by Mike Gulett –
When it is time to renew our car insurance most of us probably just automatically renew with our current insurance company. Is this wise? It may be but it also may be a good idea to look around.
A few years ago at renewal time I checked with another insurance company and saved quite a bit by changing companies. I was not shopping for cheap car insurance but I received the same coverage for less money, so why not?
This Ferrari 360 Modena needs a little help
You will want to balance out the deductible amount with the premium amount. In addition to price another factor in selecting an insurance company is the service they offer when you have a claim. You should drive carefully to keep your premiums low going forward. Some incidents will raise it if you’re not careful; this blog post answers questions like ‘how much does a speeding ticket raise insurance?’
Many years ago I was hit on the freeway by a large truck and when we pulled over to the side of the road this driver was so nervous about having this accident that I felt he might be in big trouble with his employer if he had to report this accident. An accident can cause a professional driver to lose his job. After about 10 minutes talking with this driver I let him go without getting his information (drivers license and insurance information).
I do not recommend that anyone do this but for me standing on the side of the freeway in rush hour traffic looking at a truck driver who might be in big trouble if he had to report this accident I decided to walk away.
When I told this to my insurance company, yes I told the claims adjustor the truth, I was shocked later when the insurance company waived my deductible – so this accident did not cost me anything even though I let the driver who did cause the accident off the hook. Now, that is service and it has created a sense of loyalty in me. I do not expect this will happen again but it was nice this one time.
Another time when I was young and dumb I decided to save money by not paying an insurance premium. Murphy’s Law kicked in and I had a serious crash. Fortunately no one was hurt because only a tree and my car were involved and I walked away. Repairing the car cost me several years of the insurance premium. Please do not do that. If you have a college age driver in your household educate them on the need for insurance and help them find the best car insurance for college students.
Collector Car Insurance
Regular car insurance companies likely will not insure your collectable cars because they do not know how to set a value because the car is not in any of their books. The collector car insurance companies will insure the car for an “agreed value”. You propose the value and the insurance company must agree to that value. The higher the value the higher the premium but this correct value will be important in case of a total loss such as a theft, fire or severe crash. There can be insurance discounts for keeping your cars in a secure garage. It is important to address garage door service and repairs when needed (even custom sized garage doors) for the safety of your cars and possibly for better insurance rates.
Lamborghini Miura in need of a good insurance company
Shop around – for collector car insurance there are several companies to consider: Hagerty, Grundy, J.C. Taylor and Heacock Classic.
With one of the classic car companies mentioned above I added a third collector car to my policy and they sent me a check for $90! Yes, it was cheaper to insure three cars than two. I don’t know if this will always be the case but I called them to be sure they had not made a mistake.
It is advisable to be honest with you car insurance company because if you are not and have to file a claim this could create a situation where the claim could be denied.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
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