6 Auto Insurance Myth Busters
Greetings Folks! Have you ever heard of any auto insurance urban legends or myths? Or had the ask yourself, “…is that really true?!”, about auto insurance. You have?!!
Looks like there are some misconceptions about auto insurance that I will be more than happy to help clear up.
Have you ever purchased a new car and someone mentions, “I hope the car wasn’t red, because you will be paying out the as-sets for insurance rates!” Besides nosy, this person is also absolutely incorrect, because most times your insurance carrier isn't even aware of the color of your car when we are conjuring up your rate. So if you want to purchase a firey-red mustang convertible, go right ahead and don’t worry about the color of the car increasing your premiums…worry about the fact that convertibles cost more to insure than regular cars! (but that’s another story)
You ever hear your grandparents complain, "...we have had the same insurance company for 20 years and the rates keep going up, but nothings changed!" And they may be right but it appears there is something changing...their age! fYep. folks! Old Age is definitely a factor in determining insurance rates and the older you get, the higher your rates go. A person could have a spotless driving record for 50 years and as soon as he or she reaches a certain age, the premiums increase. It appears some insurance carriers consider age-full drivers a higher risk; especially when that driver reaches around the retirement age. Unfortunately there is very little that can be done, since this increase is factored into the insurance premium by underwriting guidelines and very difficult to impossible to separate.
Some Vehicles Get a Performance Surcharge. This is one you probably knew, but just to reiterate-if your vehicle goes really, really fast, you may be paying for that speed. Most people with that type of speed don’t mind paying additional premiums but I had to mention it.
Reporting a loss to your insurance company is not the law. Most people think that it’s the law to report any and all accidents to your insurance carrier. This is definitely a misconception that most people are not aware of, but it does make your insurance carrier’s job easier. Vehicle Accident participants don’t need to speak to an insurance adjuster, if he or she does not want too. You do have an obligation to speak to your own insurance carrier if you were involved in an accident, but the most they can do is deny coverage for a claim. And if that happens, most times you can just call your insurance carrier and cooperate and they will reopen and afford coverage for your claim.
I used to hear people tell me on the phone that they didn't have any parking tickets, in attempt to get a lower insurance rate?? News FLASH people-Parking tickets do not affect your auto insurance rates! You can get 100 parking tickets in a year but your rates won't go up. You may get an increase in bills from the bail expenses incurred from unpaid tickets or even a suspended license; which will then affect your insurance rates...but parking tickets alone, won't affect premium.
There is another type of ticket that catches drivers all the time but won't affect your insurance rates...(drum roll)...Camera light tix!! Camera light tix do not affect your rates. These types of tickets do not affect your driving record or insurance rates because in order to get a moving violation ticket, the the authorities have to prove you were the person driving at the time the ticket was issued. IF they cannot prove who the driver was, they cannot put it on your driver’s license but they can attach the ticket to the vehicle owner. This may affect the tags on the car but not the insurance, so you're straight!
I hope I was able to shed some light and insight on some of the myths & misconceptions of auto insurance. If you have any additional questions , you can post them on this site.