Automotive Guruz

Everyone aspires to have their own car, but few have the insight to discern that along with car ownership come a bevy of responsibilities that the car owner has to face. Among these responsibilities is licensing, registration, fuel, maintenance, upkeep, storage and of course, insurance. Of these, insurance perhaps is the most under-appreciated one. After all, it is mandatory in almost every jurisdiction. However, in the unfortunate circumstance of a vehicular accident it is a financial saving grace.

Many think that they’ll never have an automobile accident since they drive carefully, observe all the rules and do everything possible to ensure safety. They neglect to take into account that they can only control the factors pertaining to their own behavior. Nobody can control the behavior of other drivers. The fact that automobile accidents are plentiful, point to the need to not just have basic car insurance, but to have one that will protect the substantial investment that has been made for the car’s purchase. It’s understandable why there are still some people who consider automobile insurance as an unnecessary expense or for some to desire to look for better premiums with equivalent coverage.

Take Advantage of Comparison Services

Car insurance comparison is more of an art than a precise science. A company may impose different guidelines when it comes to structuring the fees or premiums for an individual. Much of these guidelines have to do with the amount of risk that a potential policy holder may introduce. Insurance comparison services on the web make the task somewhat easier for the curious and even serious applicant by highlighting the minute differences among companies. The more useful services highlight not just the premiums but more importantly the amount of coverage that a particular insurance provider may give. Being able to see the data on the same page would certainly provide the interested applicant with more flexibility when it comes to this significant financial decision.

Coverage

When embarking on car insurance comparison, do note of these five basic types of coverage so as to glean precisely how you’ll be protected in the event of a motor vehicle incident:

• Bodily Injury Liability. This is the amount of coverage that a person you may have injured may get if you are the driver and the one at fault.
• Property Damage Liability. The amount of coverage in the instance that you damage the property of another person.
• Medical Payments Liability. For you and your passengers hospital payments in the event of an accident.
• Uninsured Motorist Liability. Also called as “double insured” since you and the other party are insured even if the other party has no insurance.
• Collision and Comprehensive Coverage. For vehicle repairs in the event of a collision. Comprehensive coverage is for other circumstances such as theft or fire.

The beauty of these online comparison services is that they lay out the information in a manner that is easily understandable so as to give you the focal points in your decision making. Do know that insurance is all about protecting not only your investment but also yourself in the case of claims made against you by another party.

Industrial age America was built on the shoulders of workers who worked in automobile manufacturing factories. Ford is a notable name in this and the Model T Ford was truly a remarkable proof of US ingenuity and production capability.

This was mentioned because there would be no car insurance companies in the US if there were no cars in the first place. Automobile insurance is a necessary aspect in both the personal level and the macro economic level. Just as soon as more people began to ply America’s roadways was the possibility of vehicular accidents occurring on a regular basis. Today, millions of road vehicle accidents occur daily, not only in America but also throughout the world. Therefore, upon the realization that these massive hunks of metal travelling at great speed could potentially cause innumerable damages to both property and people, came the realization that there must be a fund that’s pooled to defray all of the expenses associated with a vehicular accident. Thus the automobile insurance industry was born.

Quantifying Risks as a Business

As of 2008 there are 255,917,664 private registered vehicles in the United States according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Contrast that with the current US population which currently stands at 311,538,367 and that’s roughly 2 out of 3 Americans with cars. At the very least, there should be one for each household. Therefore, it’s not surprising to know that the accidents that occur on US roadways number in the 7 digits on a yearly basis.

Without these auto insurance companies, the socio-economic impact for every accident that occurs will definitely be devastating not only for the parties involved but also for the overall economy if they are taken in their entirety. Perhaps, this could also be the reason why the automobile industry cannot be simply ignored by the US government and was bailed out in the previous recession. That’s also the reason why there are hundreds of automobile insurance providers. In Wikipedia alone, there are over 111 insurance companies listed that cater to this particular form of insurance.

