How Much Collision Coverage Auto Insurance Needed In Alabama
Reader’s Question:
How do I compute what my car is worth in Mobile, Alabama? I want to know in order to determine how much collision & comprehensive coverage I should get.
Peter
Mobile, AL
Determining your car’s worth is somewhat like an insurance company calculating a vehicle’s actual cash value (ACV) after a total loss. To know the value of your vehicle you need to determine what amount you could get if you were to trade in or sell your vehicle at this point in time.
I suggest you can use valuation tools such as NADA, Edmunds or Kelley Blue Book. These guides and tools will give you trade in values, retail values and private party values typically. To get the most accurate idea of what your car is worth put in what options your car has, such as the mileage and basic condition.
Aside from these valuation guides and tools you can look at how much a vehicle in your condition and mileage is selling for in the local car market in Mobile. Internet sites such as Autotrader might help you in this kind of issue. Once you have determined the value of your car you have the personal decision if you want to carry comprehensive and collision coverage on your car.
How To Lower Car Insurance Rates in Pennsylvania
Reader’s Question:
I’m planning to get new insurance coverage for my car because it seems that I’m paying way too much with my current insurance company. How can I be able to get a lower premium rate for my car insurance here in Pennsylvania?
Marina
Pittsburgh, PA
A lot of factors actually affect your car insurance premium and that includes your age, where you live in, where your car is garaged, your driving record and the make and model of your car. Although it may seem that you could not do much about some of those factors, there are several things that you can do to lower your premiums.
The first thing that you can do to get a lower car insurance premium rate is to increase your insurance deductible. This would be the amount of money that you have agreed to pay out of your own pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in. Then you could also eliminate optional coverage from your car insurance like rental insurance, towing and labor, etc. You may also opt to eliminate comprehensive and collision coverage if you are driving an older car which has a value of less than $1,000 and if you could afford to pay for repairs if necessary.
You might want to ask for available discounts for your car insurance as well. Insurance companies could offer discounts for safety or antitheft devices and low-mileage discounts. Best of all, you have to shop around for your car insurance coverage. Car insurance premiums for the same coverage on the same car could vary widely among different insurance companies.
Ask for discounts, you never know what you might be able to get and how much you can save by asking. Some popular discounts can be given for:
1. Military personnel
2. Good grade students
3. Union membership and bank member affiliations
4. Safe drivers with no claims in last 7 years
5. Defensive driving school attendance
6. Clean credit history – used by many carriers to determine payment risk
I suggest you start you search now for a very low insurance premium from a great insurance company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Look at the top of the page and you could get an online rate quote from this website.
How Do I Lower My Car Insurance Rate?
Reader’s Question:
How do I lower my car insurance rates?
Jim
Wilmington, DE
There are a lot of ways to lower your auto insurance rates. Here are a few simple tips on how you can save on you car insurance rates
1. Shop around. Check car insurance company websites and compare rates and quotes.
2. make sure that the quotes that you’re comparing are for the same coverage.
3. Request for higher deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverage.
4. Ask about discounts that you can take advantage of|
5. Maintain a clean driving record and credit history.
One of the best ways to lower your annual premiums is to have a higher deductible amount.. Like a $1,000, is what I carry personally.
Now, if you are a claim free and safe driver like I am, you could be saving a ton of money each year on your premiums. People fail to realize that the deductible amount is only paid when they file a claim and their insurance company pays that claim.
Ask for discounts, you never know what you might be able to get and how much you can save by asking. Some popular discounts can be given for:
1. Military personnel
2. Good grade students
3. Union membership and bank member affiliations
4. Safe drivers with no claims in last 7 years
5. Defensive driving school attendance
6. Clean credit history – used by many carriers to determine payment risk
Do You Need Gap Insurance When Buying A New Car?
Reader question:
If I have to get a new car as a result of a car insurance accident, does my gap new car insurance coverage take care of the down payment for my new vehicle?
Britney
No, it does not, Britney.
Unfortunately, there is a reason why you have to be way more careful when you own a new car, and that is because even with gap new car insurance you will be entirely responsible for getting yourself a new vehicle. The reason for this is that gap insurance has one purpose only, and that is to create a bridge between what your car is worth and what you owe. For example, the car that I am purchasing right now is worth fifteen thousand dollars, but I still owe eighteen thousand dollars on it. This is called an upside down loan, and it means that you owe more for a car than it is actually worth. This happens a lot with new cars, which are worth a lot straight off the assembly line but depreciate rapidly.
If I had gap insurance (and I do), then if I got into a car insurance accident I would not have to worry about continuing to pay on a car that I know longer have. My collision coverage will give me the fifteen thousand dollars that my car is worth, and then the gap coverage will provide the other three thousand. However, at the end of all this, while I would be safe from debt, I would still be stuck paying for a new car. I would no longer owe anything on my old car, but the gap insurance does not worry about that, it only worries about bridging the gap between what you owe and what your car insurance coverage is actually worth.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Should My Car Insurance Pay for a Dent From a Parking Lot?
