Pssst – Want To Know A Secret That Banks & Car Insurance Companies Don’t Share With You

Every single driver in the U.S. is required to have Car Insurance. And most of drive around confident that we have adequate coverage to protect us should we ever be involved in an accident.

Yet, almost 97%PRCTG% of all drivers are not adequately protected….and don’t even know it. Here’s what I mean.

Let’s say you’re involved in an accident and it’s serious enough that the car is considered a “total loss” by your Insurance Company. Or, maybe your vehicle gets stolen. A few weeks later, you get a check from your Insurance Company.

When you look at the amount, you’re shocked. It’s thousands less than what you owe on your car. How can that be, you ask?

Well, like most, your policy has this short clause buried somewhere in all that legalese -

“In the event of a total loss, the policy holder will receive the actual cash value of the vehicle, minus any deductible.”

Did you catch the 3, very important words in that clause? The three words are – “actual cash value.”

Actual Cash Value means you’re going to get a get a check for….

“What it’s worth” not “What you owe.?

Isn?t that a nasty little surprise.

And like most, you owe quite a bit more than what the car or truck is worth. What would you owe your Bank or Credit Union if your car was totaled today?

So, how do you avoid this situation?

Well, when you buy a new or used vehicle, add a “rider” to your policy or purchase a separate “rider.?

If you have Homeowners or Rental insurance, a “rider” might sound familiar. For a homeowner?s policy, if you own expensive items, like fine jewelry, you need to add a rider to your policy. The reason – Insurance Companies won’t cover those types of items as part of a regular insurance policy.

So, you pay an extra %5 or %6 a month to have those items fully covered by the rider.”

If anything ever happens to the jewelry, it gets replaced.

A rider for your car or truck is called GAP Insurance or GAP Protection. It’s just like the rider for your Home – except it’s only for cars, vans, trucks or suv?s.

It covers “What You Owe”, not “What its worth.?

It doesn’t matter what the reason is – if it’s ever totaled due to theft, fire, accident, flood, tornado, vandalism, hurricane, it’s covered – and paid-in-full!

You can protect yourself four different ways.

1. Put at least 20%PRCTG%-30%PRCTG% down on any new or used car purchase to erase any gap;
2. Purchase a “Rider” – AKA GAP Insurance from your Car Insurance Company or Bank;
3. Purchase Gap Insurance from another Insurance Company;
4. Buy Gap Insurance from the Dealership you’re buying at.

Any one of these options is great way to protect yourself. Whether you’re getting ready to purchase a new car or truck, or purchased a vehicle in the last 2 years or so, make sure the “gap” between what your vehicle is worth and what you owe is covered.

Technorati Tags : insurance rider policy purchase

5 Quickest ways to lower your Auto Insurance Premium

Are you looking for ways to lower your Auto Insurance Premium? Auto insurance rates can spiral depending upon factors that include your age, past driving record, and other factors such as credit history. However, the trick is to find ways to lower the annual pay-off. We have pulled up for you the 5 quickest ways to lower your Auto Insurance Premium.

Tip 1: Hike up your deductible

Stop trying to get the ?lowest deductible?, instead go in for a comfortably higher out of pocket payment plan. ?Deductible? is the amount that you would pay before your insurance policy kicks in. This is an easy way to reduce your periodic premium amount, however, be warned, in such a case, if something happens to your vehicle – you need to shell out more to cover the initial expenses, prior to going in for a claim.

Tip 2: Park your vehicle in a garage

One of the simplest ways to cut down on insurance premium is to park your vehicle in a garage, personal or commercial establishments. This helps in knocking off, in some cases, close to 20%PRCTG% of the premium. In a garage, the chances of your vehicle getting stolen or sideswiped are considerably lower. From a transaction perspective, parking in a garage could mean a difference between a preferred rate and a standard rate.

Tip 3: Shop around and bargain

Nothing beats the traditional ?shop around to bargain?. Make sure you at least have three to four price quotes with you, prior to fixing on the service provider. Ensure that you are not shopping for price alone, but the whole deal.

