How many of us really bother to look into the details of a car insurance policy? For most of us, a meticulous review of the insurance policy happens only after an accident or when someone gets bruised, or in worst cases, dies. Let’s get a fact out there: We buy car insurances only to safeguard ourselves against the damage to our cars or an injury to us. The fact that majority of the consumers are not cognizant of the issues surrounding auto insurance – and that this can have an enormous effect on the claims that they file later on.
When to get a car Insurance?
The obvious time to invest in car insurance is right when you’re getting a car, but it’s important to ensure that you do not have a lapse in coverage between insurance policy terms. It is recommended that you start researching for the best car insurance policies right before you buy a car. Doing this early would allow you to account for the premium in your car expense budget.
Here are few things you might not know – or that you should know about insurance for your car.
Know your requirements
Ask yourself what you really expect, and then analyze what the companies are willing to offer. One of the ways in which insurance companies differentiate themselves is through the added advantage they offer, which could be, 24 hours claim service, claim service guarantees, first accident forgiveness and disappearing deductibles.
Analyze the market
Think about insurance before investing your money in the next vehicle you plan to buy. If you’re looking for that one economical insurance company – insurance is far too complicated for that then. Companies set their rates basis the likelihood of their policy holders to file a claim. It all relies on how they weigh risk factors. It
might sound over-whelming, but comparing auto insurance companies is what we should do as a best way to save.
Your credit scores will fetch you some discounts
There was a time when an individual’s credit score did not matter when quoting a rate. However, it is now becoming a practice for insurance companies to pull out one’s credit score as a part of evaluation. The idea to evaluate it is – a person with low credit score is more likely to file a claim than the one with a good credit score. It is typically assumed that a person with low credit score must have either missed his payments or has a habit of delaying the payments on his credit accounts and thus has a capability to repeat the same.
Theft of personal items are not covered
A lot of consumers assume that a standard policy will help them cover the personal belongings lost due to theft – a laptop, cellphone or other similar items that they might have left in the car. Auto insurance policies do not provide such coverage. However, if you own a home insurance policy, you can get this covered after filing a report with the respective authorities.
Image source: ThinkStock/Getty