Safe Driving Can Lower Car Insurance Premiums By 50 Percent

The modern world has thrown up a myriad of new insurance product options to consider when you are looking for a policy to cover your auto insurance. One of the newer offerings on the market is usage-based car insurance, a product offered by many of the major companies that ties your insurance premium to the amount of time you use your car and how good of a driver you are.

This is not a good insurance product option for everybody as there are many more variables in play than you would find in a regular policy. These policies use technology – usually a smartphone app along with a tag or dongle – to monitor your driving and calculate a score. This score is based not only on the amount of time you use your car – and the amount of miles you drive – but also on how safely you drive. This means it will track aspects of your driving like acceleration, phone use, speed, and breaking to algorithmically judge how good of a driver you are.

If you score well – meaning that you are classed as a low risk driver – then the savings are significant. Some studies have shown that the lowest risk drivers could be saving anything from 50% to 60% of their premium by using this insurance product option. One major issue is that this type of policy is very strict and rigid. Some companies consider low risk driving to be less than 7,500 miles in a year, ideal for those in the city that use public transport to get around, but perhaps less practical in the Midwest where driving to work – and to other cities that are spread far apart – is an established way of life.

The other issue is certain to be one based on a lack of privacy. These policies have to track you and see what you are doing in order to make them viable. If you are in a car accident there is a worry that the information that has been gathered could be used by the police to some end. Also, risky driving could actually increase your premium on the flip side of saving you money.

As a result this is very much an insurance product option where (ironically) your mileage will vary. If you think you are a safe driver and you drive minimal miles in a year then be sure to check out a usage-based policy to see if you can save some money.

 

Article by Vital Guidance

Know Your Home Value Before Deciding On The Best Coverage

Buying a house is expensive. This isn’t exactly groundbreaking news. The next step in this process is to then look at insurance product options and decide which is best for you. The problem here is that it is all too easy to think cheap.  After spending all that money on a house – and having the sticker shock that comes with it – it is easy to decide that a cut-rate insurance product option is the way to go for saving some money.

While this can be tempting for the short term, it is a terrible choice to make should anything actually happen to your shiny new (or historically old) property. Here are the three basic questions everyone should ask when deciding which homeowner’s insurance policy is the right one for them.

What would a rebuild cost?

The easiest mistake to make here is to simply get coverage that sits at the price you paid for the home. While this is a good enough guide, the truth is that a purchase price is often lower than what it would cost to rebuild your home – and your life in many ways – from scratch should something destroys your home. A house fire – for example – usually results in a complete rebuild so you have to have enough coverage in your policy to be able to comfortable build up what you lost.

What will it cost you to live elsewhere?

Should a total loss occur then you will obviously need to live somewhere else for a while. This could be any amount of time at all feasible, especially if a home loss is accompanied by endless investigations into the cause and other time consuming things.

While moving in with a relative is usually an option, this can get old quickly for all parties involved. This means that new living costs – or Additional Living Expenses (ALE) – will be incurred. Maybe you will need to rent a home while a rebuild occurs. At the very least you are likely looking at hotel stays and restaurant meals. Check the ALE coverage of a policy to ensure it is right for your situation.

What is your stuff worth?

The other determining question when looking through insurance policy options is that of the worth of what you own. A home inventory is essential, as is looking for additional coverage for certain items of value (collectibles and jewelry). When putting this inventory together think carefully about what you own. It is easy to see the value of a 55-inch flat screen TV, but just as easy to overlook the hundreds of items of clothing in a shared wardrobe. Know what you have, know what it is worth, and plan your insurance option accordingly.

Article by Vital Guidance

Four Common Ways To Save On Auto Insurance

Insuring a car should be a relatively easy and painless process. The process should happen quickly and without much variance in cost and coverage. It should feel like something you can do yourself and still come out on top.

However, the truth is that the world of car insurance is a pretty messy thing. It is a place where, without vital guidance steering you in the right direction (pun intended), it’s easy to get lost and make costly decisions.

Here are four common car insurance mistakes that you can avoid by following the vital guidance of those that are in-the-know about car insurance:

Not shopping around

The most straightforward error to make when buying car insurance is not shopping around. This tends to be a problem, especially for first-time car insurance buyers as they often go down the same route as their parents and use their company.

While it is easy to assume that all car insurance companies are the same, car insurance is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution. Shop around and look at several competing quotes to find the right fit for your situation.

Buying minimum coverage

Buying the minimum coverage can be an easy decision but not always the best route for many car owners. It’s as simple as seeing a low number on a page full of much higher numbers and grabbing that quote without a second thought. Life is already expensive enough, so why pay more than the minimum for something you (hopefully) won’t ever need.

While there are some situations where this theory works, there are more situations when it’s a huge mistake. For example, owning an old car and paying low insurance may be ok. However, if you own an expensive car, buying the minimum coverage may not be the best way to save on insurance cost because the minimum coverage may not be enough to repair damage from an accident.

Not considering customer service

Selecting an insurance carrier with great customer service is another area that you won’t realize is important until you need something done.

Sure, a company might be quoting you half the price of another, but what is that company like when an accident happens? Maybe they have a history of being slow to respond. Perhaps they don’t work on getting a loaner car for you. Maybe the repair shop they work within your area is known for its slow service. Look around at reviews online to see if the company is trustworthy to take care of your potential claims.

Not understanding the coverage

Research, research, research.

Ask all the questions you can, before thinking about things and asking a dozen more. Coverage is the most critical part of car insurance, yet it is incredible how few people can confidently talk about what their coverage provides. It is ideal to get some vital guidance on what your coverage is and, perhaps more importantly, what it is not.

Article by Vital Guidance

 

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