Category: Insurance

As a vehicle owner, one of your biggest fears is having your vehicle stolen. Don’t feel bad! Your car is your home away from home, and something you depend on for so very much of your daily life. Fail to mention it’s a rather expensive loss should someone abscond with it. There’s a reason why vehicle security is such big business, and why grand larceny (formerly grand theft auto) is such a serious crime in our legal system.

But, no matter how secure your vehicle is, no matter how discerning you are in choosing where you park, it only takes one especially cunning, brave, maladjusted person to come along, find your car appealing, and take off with it. The better security, the smarter thieves tend to be as a result, after all.

So, the question is, what do you do if this happens? There are nearly 800,000 car thefts a year, and you never know when you might be one such statistic. Today, we’re going to go through this disaster step by step, and talk about what to expect at certain points. It’s not going to be fun, but if you, above all else, remain calm and follow procedure, one way or another, you’ll get this worked out.

Where Did You Park?

You’ve undoubtedly experienced this to a smaller extent before. You walk out of a mall or big box store during a busy evening, the parking lot is jam-packed. You’re sure you remember where you parked, but you’ll be darned if you can find your car. Panic wells up inside you, thinking “oh no, someone stole my car!”

This happens to everyone, and it happens often in a world where traffic is anything but diminishing. So, the first thing to do is make absolutely sure your vehicle is gone. This is a bit easier nowadays, with keyless remote entry allowing you to set off a chirping or honking sound with the push of a button.

If your vehicle doesn’t have this, then walk the lot. It’s exhausting and stressful, but necessary.

Time for the Police

So, it’s really gone? Ouch! Right now, your mind is racing, worst case scenarios causing your world to spin dizzyingly. Take a deep breath. The first thing you should do now is to inform the police. Report your vehicle stolen right away.

The longer it’s gone, the less chance there is of your vehicle being found, not unlike a missing persons case. If you’re in a highly urban or suburban area, police are statistically more likely to find your vehicle in short order.
If you’re in a rural area, well, don’t count on it. This is not the fault of law enforcement either, moving targets in expansive areas are logistically troublesome.

Technology to the Rescue

If your vehicle’s less than ten years old, there’s a really good chance it has tracking technology built into it. This is called a “low jack”, and if your vehicle has GPS or other modern, digital conveniences, you can usually get a location fix on the vehicle. If you can’t, then in many cases, the police can.

Of course, if you have an older vehicle, investing in this technology before the unfortunate can happen, might be a wise decision. There are services that specialize in this kind of surveillance, and it’s an affordable, solid peace of mind to have.

Dealing with Insurance

Now, you’ll need to inform your lender or insurer of your car’s theft. This is where things can get really scary and complicated. Does your insurance cover theft? You should find out now, before something happens, and if it doesn’t, you’ll want to adjust your policy so that it does. In the case your vehicle is never recovered, this is a windfall you’ll want to have.

Now, you just have to wait. Police are looking for your car, if you have tracking technology, specialists are doing everything in their power to triangulate its location, and there’s nothing you can do but stay in touch with these people and wait.

If you’re still making payments on the vehicle, you’ll want to continue making them. It’s a sad fact that lenders won’t accept “but my car’s currently stolen” as an acceptable reason to not continue payments. This goes for your insurance as well.

In the end, as long as your policy covers auto theft, you’ll eventually recoup and recover.

To learn more about handling car theft, fill out our contact form today.

Auto insurance can be a confusing, complicated enough thing on a good day. The many policies (and their hidden exceptions from coverage), the baffling billing plans, it can all be quite a headache, sure enough. But, once you’ve chosen your provider, your policy, and gotten things into full swing, one would think that the confusion is over, and barring unfortunate incidents where claims have to be made, it should all be smooth sailing henceforth, shouldn’t it?

In a perfect world, this would certainly be the case. However, few long-time drivers are unfamiliar with confusing notices that say things like “cancellation notice” versus “non-renewal notice”. Clearly, in either case, you’re staring down the barrel of an absence of legally-required insurance, and action needs to be taken to remedy this for your sake.

But, what’s the difference between these two? It sounds like they’d mean the same thing, but in all reality, they’re distinctly different and have significantly different connotations. One is quite harsh, while the other is just an artifact how this kind of industry has to work and isn’t personal.

Which is which, and what’re the primary causes of either? What’re the long-term ramifications of them? Today, we’re going to take a look at both, what they mean, what brings each one about, and what effects they can have on the long term.

Understanding the causes and ramifications of these is very important, as one of them can have quite severe consequences for the future.

Cancellations

Let’s get the nastier one out of the way first. Cancellations are quite harsh and can have severe consequences. Cancellations are usually the result of non-payment of plans and premiums, but can also be brought about by ongoing poor driving records (accidents, tickets, more severe crimes such as DUI arrests), which make you too high of a risk for their set tolerances.

When a cancellation occurs, you have a somewhat short window to find a replacement policy with another provider, as it generally takes effect within about fifteen business days, sometimes less in certain states. The consequences long term apply largely to your credit score.

It can make it harder to find affordable policies moving forward, as these insurance providers do exchange customer histories when it’s a matter of public record (non-payments and traffic law violations falling well within this domain).

