Auto insurance can be a large expense in a family’s budget, and it makes sense to look for ways to reduce the cost. In addition to shopping for a better deal, some car owners may look at all the coverages they’re paying for and wonder if they need them all. One coverage that often has a big price tag is collision coverage – the coverage that pays to repair or replace a vehicle that has collided with another car or object. If the owner still owes money on the car loan, the bank will require her to keep collision coverage. Once that loan is paid off, does is make sense to drop the coverage? The answer depends on several factors.
Late for an early morning business meeting, you grab a cup a coffee and rush out the door—only to discover your car’s windshield has been smashed to bits. Your heart immediately plummets and your hands begin to shake with anger. Now what? Although you may be tempted to burst into tears or launch into a fit of rage, it’s important to take a few deep breaths and focus.
Thirteen vehicles, including four cars, seven SUVs, and two minivans, earned The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick awards for 2007. The award is given to vehicles that best protect people in front, side, and rear crashes based on ratings in Institute tests. Winners are also required to be equipped with electronic stability control. Honda and Subaru each manufacture three of the 13 winning vehicles.
Minicars have become increasingly more popular as fuel prices have risen. Because of their newfound popularity, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety included them in their crash tests for the first time in 2006. The agency rated the cars for comparison of occupant protection in front, side, and rear crashes. What the Institute discovered from its testing is that driver death rates in minicars are higher than in any other vehicle category and more than double the death rates in midsize and large cars.
There are many reasons to consider a change in auto insurance carriers. You may be unhappy with the service provided by your current insurer, or you may have found another insurer that offers better rates or service. If you review your coverage annually, you can be sure you continue to receive the best bang for your premium dollar.
Most people know that the federal government enforces certain safety standards for new cars. However, these are only the minimum standards a car manufacturer must satisfy in order to have its vehicles considered safe. Many automakers offer safety features beyond the required federal minimums. When shopping for a new car, you should look for a vehicle that offers the maximum safety features in your price range.
While almost everyone would like to save on their auto insurance, it can be a big mistake to be penny-smart, dollar-foolish. The dollar amount you set your comprehensive and collision deductibles at will be one of the most important decisions you make during the purchase of auto insurance. In turn, the deductible amounts you set will be one of the main determining factors in the amount of your monthly premium.
There probably aren’t very many, if any, drivers that look forward to buying auto insurance. If you’re like most people, you feel that you have an overwhelming task when it comes to sifting through dozens of companies and agents to find the ideal insurer for your vehicle and unique financial situation. The process can leave you feeling unrewarded and irritated as you think about writing a check for a policy that you hope you’ll never need to use.
With rear end collisions, there is always the possibility of the victims suffering from whiplash. That’s why head restraints are so important to your safety provided they function properly.
Wherever you find disaster, you almost always find someone attempting to profit. Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the summer of 2005, thousands of water-damaged vehicles showed up in car lots all across the southern United States, many with no visible problems. They were sold outside of the hurricane’s heavy-hit areas, to avoid suspicion of flood damage. Though in excellent physical condition, these refurbished cars could still be prone to problems, which is why concealing their disastrous history is against the law.