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Car Insurance Goodies for Easter

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 04/20/2014

Car insurance may not be what you want Easter morning, but its benefits last longer than candy sweetness.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from Car Insurance Guidebook!

Purchasing car insurance is just like filling an Easter basket full of treats. What goes in the basket depends on not only what is wanted, but also what you can afford. Some Easter baskets are large and full of all types of different goodies, and other basket aren’t quite as full.

And all baskets are tailored to the individual the basket is meant for, just like a driver’s car insurance policy is.

The Basket

All Easter baskets start with a foundation that holds all the goodies together. It can be a traditional basket, a beautiful box, or even a bag that can be used for something else later. It doesn’t matter what it is, all Easter baskets have to have something that holds the rest of the Easter treats.

This is the same with your car insurance policy; the foundation for your car insurance policy is the mandatory car insurance that is required by the state that you live in. These required coverages can take on many different forms from state to state, but for 95% of the drivers in the country these mandatory coverages are required before other car insurance can be added. The required coverages are what hold the rest of the policy together.

The Goodies

Once the basket is all set up, it is time to fill it with goodies. This could be different candies, toys, books, trinkets, bath and body items, or whatever fits the recipient of the basket.

With your car insurance basket, once the required minimum coverages are set it is time to select the other insurance coverages that fit your lifestyle and budget. You could fill your car insurance basket with coverages for your vehicle (comprehensive and collision coverage), rental car coverage, medical payments coverage, personal injury protection coverage, towing coverage, GAP coverage, and whatever else your insurance company offers.

If you aren’t sure what to put in your car insurance policy, that’s what your insurance agent is for.  They can help guide you to put in the coverages that you need for your situation, so don’t hesitate to contact them.

Avoiding Hialeah Car Insurance Fraud

Written by Todd Clay. Posted in Research Last Updated: 04/12/2014

hialeah car insurance

Criminals that commit Hialeah car insurance fraud lay in wait for their next victim, just like an alligator.

The increase behind your Hialeah car insurance premium may not be from what you think.

Florida is one of the few states where you are required to carry car insurance that protects both you and the other driver. In most other states, they only require you to carry car insurance that pays for the medical bills, injuries, and damages that you cause to another person.

Florida’s unique requirements of switching that up came not from wanting to be different from other states, but from the increased amount of staged accidents and fraudulent injury claims that were designed to get money from the car insurance companies.

Now you may think that this is not your problem, but that this is the insurance company’s problem, right?

White Collar Crime against Your Hialeah Car Insurance

A white collar crime is a crime that is committed against a corporation. Many people look the other way when this type of crime is committed because they feel that it is not harming a specific person. This is the type of crime that car insurance fraud is categorized as.

Unfortunately, this way of thinking about car insurance fraud is flawed because it does hurt a specific person – YOU. Car insurance companies are in the business of making, not losing, money. And just like any other business, if they are losing profits due to one area of the business not doing well they are going to increase the price of their product to compensate for it.

Put in simpler terms, the more insurance companies pay out in fraudulent claims, the higher your Hialeah car insurance premiums will go. This is why the State of Florida claims they stepped in.

Hialeah Car Insurance Coverage

January 2013 is when it became mandatory that Florida drivers have the following car insurance coverage:

  • $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP)
  • $10,000 property damage liability (PDL)

The PIP is to pay for your injuries, regardless of who was at fault for the accident, and the PDL pays for the other person’s damages that you cause.

Prior to January 2013, drivers were required to carry coverage to pay for the damages to the other person’s vehicle and the injuries that the other person sustained.

Under the old required coverages, criminals were staging accidents and then would claim fake injuries or were working with medical providers that exaggerated the treatments being provided for claimed injuries. After the insurance companies paid out on the claim, everyone involved would split the money.

Did the New Hialeah Car Insurance Requirements Help?

The jury it still out on whether the change was good or not. Yes, there was a 5% decrease in PIP fraud referrals, but this isn’t earth shattering. There was also a 31% increase in arrests and a 25% increase in convictions, but these statistics could be from the state cracking down harder on this crime and not from the change in the insurance law (Florida Department of Financial Services – Division of Insurance Fraud).

Also the changes to the law didn’t stop the crime; it only changed how it was done. So now instead of staging accidents to make it look like the victim caused the accident, criminals are now hitting each other and making the fraudulent claims on their own insurance policies.

What can you do about it? You can report insurance fraud to the authorities whenever you suspect something is not right with an accident you see. You can also shop around for your Hialeah car insurance to make sure you are getting the lowest rates you can, just in case your insurance company is passing on more than a fair share of price increases from fraudulent claims.

Money, Education, and Glendale Car Insurance

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 04/12/2014

Being educated about traffic laws and how much Glendale car insurance you need to legally drive will help keep money in your pocket.

glendale car insurance

Don’t let your knowledge of Glendale car insurance and important traffic laws get outdated.