Tip 4: Take a Defensive Driving Course

Not many people are aware of this. By volunteering for a state-approved defensive driving course, you can avail discounts in premium of up to 10%PRCTG%. However, do cross check with your insurer on this.

Tip 5: Downsizing Coverage

Well, downsizing coverage is perhaps the easiest way to lower your auto insurance premium. However, we suggest you to be careful and prudent, while taking this decision. This might save money, but, would also limit coverage.

Technorati Tags : premium insurance lower garage

Cheap Insurance Van

The word shopping brings a feeling of immediate excitement to most people. But if you combine the word shopping with car insurance, as in “shopping for car insurance”, it produces the opposite effect. The thought of shopping for auto insurance makes the eyes glaze over and the heart rate drop to the pace of a slumbering couch potato.

Couch potato? Indeed. Doug Heller, a consumer advocate at the Foundation for Consumer Rights and a recognized insurance issues specialist, told us that too often “people purchase insurance by calling the number on the screen.”

But wait, this is important stuff! You want to be adequately covered if you get in an accident. And you certainly don’t want to pay more for car insurance than you should. Maybe waiting for a solution to be beamed into your living room is not the best idea.

How can you stay awake while navigating through this murky subject? Just remember: There is money to be saved. How much? Hundreds, even thousands, per year. For example, one of the authors typed all of his insurance information into a comparative insurance service. The quotes (for very basic coverage on two old cars) ranged from %1,006 to %1,807 ? a difference of %801 a year. If you’re currently dumping thousands into your insurance company’s coffers because of a couple of tickets, an accident or a questionable credit rating, shopping your policy against others may be well worth the effort.

Look at it this way ? you can convert the money you save into the purchase of something you’ve lusted after for a long time. Hold that goal in your mind. Now, let’s begin.

Before you can shop for something, you have to decide what you need. The first step in finding the right auto insurance for you is to figure out the amount of coverage you need. This varies from country to country. So take a moment to find out what coverage is required where you live. Make a list of the different types of coverage and then return for the next step.

Now that you know what is required, you can decide what ? if anything ? you need in addition to that. Some people are quite cautious. They base their lives on worst-case scenarios. Insurance companies love these people. That’s because insurance companies know what your chances are of being killed or maimed, and how likely it is for your car to be damaged or stolen. The information the insurance company has collected over previous decades is crunched into “actuarial tables” that give insurance adjustors a quick look at the probability of just about any occurrence.

It is important to keep in mind that the basis of insurance is a difference of opinion between you (the insured) and them (the insurance company). You believe you will, at some point, probably get in an auto accident. The car insurance company believes you probably won’t. And the insurance company is willing to take your money to prove you wrong.

So how much auto insurance should you buy beyond your state’s minimums?

“Look at your personal financial situation,” Dennis Howard, director of the Insurance Consumer Advocate Network and former insurance adjuster. “If you have assets to protect ? and that is all insurance is doing ? get enough liability coverage.”

Another issue Howard mentioned is that the limits of any uninsured and/or underinsured motorist coverage that you purchase cannot exceed the limits of your liability coverage. Such coverage, he said, can be valuable, as it will cover lost income if you’re out of work for several months after being injured in a major accident.

Your driving habits may also be a consideration. If your past is filled with crumpled fenders, if you have a lead foot or a long commute on a treacherous winding road, then you should get more comprehensive coverage.

“Consumers should also be aware that they don’t have to buy the package [of collision and comprehensive coverage],” Howard said. “If your vehicle is older, if you have a good driving record and if there is a low likelihood that it would be totaled in an accident, but a high likelihood of it being stolen, you could buy comprehensive but not collision.” Seems like good advice for all of the 1989 Toyota Camry owners reading this article ? this has been the most stolen car in the nation for several years (it’s often stolen for parts). But we would expect that most of them on the road have well over 100,000 miles.

