Good Driver Insurance

Reader Question:  I am looking for better auto insurance for my new car than my previous insurance coverage. I had Sta@@ Far@ insurance for years, but they seem to slowly but surely raise their rates over the years.  I got a new car and they have once again raised my rate, so I am ready to shop around.

Stanley,

Boston MA

Stanley,

Good for you!  Checking your auto insurance rates every 3 years is a great idea.  This is a pretty common tactic for many agents, they slowly raise your premiums but the increase is so low that they know you will just put up with it. But over the years, so incremental increases really add up to a lot.  Checking around will almost always result in lower rates….at least until year 3 until the new company starts to jack up your rate ever so slowly.

The zip code form above is for Comparison Market, they are a leader in comparison insurance shopping. They will compare 12 companies for you….instantly, and for free…and there is no obligation to do anything.  Once you see the results, which you will online, you can select each carrier and learn more about their offer and the coverage they are offering you and of course the price.

Honestly, this is the fastest and easiest way to shop around for car insurance.  Try it now…and post your comments after you get the rate quote. We want your feedback!

When Can My Auto Insurance Company Cancel My Policy?

Reader’s Question:

My girlfriend just purchased auto insurance for her new car. I don’t have a car and obviously neither do I have car insurance. We are just wondering on how car insurance stuff works here in West Allis, Wisconsin. Can her car insurance company just cancel her policy anytime they want? Or is there such thing as grace period before auto insurance policy can be cancelled by the insurance company itself?

Orion

West Allis, WI

Hello there Orion!

I’ve checked with Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) about your question and I learned that car insurance companies can cancel their policyholder’s auto insurance policy provided that said coverage has been in effect within the 60 days. If an insurer chose to cancel the policy within the mentioned period then they are not required to give out explanation about the cancellation. Other reasons wherein a policy can be cancelled is when a policyholder failed to make a payment for the premium on the due date, fraudulent activities done by the policyholder himself/herself when availing of the policy or when making the claim, or major changes on the characteristics of the insurer.

However, for a car insurance policy to be cancelled, insurer is required to notify through writing the policyholder not less than 10 days before the effective date of cancellation or else said cancellation will not be processed.

If you have any questions about car insurance termination you can ask your car insurance agent in West Allis, Wisconsin or even the Wisconsin OCI.

Are You Canceling Your Auto Insurance Policy?

Reader’s Question:

I’m thinking of switching auto insurance company in Maryland. My car insurance premium right now is so expensive that I don’t think I can afford to pay it. How do I do this? Do I just not pay it? I really need to cancel it as soon as possible.

Akira

Ellicott City, MD

In general, if a policyholder wants to cancel his or her auto insurance all he/she needs to do is to inform the auto insurance company though writing. Included in the letter would be the date on when the policyholder wishes to cancel car insurance policy.

In addition, from what I knew, they are also cases that your new car insurance agent must inform the previous agent about the change. Also, depending on the insurer company’s guidelines, some also ask for the copy of the printed policy to be sent back to them.

Usually, if you decide to cancel a car insurance policy, the insurer will be sending you a form of cancellation request. This cancellation request form needs to be signed by you (if you are the policyholder) and have it returned to the car insurance company.

If you wish to cancel your car insurance policy in Maryland do it in writing. If you chose not to pay your auto insurance policy then it would be cancelled due to non-payment. And by this, it will surely affect your credit history and the next time you purchase auto insurance, you might be charged with higher car insurance premium.

Liability Auto Insurance Discounts in New York

Reader’s Question:

I live in Buffalo, NY and I will be moving to another state in three months, what will happen if I cancel my liability insurance?

Harold

Buffalo, NY

The car insurance company must notify the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) if you cancel your liability insurance. If your insurance coverage is reinstated or you get new insurance coverage, your car insurance company in Buffalo, NY is also required to notify DMV. If the car insurance company does not file an electronic notice about your new or reinstated liability insurance, the DMV will send you a letter about your insurance. Once you receive the letter, read the insert mailed with the letter, and follow the instructions in the letter. You are given 10 days from the date of the DMV letter to prove that you carry an insurance coverage, prove that you sold the vehicle, or show other proof that insurance coverage was not required in New York State. If you do have insurance coverage, also ask your car insurance company to file an electronic notice of insurance coverage with the DMV.

If you do not have liability insurance, you must surrender your vehicle plates to the New York State DMV immediately and make sure you get a receipt. You must respond to the letter you receive from the DMV or surrender your license plates to avoid the suspension of your registration and driver’s license. If your liability insurance is about to lapse and you do not plan to replace it with other car insurance, surrender your vehicle plates to the DMV before your insurance coverage lapses.

What Is Used Car Insurance Salvage Value?