Non-Renewal

Non-renewals are far less severe and are seldom something personal. These are simply an executive decision by way of your provider to no longer accept your business. These tend to happen when policies are restructured, or you cease to qualify for policies or plans within their purview. This often happens based on your income bracket changing, your age range changing, your vehicle type changing, and other such events.

These usually provide you significant time to find a replacement provider/policy, and also have no effect on your credit score or customer history. They’re an inconvenience, and an unfortunate aspect of these sorts of service industries, but not something with lasting implications.

To learn more about cancellations, non-renewals, and other similar concepts, fill out our contact form below, or call us today!

Car insurance is a big decision. Not only is insurance very strongly enforced as a legal requirement to be on the road, but it’s also an invaluable peace of mind. A lot can happen in a second’s time when you’re cruising down the road at speeds upward of seventy miles per hour on America’s freeways. You’ll want to know that, should the worst happen, you have a solid, reputable provider and policy, and the same goes for those with whom you share the roadways!

Finding the right provider can be something of an onerous task, can’t it? Sure, you see countless advertisements online and on television from the bigger names, but what do you really learn from these? Not much, once you actually call them, and take the time to really converse with an agent about your own personal case and needs.

That in mind, today, we’re going to go over some simple rules for finding the best provider and plan for your needs. If you follow these common sense, logical steps, you should find yourself able to make an informed decision with little to no trouble along the way. There is no one right choice for everyone, so don’t be surprised if you still have to put some time into shopping around!

Knowing What You Want and Need

Of course, the biggest thing to know is what you want out of your provider. What kind of vehicle do you drive or plan to drive? How much traveling do you plan to do, and how much coverage do you feel like you honestly need? What’s your budget, and what’s your history like?

Knowing these things out the gate can save you a lot of time, and allow you to narrow down your candidates before you really even begin talking to potential providers.

Study Your Companies

Once you know what you’re after, and have a list of potential candidates, you’ll want to do some in-depth analysis of these companies. This has never been easier, thanks to the internet, user reviews and the transparency it all has by its very nature.

Check your state department of insurance website, make sure the company is licensed in your area. Look into their financial state through places like A.M. Best and J.D. Power. Investigate their BBB (better business bureau) ranking, and of course, read user reviews on places like Google, Yelp and other public places where customers can be heard without censorship.

Companies can’t hide their dirty laundry in the 21st century, you should always use this to your advantage.

Compare and Contrast

Once you start getting quotes from these companies, weigh them against data provided by people you trust – family, friends, colleagues. This way, you can get a good metric on whether or not you’re being high-balled by the sales agents of these companies, and may even learn about plans and providers you hadn’t had on your list.

Seek out discounts and bundles. Check out what these companies have to say on their social media outlets, and how the public responds to them.

Periodical Evaluation

Once you’ve got your coverage, periodically reevaluate it by the criteria above, because you never know when better choices may become available, and some providers have a habit of gradually raising premiums or backing out of certain bundled deals after a period of time. Never stop being on the lookout for better deals, plans, and contracts!

To learn more ways to compare and save on auto insurance, fill out our contact form below, or call us today! We’re here to help.

Potholes are one of those problems that plague so many of America’s roads these days. For all a city’s efforts, there’s always some leg of everyone’s commute where these gaping voids lay in wait to give us a bad day. Most of the time, they just provide something of a sobering bump, perhaps a little splash of our coffee in our laps on our morning trip to work.

Sometimes, though, they can do some real damage to your vehicle. They can knock your steering out of alignment, they can mess up your rims, flatten your tires, even damage your frame or axles if you hit a big enough one with enough speed!

Well, accidental damage like this is what your car insurance is for, right? Well, back up for a second, because you can’t be 100% certain that your coverage includes pothole damage. This one’s a bit tricky, because in many cases, coverage isn’t labeled as pothole damage directly, which is a bit of a veil with which a lot of companies have been known to hide the fact they do not, in fact, provide coverage for this kind of damage.

There have been a lot of crackdowns on this in recent years, though, so most decent plans do have some level of pothole damage coverage. The real trick is how it’s itemized in a policy, and how it’s categorized across the board.

Collision coverage in many places (Chicago and New York being prime examples) often cover sudden, accidental damage from potholes, just as it covers damage from curbs, parking partitions, shopping carts in parking lots, and other such unpredictable surprises that await the average driver. However, potholes are a problem in more than one way.

Potholes can indeed very suddenly do immediate damage to your vehicle, but they can also work overtime to do collective, gradual damage from prolonged driving over them. When this happens, many policies out there do not provide coverage that really fits the situation.

This leads to why it’s very important to consider the types of roads you anticipate having to navigate when choosing your provider and coverage policies. So, does this kind of coverage exist, and if so, what form would it take?

The truth is, there is no direct coverage for this type of damage, unfortunately. However, many policies have significant deductibles that can be placed towards this kind of gradual damage, more so with sudden damage from unexpected run-ins.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing for it but to do your best to avoid particularly bad roads, and to drive smartly when you find yourself unable to avoid them properly. And, when choosing your plan, you’ll want to determine your deductible wisely, to account for those sudden, surprise sources of damage that can happen to the best of us, no matter how careful we are.

So, does insurance cover pothole damage? Yes and no, as irritating of an answer as that may be.

To get more insight into this and other precarious issues with insurance, fill out our contact form below or call us today. We’re happy to clear anything up we possibly can!