Reader question:
I went grocery shopping the other day and and when I came out of the store, there was a big dent in the back of my car that hadn’t been there before. Of course, no note at all. What part of my car insurance coverage takes care or this type of damage?
Juan
Thank you for asking, Juan.
In your case, you are going to want to make a car insurance claim using your collision coverage. Collision coverage is most often known to apply to any vehicle that has gotten into an at fault accident, where liability of the other driver does not extend to their vehicle. Car insurance coverage for this type of damage could also fall under comprehensive, but in a different situation.
You might wonder why it is that collision coverage is needed if you can’t be sure that another vehicle was involved. You also might wonder why it is that whoever caused the dent does not have to pay with their auto insurance liability coverage. Both are valid questions, and to the first one I’d say that there isn’t much rhyme or reason to it, it’s just the way the auto insurance business works. As to the second one, you could do that if you know who the driver is. If you see the driver run into your car and cause the dent, or if they leave contact information on your car so that you can make a claim with their auto insurance company, then you don’t have to make a car insurance claim with your own company at all.
Also, not in every situation would a dent be covered under collision coverage. If the cause of the dent was, say, a shopping basket colliding into the back of the car, and you saw this and didn’t just guess it, or someone else saw it, then so long as you didn’t know the person who did it you could make a claim under your comprehensive coverage, because that is what would apply.
Now, one more question that might be remaining is, would your auto insurance rates go up for a dent that you claimed for under collision coverage, since collision coverage is usually used when you get into an at fault accident? Ninety nine percent of the time it would not, because most car insurance companies do not go by what type of coverage you filed the claim under, but instead by who caused the accident. It is obvious in this situation that you did not. Some car insurance companies are very draconian, though, and your rates would indeed go up so long as your state allowed it. However, in many cases it would not be necessary to even file a claim because if you have a higher deductible you can usually fix a dent in a car for much less than the deductible. If you want to stay on good terms with your auto insurance company, though, you should at least advise them of the incident.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Can I Get a Car Insurance Discount For Buying a New Car?
Reader question:
Can you get new car insurance discounts for certain types of cars?
Jasmine
Sure you can.
If you have a brand new car that is getting a title for the very first time since it is fresh out of the factory, then there are a lot of car insurance companies who will provide you with a car insurance discount in this instance. That’s good news for anybody getting new cars, because the expenses are already huge. Newer cars have higher rates for car insurance premiums, and so this makes it easier to handle the higher threshold of coverage for a new vehicle.
Here are some types of cars that receive discounts for their class of cars.
- Cars that are economic. You can get a new car insurance discount for an economic car, especially on your collision coverage rate, because the parts are easier and cheaper to come by and the labor is cheaper for these kinds of cars. Another great thing about them is that they are often less expensive for you to maintain, so you win on all sides.
- Discount for utility vehicles. Several different car insurance companies offer car insurance discounts for certain types of pickup trucks. Call your car insurance company and ask if they do this, and for what kinds.
- Safety ratings. Cars go through safety crash tests that determine how they will hold up in the case of several different types of accidents, both concerning the car itself and the people inside of it. Cars who perform better get better safety ratings as well as better car insurance rates.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Free and Simple Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Premiums
How can I EASILY lower my car insurance? It seems that all the auto insurance companies that advertise on TV rarely…if ever tell you how to lower your car insurance rates.
For late model car owners – you might only want to carry collision and comprehensive coverage. What is Collision Coverage you ask? Collision coverage insurance pays to repair your vehicle when and if you are ever involved in an auto accident. It also pays no matter who was at fault.
What is Comprehensive Coverage you ask? Comprehensive insurance pays to repair your car when it’s been damaged by fire, vandalism, theft, or other freak acts of mother nature.
How can you save money on collision and comprehensive coverage? By far the easiest way is to carry the highest deductible that you can afford. The deductible amount is the part of the repair cost that YOU will pay for. Raising your deductible from $250 to $1,000 can save you up to 55% on your insurance premium.
Say your car needs $2500 in body repairs after an auto accident. If you carried a $1000 deductible you will be responsible for $1000 and the insurance company would pay the remainding $1500…..and all other costs that might be un-covered during the repair process.
Doesn’t sound like a good deal to you? The amount of money you will save on your annual insurance premium for having a high deductible will more than off set your $1000 deductible pay out in 2-3 years of time.
Personal injury protection insurance is something you might also want to consider as well. What is Personal injury protection you ask? This pays for medical expenses for you and passengers in your vehicle if you’re ever involved in an car accident. It will also pay medical expenses for you and your immediate family if you are ever injured in someone else’s vehicle or when you’re walking or riding a bicycle….don’t laugh this happens quite often.
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