At this time, a rather sobering point needs to be interjected. Just having car insurance doesn’t protect you from absolutely anything bad that might happen. First, the insurance company needs to back up the claims that they make in the fine details of the contract. TV ads show folksy adjustors at the scenes of natural disasters passing out claims checks like coupons for cocktail wieners at a supermarket. But, in case you haven’t noticed, real life is a bit different from TV ads. If you have an accident, your car insurance company will take a close look at your claim before mailing you a check. And the check may be written for an amount much smaller than you had hoped. For this reason, you should be intimately familiar with the terms of your policy and call the company with any questions you might have.

Now that you have made several practical and philosophical decisions, it’s time to start shopping. Begin by setting aside about an hour for this task. Bring all your records ? your current insurance policy, your driver license number and your vehicle registration. Drink plenty of coffee. Have a phone at your elbow. And, of course, power up your computer.

Begin with the online services. On many sites you can type in your information and get a list of comparative quotes. The form takes about 15 minutes to complete. If this bores you, just remind yourself that you are saving money and you can use that money to buy something nice for yourself. If the entire shopping process takes you two hours to complete, and you save %800, you’re effectively earning %400 an hour. While you’re researching companies, make notes in a separate computer file or on a piece of paper divided into categories. This will keep you from duplicating your efforts.

Technorati Tags : insurance coverage company shopping

Get Cheap Car Insurance For Your Teenager – Three Tips To Save Money

Our children bring us great joy ? first words, first steps, and first days of school, to name a few. Our children also bring us great worries and expenses, many of which are preventable. An event that brings us both worries and expenses is when our teenagers begin to drive. Statistics for auto-related injuries and fatalities keep us biting our nails until our teenagers get home, and the same statistics have us emptying our bank accounts every month for high car insurance costs.

While we may not be able to drive our teenagers every where they need to go for the rest of their lives, there are several ways we can get cheap car insurance for our teenagers.

1.Have your teen driver take a driver education course in school, as well as encourage your teen to make good grades. Many car insurance companies offer discounts to those teen drivers who have taken driver education courses and make fairly high grades.

2.Add your teen driver to your own car insurance policy. There is no reason to purchase a completely separate car insurance policy for your teen driver when you can add him or her to your own car insurance policy. This alone will save you money, and you may even be able to get a multipolicy discount, too. Ask your own car insurance agent.

3.Drive responsibly. If your teenager sees you speeding, ignoring stop signs, and giving in to road rage, he or she will most likely develop the same driving behaviors. These behaviors lead to traffic citations and traffic accidents, both of which will lead to higher insurance prices, as well as injuries and fatalities.

Sure, we can not stop our children from eventually driving, but we can find ways to get cheap car insurance for our driving teenagers. Some of these ways will also help our teen drivers become safe, responsible drivers. It is a win-win situation!

Technorati Tags : insurance driver teenagers driving

New Jersey Car Insurance Online ? What You Need To Look For

Shopping online can be both fun and beneficial, but many of us are wisely careful about what it is exactly that we are purchasing. If you?re a car owner and driver in New Jersey and are interested in looking for car insurance online, there are a few things you need to know first.

Did you know that in order to drive legally in most states, drivers are required to purchase a minimum of liability insurance, including property damage and bodily injury? It?s true. And in all states, you are financially responsible for car accidents in which you are involved so you?ll have to show proof that you can cover the financial responsibility. The costs of automobile accidents are usually much higher than the costs covered by the minimum insurance limits set by each state.

New Jersey car owners are required to have bodily injury and property damage liability, as well as personal injury protection (which can cover medical, rehabilitation, and funeral costs, as well as any lost earnings due to the accident ? personal injury protection is mandatory in all no-fault states) and uninsured motorist coverage. The minimum liability limits for New Jersey car owners is 15/30/5. Although New Jersey car owners are not required to show their proof of insurance at the time of vehicle registration or registration renewal, they are required to show proof of insurance at the time of an automobile accident and keep such proof of insurance in their vehicles at all times. If at any time a New Jersey car owner is caught without proof of insurance, he or she risks being fined anywhere from %300 to %1,000, being sentenced to community service, and having his or her license suspended for one year.

So, the next time you look online to do some shopping make sure you know exactly what you?re getting, and that what you?re getting is what you need ? especially if you?re purchasing New Jersey car insurance online!

Technorati Tags : insurance jersey proof online