At Fault Car Insurance Accident – Who Should Pay The Claim?

 

September 21, 2007 by fashun · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Auto insurance help 

Reader question:

If I’m changing lanes and somebody in the lane I’m changing to is pulling out of a parallel parking spot, who is the at fault driver if we get into an auto accident?

Jerry

That’s a good question, Jerry.

It all depends on the timing of your little collision ballet, actually. For example, of the other car started pulling out before you started changing lanes, then that would bring one result. But if you started changing lanes before the other car began to pull out, then it would bring another. IT just goes to show how similar situations can be and how different the results are.

From the situation you describe, though, I want to say that it is most likely that the onus of the accident would be on the person who was changing lanes. The reason for this is, to begin with, that any time you collide with someone in a car insurance accident from behind, you are almost always at fault. This even applies when somebody slams on their brakes and then you run into them. The reason for this is that your car insurance company expects you to practice defensive driving techniques, which would have helped you avoid an accident.

It is also probable that if you started to change lanes and the other person started to pull out at the same time, that it would be a case of shared negligence. That way you would be considered responsible for a certain percentage of the other person’s damage, and they for a certain percentage of yours, depending on how much they are considered to be at fault in this car insurance accident. Either way, the person who ended up paying more would be the lane changer.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Do You Need a Cheap Non Owner Auto Insurance Policy?

 

September 20, 2007 by fashun · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Non Owner Insurance 

Reader question:

How much does a non owner auto insurance policy tend to cost?

Greg

Thank you for your question, Greg.

Naturally, this price will vary depending on what vehicle insurance company you go with, but I would say that the typical non owner auto insurance policy costs slightly more than a regular car owner auto insurance policy. The reason for this lies behind the fact that it is a specialty policy and does not have a vehicle attached to it, and a vehicle is normally a very big factor in the insurance score of a person that determines how high or low their car insurance premium will be. A person with a non owner auto insurance policy will be using various vehicles, all with different safety and theft ratings.

Just like with a regular vehicle insurance policy, though, you can get discounts and cheap car insurance rates on your non owner auto insurance policy. The way to do this is much the same. You raise your deductible, you get a good driver’s discount, and you purchase all of your insurance policies with the same company so long as it is possible. Non owner auto insurance does not have to be expensive, and it is well within the reach of many who cannot afford to own a car.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

DUI – How Will This Effect My Car Insurance Rate?

 

August 31, 2007 by fashun · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Dui Insurance 

Reader question:

When you get a DUI, do your car insurance rates always go up?

Dwayne

They do usually, but not always.

Most states require you to file an SR 22 form to prove that you have DUI car insurance, but not every state does. If you want to know if your state is one of the ones that does not deal with the SR 22 form, then you should contact your state department of insurance. If they don’t, then it’s very possible that your car insurance company won’t find out about your drunk driving offense until you give them the heads up. The reason for this is primarily because the insurance companies aren’t keeping a constant eye on the record, and if anything, they probably only look at it every six months, if not less.

There are a couple of other reasons though. One of them is that the courts don’t automatically give all of their information over to the DMV, so even if your car insurance company does look at your record, the offense might not be there. Another is that a lot of times, when people commit moving violations, they will take defensive driving courses in order to wipe the violation from their record. This is one of the very popular possibilities when it is offered, because most courses are either very cheap or free. Sometimes when you commit a DUI, your license gets suspended, but the shorter the time of the suspension the less likely is your car insurance company to find out.

Even if they don’t know right away, though, they still have a period of three years to find out. During that time, they can cancel your policy as soon as they find out. Aside from the misrepresentation, that in itself doesn’t mean that your rates will go up or you’ll get canceled, either. Some companies have policies where, if you have been a customer with a good history and driving record, you can be forgiven for an offense, even one as serious as driving under the influence of alcohol. Sometimes you don’t even lose your safe driver discount, so long as you keep driving clean.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.