Reader question:

How do I know the used car insurance salvage value for my totaled vehicle?

Interesting question.

When your car is in an accident and is declared a total loss, there are usually a couple of options available to you. Either you can accept the total cash value and try to fix your car if it is that important to you, or if you were without gap insurance, or instead you can use the total cash value to buy yourself a new car and the car insurance company can take your totaled car to the junk yard to be sold as parts, in a used car insurance salvage sale.

In some cases, you will be able to see some of the money gotten from the salvaging of your vehicle, depending on what car insurance company you are with. The salvage amount that a car can be got for is more often than not about five to twenty percent of the vehicle’s total cash value. There is no set price to determine what the value will be, but the people that salvage these things tend to have a computer database with information of all of the salvages they have done in the past. They use that information from before to determine how much they will sell a part from now, based on the type of car.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Car Insurance Depreciation And Value of Your Claim

Reader question:

What does car insurance depreciation have to do with the claims process?

Maya

Good question.

Depreciation is something that can put many new car owners into a bad spot if they total their car. The deal is that the second you take your car out of the car dealership, its price drops significantly. In the first couple of years or so that you own the car, its price continues to drop quickly, and then peters out over the remaining years. This is called car insurance depreciation, and it is what determines how much you get paid for a total loss when you make a claim.

Your car insurance company pays you what is called the cash value of the car when it is totaled, and this is the depreciated amount, not the amount you bought the car for. Even for a new car, this amount is often a lot less than it would take for you to finish paying off your car finance loan. This is why it is a good idea toget gap insurance, so that if your car gets totaled you can pay off your loan and get yourself another car as well.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Auto Insurance Groups?

Reader question:

What are auto insurance groups?

Andy

Good question.

In auto insurance, the car insurance companies give you a certain premium price based on who you are, what you do, what you drive. Having a high performance car can get you a raise, as can having a new car, or bad credit, and especially a bad driving record. That last one and the first one might also be big contributor to you having a hard time getting a car insurance policy taken out at all. There are many factors that go into the final decision.

These have a lot to do with the auto insurance group that you are placed in. There are three basic auto insurance groups. They are:

• high risk
• average risk
• preferred risk

The first one is of people who have several speeding tickets, a high performance car, are male and under the age of twenty five and so on. The second one includes people who might have a ticket a year ago, a new car, and mediocre credit. The last group is of the best drivers with the best car insurance qualities. The group that you fall into determines who will insure you and how much it will cost.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Cheap Car Insurance in New Hampshire For Good Drivers

In any State, the way to have the best rate for car insurance is to have a clean driving record. In New Hampshire, if your car is not financed but you have a spotless driving records, you are not required to buy any car insurance. But this has limitations. For instance, if you are convicted of a DWI (Driving while Intoxicated) or DUI (Driving under the Influence) you will be required to buy for at least 3 years of car insurance. So best way obviously to get or keep your insurance low is to drive safely and obey traffic rules all the time.

You may also consider dropping your car insurance if you are driving an old car. Your car insurance wont pay for the repairs anyway.Check for any programs with your insurance company regarding driver’s refresher course. This would help lower your monthly premiums if you are 55 or older.

If you are a teenager and still in school, make sure to get a clean driving record. Check with your insurance company also if you are entitled to a “Good Student Discount” on their car insurance.

Make sure you check online and shop around so you can compare car insurance prices. This will ensure you of getting the best car insurance rate in New Hampshire.

Goodluck!

-MariCAR

Good Driver Insurance – Do Air Bags Help Lower Rates?

Reader question:

I’m getting a new car and they give you the option to pay extra for side impact air bags. If I do this, will I get cheaper rates on my car insurance premium?

Randy

Probably.

Everything depends on the company, but most car insurance companies will give you safe driver insurance discounts when you add safety features to your car, especially when those features are air bags. You don’t necessarily get more of a discount the more safety features you add, but if you make an effort to diminish the possibilities of extreme damage when or if your car gets into a crash and needs collision coverage, then you are going to get rewarded for it by your company with a car insurance discount.

Some people wonder if we even need side air bags. Every car that comes out on the market is so loaded down with safety features that it’s enough to make people wonder if it makes any sense. Can all of that so called safety really save lives, or is it just a gimmick to sell cars? Accidents still happen right? Right, but less do, and the ones that do cause less damage and injury when there are safety features involved, so this trend will probably continue.

At the beginning of the year, crash tests were performed with cars that did not have side impact air bags and then the same type of car that did, to see what the differences were in the results. It came out that they really do work and can save lives. This is especially important for side impacts, which cause most of the fatalities in accidents because they hit at least one passenger or driver head on. Side impact air bags decreases the possibility of both injury and death, and for that reason car insurance companies are rushing to hand out discounts to anybody with these.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.