Many people call around for auto insurance quotes looking for cheaper prices. It is not disputable that price is the number one reason why people shop around for a different insurance company. While cost is very important to everyone there are other factors to contemplate like the quality of company giving you cheap quotes, if they are there when you need them most, how long it takes to decide a claim, and more. Here are the top 5 questions you should ask auto insurance agents as you shop to compare their rates with other companies.
1 – Are There Extra Charges For Splitting The Premium Into Payments?
This is very important because while some companies charge a few dollars, others charge $15 dollars a payment or even apply interest charges to payments as high as 22-25%. While many companies may quote you a great rate, their payment penalties in a lot of cases will make them more expensive in the long run.
2 – Is Your Company Rated Highly Financially Secure?
There are outside unbiased companies that rate auto insurance carriers on their customer service and financial stability. For financial stability A.M. Best rates most or all auto insurance companies. Their top rating, AAA, means they will be very financially secure so that company will have no problem paying your claim hasty. If the company is rated lower, like A, they may not have the financial backing to quickly fix your car or cover catastrophic losses.
3 – What is Covered By Your ERS, Or Towing, Service?
Not all emergency roadside services are created equal. Many companies include ERS for free or low cost when you purchase comprehensive and collision coverages (full coverage) for your vehicle. While it seems like a grand deal to get the coverage for free, that coverage may only pay to tow your car 7 miles or less and it may not cover you if you go out of space. The best ERS covers you as far as it takes to get to a repair facility. If you have the tow coverage and your car breaks down, you should be able to use your ERS to fetch to the closest garage as to get it fixed. Anything less could wind up costing you a lot of money in excess tow miles so compare the services companies offer and make clear the insurance package you determine has this included.
4 – What hours are you open?
Many insurance companies are commence from 9-5, Monday-Friday. What if you need help at night or on weekends? With many companies and independent agents you need to wait for them to salvage into the office. Picking a company that is opened 24/7 will ensure that help is a phone call away if you have an accident, emergency, or need your questions answered during off hours due to your own busy work schedule. When you are shopping to compare auto insurance rates this is very important and is worth spending a couple extra dollars for a policy that offers around the clock service.
5 – How Long Will It Take to Settle A Claim?
Some companies will dawdle and make you wait weeks, sometimes months before paying the claim to get your car fixed. This goes in line with financial stability. It seems like the more financially collect a company is the quicker your car is repaired. None the less, this is a great question to ask when you are shopping to compare auto insurance rates because some companies put a lot of trouble into great claims service while others are gay to take your insurance payments and leave you with bad claims service.
While there are more questions you may have of your prospective auto insurance company do not forget to ask these 5 when you are shopping around. As you compare their rates, remember, the cheapest company is not necessarily the best insurance company. You get what you pay for so shop for astronomical pricing and a great company.
Filed under Types Of Auto Insurance by on Mar 13th, 2011. Comment. 
Do you realize that most car insurance companies do not pay a death benefit in the case of a fatal automobile accident? One local family in Athens Pennsylvania learned the hard way in September when their 22-year-old daughter Stephanie lost control of her car and was fatally injured. Her full coverage from a nation wide automobile insurance company did not pay the funeral expenses for the young woman.
This is a very good reason specifically to ask your automobile insurance company if they have a death benefit in case a death occurs. This device your family is not left having to come up with the host cost of burial and other related expenses in their time of grief as Stephanie’s family has.
Stephanie came from an average tiny town American family and was in college, as is her younger sister Jen. Both girls worked in addition to college to pay their fill way, with a little help from their parents. Both girls paid their own automobile insurance for this nation wide company and though they were covered. Their automobile insurance is from the same company their parents have used for years.
At the risk of litigation, I will not name this insurance company but I bet you can guess the name. If you have auto insurance that moves forward rather than stay slow you have the same one. In my way of thinking if you do carry full insurance you assume, you are covered every possible way. However, you may not be, so check the diminutive print so your family is not paying funeral expenses out of pocket.
Stephanie’s parents have had to come up with all of these related funeral expenses out of pocket. Mother Missy is a home health aide and her father is a truck driver, like most Americans they do not have tons of extra cash sitting around for unexpected expenses such as this. No family such have to pay for such expenses when they have full coverage otherwise. The community had rallied around this family and held a back to raise some funds to help the family.
Missy is doing many interviews locally to inform the public about the fine print of the automobile insurance company she deal with. She wants to make positive that no other families have to endure the hardship of an insurance company while dealing with the loss of a child. I am quietly doing my share to back Missy and her family to get the word out there. Missy is more than just another family, she is a neighbor, and Jen the younger daughter had been here often. My heart still goes out to this family on the loss of their oldest daughter.