Choosing the Best One

Choosing the best auto insurance company is a complicated matter and there’s no clear cut parameter that could exactly pinpoint the best one for every individual or for every need. These car insurance companies have different risk thresholds, different policies, different guidelines, promotions, procedures, offerings and more importantly premiums that they routinely adjust based on actuarial data. Vehicle insurance premiums are heavily reliant on the facts that are present in a specific locale or for a particular demography of the population. As such, an individual looking for the best option might be constrained when it comes to choices because of the following factors:

• Age group
• Zip code or locality
• Occupation
• The type of vehicle
• The usage of the vehicle
• And other data that the insurance provider might consider.

The best option for those who are seeking either more affordable or more comprehensive insurance is to make use of Internet automobile insurance comparison services. In this way, the data is presented in an easily understandable format and the structures of the fees are also easily comprehensible. A key point that must be highlighted is for the individual to make his decision based on an assessment of his needs. In this way, the proper financial adjustments could be made and the proper protection held in place.

Prepare yourself for the things that insurance providers ask

For an insurance company, you are both a risk and a potential source of revenue. You are a risk when you drive around while drunk, are a teenager who drives around with other teenaged friends, are driving a “risky” type of vehicle, or belong to a certain economic background. These are just a few and they actually have a very long list of statistics and voluminous numbers to help them quantify or measure this risk.

That’s the reason why they will ask you so many questions before they’ll give you the auto insurance quotes that you need. That’s not to say that this article’s purpose is to provide you a way to somehow get lower insurance premiums but rather to make you understand how insurance providers think. If you know how they think, then you’ll know how they’ll act.

Where Do You Live?

While it may be very easy to fake your identity on the Internet and maybe get an email account that does not display your real name, there are other things that they could use to help determine how much premium you’re going to pay. Almost all insurance providers who have an online presence ask this question first before they even ask you your name: your zip code. Others even get very specific and ask you not just your zip code, but the zip code where your car is parked at night.

Why? Because the moment you provide your zip code, huge computer servers in the background start pulling out data about the following:
• Vehicular accidents that happened in that zip code
• Vehicular thefts in the location
• The list of insurance companies that are licensed to operate in that location
• Traffic density
• Accident fatalities and many more

These days, even where you live could be held against you.

Who Are You?

Right after you provide your zip code, the plethora of seemingly innocuous questions that are then hurled in your way all boil down to the desire of the insurance provider to get to know you.

• Who exactly are you?
• What’s your job?
• How much are you making?
• Do you already have car insurance? How long?
• How much are you paying for it?
• Who’s your insurance provider?

To be sure, there are more questions than these and you’ll get to joyfully fill them up later as you sign up for the policy.

Don’t assume that they’re just being friendly and getting to know you. What they’re actually doing is building up your “risk profile”. What’s a risk profile? That’s how likely you are to figure in an accident and then try to collect on your insurance!

Insurance companies are businesses after all, and the more risky policy holders they have, the more likely they’ll lose money.

It’s nothing personal, so don’t worry.

There are quite possibly hundreds of questions that could be asked about you when you try and get auto insurance quotes. There’s actually no way you could cheat them or even lie to them since they have personnel who can verify your identity and whether everything that you’ve said is accurate or not. The best way to approach this is to provide truthful information about you. It would also make the insurance provider feel that you are trustworthy.

Different insurance providers have different risk thresholds and some may be willing to offer lower rates to high risk policies if you just know where to find them. Go ahead and feel free to compare and see how you’ll fare.

Very few people actually like to get auto insurance, but everyone is required to

For most people who are financially constrained, getting auto insurance is an added expense that they’d like to forego rather than face. Some would even say that they’d rather take their chances just to save a few hundred dollars every year. Unfortunately, not only is it illegal to drive around without any form of automobile insurance, it’s also a bad financial decision especially if the time comes when you will actually need it. The best alternative is simply to compare auto insurance rates to find out which one could give you the best coverage at the lowest premium.

Willing to Take the Risk?

