who has previous accidents or tickets for moving violations will claim on their insurance policy against a individual with a clean driving record.

If you want to save cash on your automobile insurance on a long term basis then you need to take these points into consideration. Insurers employ other elements to calculate their premiums but the points mentioned here is the bulk of how it is worked out. By knowing what these factors are, an individual will be better able to control the price they pay for automobile protection.

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Motorcyle insurance benefits

By Ricky Anderson

When purchasing a car, you are required by law to have car insurance. It is however not mandatory to have motorcycle insurance in most American states.

Though your state may not see it fit to mandate insurance for motorcycles, it is still a wise idea to get a policy taken out for your two wheeler. The roads in the current day and age are dangerous and you can be up for litigation with one stupid mistake.

If your motorcycle were to get damaged in an accident, having insurance will mean you don't have to pay anything to get it repaired or if need be get a new one. Isn't it a good feeling to be able to go and ride the bike confidently without worrying about possible accidental damage.

Its not only for yourself " Even though you may be one of the safest riders in the world, bad things can still happen. It is thus helpful to have insurance cover when something that you do not expect happens.

There are many kinds of custom motorcycle insurance policies that you can get. There are those that cover the third party in case of an accident. This means that if you were to damage another car/motorcycle or injure a person, you would not be liable for the damage caused. You would however, not be compensated for injuries to you or damages to your bike. A comprehensive motorcycle insurance covers both you, your motorcycle as well as any third part in case of an accident.

No one knows what will happen and that is why custom motorcycle insurance is the best thing you can get to be certain that you are ready for every situation you will come across.

The best place to get insurance is to go to the same company that insures your car for you. You may want to scout for prices, but it is advisable to deal with an insurance company you are familiar with.

To conclude, do not shy away from motorcycle insurance simply because it isn't mandatory in the state you live in. As explained above, it can have a lot of advantages to both you and of course your bike!

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Friday, June 26, 2009

A Look into Insuring Your Old Car

By Calvin Wapasa

Having an old auto isn't just about ownership as many individuals take them to car shows and parade them as examples of the styles of years gone past but just like everyday automobiles they require insurance. Although you might think it hard to obtain, it is surprising how many [companies] can actually supply old auto insurance. This is obviously good for the person searching for the classic motorcar insurance as they have plenty of companies to choose from.

Mainstream automobile insurance firms are also now able to provide this type of insurance for antique cars which they have a name for; 'collectors automobile insurance'. Although the insurance policies may seem the same as regular automobile cover provides, they are not and the agent will require exact details of the car to be insured before a full quotation can be provided. They will also help you decide which types of coverage are within your target budget and which deductible and limit levels you will need.

These commercial insurance firms are able to provide you peace of mind as they are normally well established and therefore safe, in all likelihood with a large satisfied customer base so you know your antique auto will be safe with them. The other advantage of this type of insurer is their ability to arrange the protection on any other regular vehicle you own. Antique auto insurance with bigger companies that do not specialize in this type of policy may be more expensive but this is frequently worth the extra as they are well established.

It is possible to use specialist motorcar insurance companies and frequently the rates is lower because this is the only type of insurance they provide, this might mean that you will not be able to insure any other type of automobile with them. With the number of classic automobiles still around you will not be surprised to learn that even the insurance companies have, in some areas, specialized even further to provide cover for only one type of automobile.

If you are going to apply and independent old car insurer then first check that they can be trusted and have a loyal customer base before you part with any money. You do not want to find that after months of paying the insurance premiums that the company will not or is unable to pay your insurance claim.

Locating an old auto insurance company is not as straightforward as finding a regular automobile insurance provider but if you want to know your precious auto is protected, it must be done. By their very nature, classic motorcars are almost always irreplaceable and represent a big investment on the part of the owner so protection for these automobiles is an absolute necessity.

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Why Car Insurance Write-offs Increase with Recessions

By Ryan Parker

In the face of the current recessions and its probable long financial dry spell there have been reports of increased car insurance write-offs of cars. On top of that there were also increases in the number of car accidents which led to write-offs. This strange occurrence isn't confined to this recession but has also been observed in other times of economic contraction.

This strange correlation between recessions and write-offs isn't statistically or logically related. There should not be a connection between these two occurrences as they should not affect each other but strangely they do and the worst thing is that the car insurance companies are taking notice of this.

The fact is that many people who are in financial difficulties will turn to insurance fraud to get themselves out of trouble. Some of these unscrupulous people will actively do damage on their own cars in the hope that their car insurance providers will cover their losses. Although it is a very despicable act, the problem of proving that these people have actually actively tried to deceive the insurance companies is difficult at best.

Some of these insurance fraudsters will even go to the extent of driving their cars into barriers, fire hydrants and even other motorists just to make their claim look more believable. They are even willing to risk their lives just for a chance at obtaining a claim. The sad part about all of this is that most of these people do not understand how the claims process works. It could be months even years before all due investigation is completed and you receiving your claims. By this time your financial situation would have changed substantially.

Some other individuals have even resorted to torching their cars or even reporting that it was stolen simply to get their car insurance claims come through better. These criminal acts are very obviously against the law and if even the slightest issue arises the insurance company is simply not going to pay your claims. There simply is no situation where you should ever be resorting to insurance fraud to either get a cash benefit or to get rid of you car.

Most of the time if you find that you are having a hard time servicing your car loans or even if you can't seem to sell your car and it is really becoming a liability, it still isn't worth it to resort to criminal acts and insurance fraud. You can sell you car for cheap and restructure your car loans in such a way that you can still pay them off effectively over time. If your car insurance is heavy then you can reduce your coverage or even changing your policy to a third party option.

These increased incidences of less than truthful write-off claims have a very negative impact on the rest of the people in the insurance pool in the company. As a customer of the insurance company you will have to pay for any of these write-offs through your increased premiums. The unfortunate truth is that most insurance companies know that this is happening especially in these troubling economic times, as such those that do not have a fixed policy will end up having to pay for the extra risk that is involved. There is almost no way to avoid this as every car insurance company will face the same issue and thus will penalize every policy holder equally for this just to make sure they don't see a loss.

Although authorities and insurance companies want to keep this to a bare minimum it really is hard to prove that insurance claims are fraudulent. For most of us other car insurance policy holders we will just need to understand that our rates are increasing simply because of these activities and plan accordingly. There is nothing else we can do except to accept it and understand that we aren't the only people that are penalized, everyone is getting it.

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