You will find very sparse information on this topic, because the companies do not want it to be known. If you are one of the families who learns of this first hand, than you feel the need to acquire the word out there so the public knows. Forward this article to anyone you know who had automobile insurance company and bug them to check their own policy so they are not caught unexpectedly.
Filed under Types Of Auto Insurance by on Feb 21st, 2011. Comment.
Have you ever procrastinated making a phone call because you don’t know what information you need or because it unprejudiced seems overwhelming? For instance, you want to call to get quotes for your auto insurance; where do you start? Following are the several pieces of information any insurance agent needs to complete an auto quote. As a licensed insurance agent, I know it saves you time by being prepared prior to your call.
Personal Information
After the agent gets your name, address and phone number, they will need to know all the drivers living in your home. They’ll need each driver’s date of birth and social security number in order to verify accidents and violations. Although, the agent will have to run reports to confirm driving records, it’s still a encourage to know. What if something shows up on a driver’s record that is horrible? Better to know than not to know and then you can true it with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Vehicles
Now, locate your Declaration Page from your current carrier. You get this page at each renewal, which is every six months or once a year depending on your current carrier. If you don’t have all the cars in your house memorized, you’ll find them on this page as well as the VIN (vehicle identification number consisting of 17 characters). Some companies don’t put the VIN on the Dec Page but you can find it by looking at your vehicle; it’s on the driver’s side dashboard and only viewable from the outside looking in.
Current coverages
Companies will give you a lower rate when your current bodily injury liability limits are $100,000 per person/$300,000 per occurrence. Even if you have a $50,000/100,000 bodily injury liability, you’ll still get a lower rate than if you’re carrying the state minimum coverage’s for your state (example: Ohio requires $12,500 per person/$25,000 per occurrence).
Here’s your quick list to help prepare you for your phone calls
Drivers: dates of birth, Social Security numbers, accidents or violations
Cars: Year, make, model, VIN
Declarations Page from recent carrier
You’re now ready to burn up the phone lines and get as many auto insurance quotes as you can stand. Ask for all the discounts available such as a superior student discount for young drivers with a 3.0 or higher GPA or defensive driver discount for drivers over 65.
If you call one or more agency, you still need to trust your gut when buying insurance. Any company can deliver a good price but the person you’re speaking with on the phone needs to be knowledgeable and helpful. These are the people you’ll be working with regarding your insurance, not the brand name of the company. Win someone you’re comfortable with and with a titanic price and they will certainly be happy to work with you since you’re so prepared.
Filed under Types Of Auto Insurance by on Dec 17th, 2010. Comment.
Television personality, actor, producer, host, announcer, and writer Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr., best known as Ed McMahon, dies at the age of 86 on Tuesday, June 23, 2009.
Howard Bragman (McMahon’s publicist) said, “McMahon passed away peacefully shortly after midnight at the Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center.”
Ed McMahon has had a few health problems over the last few years. In 2002, mold was found in his house. In 2007, McMahon suffered a neck injury following a fall. Just this year (2009) in February, McMahon was hospitalized for pneumonia and other health problems.
Ed McMahon is best known for his work in late night television. Mostly for his work on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson in which he appeared as himself. He was also an announcer for numerous episodes of The Tonight Expose starring Johnny Carson. Remember, “Heeeeeeerre’s Johnny!” That was Ed McMahon. Through his work with Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon was named TV’s greatest sidekicks by Entertainment Weekly.
Ed McMahon is also well known for his work as the host on the talent show: Star Search. Star Search is the exhibit that gave many artist of today such as: Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and many, many, many more, their first titanic platform.
Mr. Ed McMahon made appearances on a lot of hit, long running shows such as: Full House, The Cosby Show, The Hollywood Squares, The Flip Wilson Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Dean Martin Show, Who’s the Boss?, Roseanne and numerous others.
McMahon also promoted for Budweiser and American Family Insurance.
Although, Ed McMahon had a lot of financial success, he made news when his house was set up for foreclosure. “If you expend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that,” said McMahon in an interview with CNN’s Larry King. McMahon also lost a lot of his money through a few unsuccessful investments. McMahon eventually struck a deal that would allow him keep his house.
McMahon’s last known work would be a 2009 super bowl commercial with M.C. Hammer advertising for the company Cash4Gold.com.
Besides being a TV icon, Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr., (Ed McMahon) was a marine that served in War World II and Korea.
McMahon leaves behind his wife, Pamela, and five children. A sixth child, Michael, died in 1995.
Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr., (1923-2009) a television icon and American Hero.
List of show appearances by: www.imdb.com
Filed under Types Of Auto Insurance by on Dec 14th, 2010. Comment.
