Discounts and Savings on Auto Insurance? Think again

Discounts and Savings on Auto Insurance? Think again

Ever watch those late-night commercials advertising insurance at the lowest rates that will beat or match the competition, despite bad credit or prior accidents. How do they do that? There must be a catch, right?

Well, your skepticism isn’t unfounded. This is where reading the fine print in their policies can really save you headaches down the road. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the omissions, exclusions, and hocus-pocus that goes on with discount insurers.

Where’s My Perks?

 Be careful when purchasing auto insurance that advertises all the bells and whistles that are portrayed on TV. Nonstandard policies, or even just state-minimum liability policies, tend to exclude the special benefits (ie. accident forgiveness, vanishing deductibles, etc.) that policy holders may assume they have. T

Reduced Coverage

Standard auto insurance policies tend to cover you, the listed members of your household, friends and family that you occasionally allow to drive your vehicles (“permissive drivers”). However, a wrench can be thrown in the works when you have a risky driver living in your household. Most commonly, this is a young driver that may have prior tickets and accidents. For nonstandard auto insurance policies, you may be required to exclude them from any coverage. In addition, these nonstandard policies also may exclude coverage for your permissive drivers.

While we’ve covered step-down provisions before, [ADD LINK TO “Step Down Provisions”] it is worthy to note that if your liability limits will be decreased according to the state’s minimum requirement. You may end up paying higher premiums than necessary, which would be wasted when subject to the step-down provision.

Punitive Damages

 Be careful when reading over your nonstandard auto insurance policy. If you are legally determined to be the cause of an accident and later sued, some nonstandard policies may exclude punitive/exemplary damages in court, which rests the financial burden solely on your shoulders.

Depreciated Repairs

 If you have comprehensive or collision coverage, your standard policy generally pays the full cost of repairing your vehicle. If your vehicle is totaled under these types of coverage, your policy pays out the depreciated value of the vehicle. The depreciated value is the market value [ADD LINK TO “Market Value vs. ACV”] immediately before your vehicle was totaled.

However, if you’ve signed up for a cheaper, nonstandard insurance policy, your insurer may take depreciation into account for your repairs (not the full cost). The insurer would then be only responsible for paying a percentage of your repair claim, based on the vehicle’s depreciation.

Classic Car Insurance

Specialized insurance for classic or vintage cars [ADD LINK TO “Classic Car Insurance”] isn’t just standard insurance for older vehicles. Often, it comes with low-mileage cap, with some policies often only permitting you to drive 2,000 miles/year. If you plan to use your vehicle for more, make sure your policy has enough mileage for your needs—especially if you like joyriding on the weekends, classic car meetups, and attending car shows.

Coverage for Business Purposes

Nonstandard policies sometimes restrict what type of purpose you’re using your vehicle for. While driving to and from work is usually covered, driving for work is a bit of a grey area and usually excluded. This can include delivering food or newspapers/leaflets, but also extend to business trips and freelancers.

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If you’ve been shopping around for auto insurance or just want to upgrade your current policies to something more comprehensive, it can be a lot of work to find an affordable and comprehensive company. To give you peace of mind—and less of a headache—we suggest you contact the advisors at RiskBlock [http://riskblock.wpengine.com/have-an-advisor-call-me/ ] to help you find the insurance that’s right for your life.