Tag Archives: Insurance

Mar
26
2023

Benefits Of Bundling: Packaging Your Car And Home Insurance To Save Money

Insurance should be simple. As long as you pay your premiums on time, you can expect your insurer to extend coverage according to your policy. If you are involved in an at-fault accident, your insurer will pay for damages and medical bills up to your coverage limits. Complicating the matter is the disparity between rates from one insurance company to another. They vary, often dramatically. This means consumers can save a significant amount of money by shopping around and comparing quotes.

There’s another easy method for saving up to 10 percent on your insurance premiums: bundling. By bringing multiple lines of insurance – car, property, life, etc. – under one company’s roof, you’ll typically pay lower aggregate rates. You’ll also enjoy a number of other benefits. We’ll describe them below.

One Bill = Less Time And Less Maintenance

Consider the way you currently manage your insurance coverages. You might have auto insurance with one company, property insurance with another, and life insurance with yet another. You may also have a supplementary health plan. You might maintain coverage for your business. If each policy is underwritten by a different insurer, keeping track of them requires more effort than necessary. Not only must you pay each company, but you’re also forced to maintain relationships with each.

When you consolidate – or bundle – your coverages under one insurer, you can make a single payment. This saves time and minimizes the effort involved.

Less Confusing Coverages For Your Car And Property

Suppose you have both auto and property insurance, but each policy is underwritten by a different company. Further suppose your laptop is in your vehicle when it is stolen. Under these circumstances, most people first call their auto insurer to file a claim for the loss. It is then that they discover their personal property is not covered by their auto policy. So, they call their property insurer.

Occasionally, property insurers balk at having to cover possessions left in stolen vehicles. Unless there are exclusions to that effect on your policy, this is usually a misunderstanding. That said, settling the matter may require time and several phone calls. When both coverages are held by a single company, the matter can usually be resolved with a single call.

Multi-Line Discounts From Insurance Companies

One of the most appealing benefits of bundling multiple lines of insurance is that doing so saves money. Many companies offer a multi-line discount to their policyholders. This means they’ll reduce your rates if you allow them to underwrite multiple coverages.

For example, if you already have auto coverage at your insurer, taking out a property insurance policy with the same company is likely to yield a discount. You might enjoy lower premiums on either line, or both. Depending on the company, such discounts may also be available when you consolidate life, health, and business insurance coverages.

Is Bundling Your Insurance Always Beneficial?

Even though there are distinct advantages to consolidating your coverages under a single company, there are potential drawbacks. For example, suppose you want to switch insurers. You would need to coordinate the transfer of several lines from your current company to the new one. Moreover, because each insurance company operates differently, you may lose some of your discounts following the transfer. Your rates might increase, even if your coverage limits and deductibles stay the same.

Another downside is that underwriting multiple lines of coverage requires more time since the insurer must take into account asset levels, deductibles, and many other factors. By contrast, a standard policy is relatively simple to create. It can often be completed online or over the phone.

One last note: don’t assume that bundling your coverages will save money. While doing so usually produces savings due to multi-line discounts, the only way to know for certain is to compare quotes from several insurers. Evaluate them side by side. It’s the only reliable way to find the coverages you and your family need at the best possible rates.

Mar
26
2023

There Is No Way To Eliminate “Mandatory” Auto Insurance

Where and when did insurance start?

More than two thousand years ago, the first countries to use insurance were China and Babylon. It was also used to gain efficient control over income in that society at that time. There is no doubt that the setup of such a sophisticated insurance system came from a very well-organized society where the leaders were smart enough to collect statistics about their society, most likely using a census of some sort. They realized that there were frequent problems with the traffic of merchandise from one place to another, due to pirate attacks, thieves, accidents, loss of merchandise, etc. Their solution to these problems was to come up with a way for goods to be protected against crimes and losses (the modern-day insurance business).

Finding the best way to get protection from accidents

In 1800 in the United States, the development of the railroad and steamboat facilitated the beginning of a more rapid social development as well. All this development brought a lot of accidents, including work-related accidents from jobs in factories. It was difficult for families to face this new situation because they were poor, and did not have enough money to solve all these new problems. By 1850, the first accident insurance plan was offered by Franklin Health Assurance Co., the first insurance firm in the United States. People realized that it was very difficult to assist any family member in the case of an accident, so they started to look for a way to be protected from these accidents. Insurance companies achieved this by having people pay a small amount of money so that they can collect a larger sum, should they ever need to be involved in an accident. Just 16 years later, there were 60 insurance companies all over the nation.