Just imagine figuring in an automobile accident and then trying to tell the other party that you have no insurance. You can guess who the person will be they’ll most likely call first – their attorney. Automobile accidents all over the world are declining despite the increasing number of vehicles currently on the road. Much of this has to do with better government regulation when it comes to driving under the influence and breakthroughs in vehicle safety technology. But the number of motor vehicle traffic collisions is still not very encouraging.

In the United States, the number of vehicular accidents for 2008 is 10.2 million. According to the US Center for Disease Control, in 2009, 3,000 teenagers died due to fatal car crashes.
In Canada, 2,209 people died in 2009. (Information from Transport Canada)
In the UK, 2,946 people died in 2007. (Statistics.gov.uk)

Accidents are Called Accidents for a Reason

Accidents, collisions, deaths and damage to property happen because nobody expects them to happen. Everyone thinks that they’re safe and therefore, they chose to ignore the risks and chose to not get automobile insurance. While auto insurance may not in itself prevent accidents from happening, they do give a certain amount of financial protection for the vehicle. They ensure at the very least that the cost that would be incurred for vehicle repairs would be compensated for, in the unfortunate event of a crash.

You may avoid paying auto insurance illegally if you chose to not get it, but you can never avoid accidents or their consequences when they do happen. Most of the consequences are also financial in nature and can be sufficient to bring a middle income earner to declare bankruptcy. Prudence dictates that you try both approaches. Get the cheapest auto insurance while at the same time, lessening your risks by driving defensively, attentively and by taking the necessary precautions. In truth, there is very little you could do to directly influence the insurance premiums that you’re going to pay. But if you’re armed with the right tools and knowledge, you might be able to compare auto insurance offerings of different companies. Some have reported that they were able to get hundreds of dollars in savings by using this approach while at the same time getting adequate protection. Your financial well being in the future, will be determined by the decisions you make today. Choose the safest path by investing a little amount in insurance for your car.

Did you know that there are 2,496 Fatalities in Canada due to Motor Vehicle Traffic Collisions?

Granted that the number is significantly lower when compared to 1984’s 3,580 fatalities, they’re still an astounding proof that fatal accidents occur frequently even in Canada. This data was taken from Transport Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Council for Motor Transport Administrators. It’s high time that you get protection whether it’s in the form of cheap car insurance or a more comprehensive type of insurance to make sure that your transportation asset is protected.

Moreover, these numbers from 2003 might also interest you:
• The more susceptible age bracket that experience fatalities are those who are 65 years old and above. While the next most susceptible are those who are aged from 35 to 44.
• Most of the fatalities are the drivers who account for 53% of the fatalities.
• All in all, there are 21,436,025 licensed drivers in Canada for the year 2003.

Don’t Procrastinate

Though the numbers are going down, much needs to be done. The efforts to bring these numbers even further down would definitely take a lot of effort not only from the government but also from its citizens. Better vehicle safety standards and measures, traffic guidelines, technology and even increasing driver awareness are all contributing to both the protection of life and property. But you have to understand that the government can only do so much. It cannot regulate every behavior of all Canadian drivers when they’re on the road. You could be cruising along in the optimal speed, wearing your seatbelt, observing every single road regulation and still have the unfortunate circumstance of figuring in an accident if you encounter someone who is not as diligent as you.

It’s easy to think that such might not happen but what if it does? Are you prepared? Getting cheap car insurance is all about mitigating the risks of an uncertain future. It’s about protecting your transportation asset to ensure that even if you do figure in a motor vehicle traffic collision, you’ll still be financially ready to move on.

You Hold Your Financial Future

Car insurance is heavily reliant on several conditions pertaining to your profile as a driver. For sure, statisticians are always crunching down the numbers and trying to predict the amount of risk for every car insurance holder.
If you belong to a high risk segment of the populace such as those who belong in the age bracket that’s most susceptible to car accidents, those who frequently drink alcoholic beverages, those who live in the rural area and others, then your insurance premiums could get higher. It all depends on how much risk the insurance company sees in your profile.

You can look around and compare from among the many different insurance companies, but the difference would only be minimal. Look at it this way: If you were going to protect a valuable asset, would you spend little or would you spend substantially more if it could guarantee protection?