The first state to declare “mandatory” auto insurance

In 1900 in the United States, the development of the automotive industry sped up, and so did the rate of car accidents as a result. Not many people realized how important it was to have protection of their assets until they were involved in a car accident. At this time, it was not mandatory to have car insurance, but when people realized how valuable it could be, there was a boom in the industry. In 1956, Massachusetts became the first state to require car insurance by law before people even got their driver’s license. A few years later, it was mandatory to have auto insurance all over the nation, and that brought a big change and order to society.

There is no way to eliminate “mandatory” auto Insurance

Developed countries have insurance for everything. “The more, the better” is the philosophy in many of these countries. In the most developed countries, auto insurance has to be mandatory. Every year in the United States, for example, there are millions of car accidents with more than two million injuries and 30,000 deaths per year. Until now, the only way to solve so many problems is with an efficient, mandatory car insurance system. Some people think that the perfect situation would be to make “liability car Insurance” mandatory for everyone, but that would cost too much money and only a small percentage of the population could afford it. If governments would help people pay for it, many problems would be solved immediately.

Chaos would reign without auto insurance

Take a look at any developing country: the insurance services are poor, or they work in a very inefficient way, or insurance simply doesn’t exist. In Cuba, where there are a lot of American cars and most of them are more than 50 years old, owners of those cars do not have any car insurance and face a lot of problems daily. They have to have their own version of “insurance” where they have to put money “under the pillow” just in case they get involved in an accident or the car has any mechanical problem. They have to have money for all types of situations, which can be very stressful and chaotic.

Auto insurance will not always be mandatory

The good news is that in the near future, auto insurance will not be mandatory. With new technology in the auto industry, accidents are going to almost be a thing of the past. In the future, cars are going to be so “smart” that they will process all kinds of information in real time. For example, they will have the exact information about all movement around them, maybe in a two-kilometer radius. For instance, if a big truck is coming at you from the opposite direction, your car will know the situation of the driver of this truck, it will know if the driver is drunk or if he’s tired, or if the truck has any problem with the brakes, and both cars will know these things with enough time to act and avoid an accident.

The bad news…

The bad news is that we don’t know when this “near future” will be here. Well, better sooner than later, and later than never. In the meantime, I would recommend everyone to get a liability car insurance policy.

Jun
01
2022

How to Compare Auto Insurance Rates Well

There are several considerations to make when evaluating car insurance quotes. This is so because there are several options to weigh against and finally choose from. When it comes to evaluating car insurance quotes from different providers, the internet is the best option. This method is convenient and affordable since you get several insurance quotes and you can compare auto insurance rate at the click of a mouse.

The Internet provides a whole lot of options. However, it is important to do some fact-finding first. There are several websites out there that give you quotes from various insurance providers. Such websites are normally connected to different insurance company websites through a logo or a hyperlink.

Getting an insurance quote for your car is just a matter of seconds. The only thing you will be required to do is fill in some details concerning your driving records. Remember, the more precise your information is, the more likely you are going to get a suitable insurance quote.

It is important to find an insurance provider which will satisfy your needs. Avoid buying policies from insurance providers who have weak financial grounds. Ensure that you have understood all the terms and conditions that may affect you in the policy.

You can as well ask from your friends, relatives and colleagues who may have some knowledge on car insurance. Make sure the information you use to make a decision is from a trustworthy person. Gather as much helpful information as you can from people, reviews and public forums. Your most suitable policy should not only be cheap but the service should be valuable as well.

To get an insurance cover that is of value to your money, take time to compare auto insurance rate. Take into consideration your deductible amount, liability cover as well as limits. Make a careful decision on how much you are ready to pay as deductible in your insurance policy. This will be useful during evaluation.

Consider asking various car insurance providers for any available discounts on their products where you can save some money. It is a mistake to do what most people do – going by the cheapest quote. Most insurance companies have discounts for safe drivers. Also, purchasing all your insurance policies from one provider will qualify you for additional discounts.

By making use of a car insurance quote tool to compare auto insurance rate, you can easily find a suitable policy that best suits your needs.