None of us like to give up money to the government, whether it is in the form of taxes, fines, or otherwise. Now, there isn’t anything we can help you with in regards to taxes. However, we can help you save some money in connection to driving.

Saving on Glendale Car Insurance

You don’t need to purchase every car insurance coverage that your agent suggests to be able to drive in Arizona. The State of Arizona actually only requires that you carry the following if you want to drive:

  • $15,000 bodily-injury liability for one person and $30,000 for two or more people
  • $10,000 property-damage liability

While this is not a lot of coverage and it pays nothing towards any injuries that you may have or any damages to your vehicle, it will save you money every month.

Children are Priceless Packages Classes

If you get a ticket for not having your young one properly secured in your vehicle, in Arizona you can avoid paying the fine for the ticket if you educate yourself. This education is in the form of a 2-hour class called “Children are Priceless Packages” or CAPP for short.

The class does cost $25 to attend, but will reduce your ticket fine to zero once you complete it.

Defensive Driving School

Defensive Driving School (DDS) is another way that education can help to save you money. DDS is a 4.5 hour class that you can take after you get a traffic citation, to prevent whatever you did to earn a traffic citation from getting on your driving record. It will also make the fine for your traffic offense go away.

You are only eligible to take the class once every 2 years, and the class is not an option if your traffic violation led to an accident that involved a serious death or injury. You are also only allowed to have one violation and its fee removed per class. So if you earned 3 citations, 2 of them will still go on your driving record and you will still have to pay the corresponding fines.

Continuing Education

To keep yourself from getting a traffic violation and having to take the above courses, keep yourself educated with the changes to traffic laws that usually happen every year. Follow up on the details when you hear about traffic law changes in the news, voluntarily educate yourself on child restraints if you are a new parent, and actually browse through the DMV book if it is time to take your driving test again.

Keeping educated is the best way to avoid issues and keep money in your pocket.

Why You Need Garland Car Insurance

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 03/26/2014

Garland car insurance isn’t a government conspiracy.

Garland car insurance

Riding the monorail will be the only way for you to completely avoid car accidents and having to have Garland car insurance.

It may seem that Garland car insurance is just another way of the government stepping in and regulating your life. It may also seem that it is a sly way for them to get more money from you.

However, the Texas lawmakers that made it a requirement for drivers in Garland, Texas to have car insurance did so to protect other people from you. They require that you have at least $30,000 in bodily injury liability coverage for each injured person (up to a total of $60,000 per accident), and $25,000 for property damage liability coverage per accident. All of these coverages are liability coverages.

Liability coverages only pay for the damages that you cause to other people and their property. These required coverages do not cover any injuries in your own vehicle or any damages to your ride.

It’s not a government conspiracy, it’s a law that had to be created because there were most likely too many uninsured drivers causing car accidents and not owning up to their financial responsibility.

Your Garland Car Insurance Protection

Just because the required liability coverage of the Garland car insurance coverage is there more to protect the other guy than you, don’t think it doesn’t do you some good either. Without this required car insurance, you would be responsible for paying all medical bills and damages from your own pocket.

If you refused to pay, you would find yourself in court. The aftermath of which would most likely leave you making monthly payments to the other person or their insurance company for the rest of your life; which could include seeing your wages garnished. And this is just if you don’t have the required Garland car insurance coverages.

If you don’t add more protection to your Garland car insurance policy that includes protection for the injuries in your vehicle and for the damages to your vehicle, those expenses will also come out of your own pocket.

Garland Accident Statistics to Think About

Most drivers don’t think a car accident will ever happen to them, and many of them are right. If you are one of them, congratulations!

Just for fun then, here are some car accident statistics for the City of Garland, Texas.

In 2012, 12 people died in the 11 fatal accidents that happened in Garland. There were also 1,166 accidents that injured 1,803 people that year. All total, Garland, Texas saw 2,739 car accidents in 2012; that’s equivalent to just about 12% of the population (statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation).

Hopefully all of those drivers had their Garland car insurance in place.

Finding Safety with Winston-Salem Car Insurance

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 03/24/2014

Winston-Salem car insurance is there to protect us after a car accident, but what about before?

Winston Salem car insurance

Even when you are the only one on the road, traffic laws are in place to keep you safe and prevent you from having to use your Winston-Salem car insurance.

In North Carolina, it is required that you carry at least $30,000/$60,000 in bodily injury liability coverage and $25,000 in property damage liability coverage. These coverages are there to protect you financially in the event that you cause an accident or if you are the victim of an accident.

Protecting you financially means that the coverage from your insurance policy will pay for the costs (up to the coverage limit) that result from the accident, instead of you having to find the money to pay for it yourself. Without insurance you could possible lose everything you own of value, have your wages garnished, and may even end up filing for bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, Winston-Salem car insurance is only protection for after something has already happened to you. It does nothing to protect you from the situation in the first place.

Protection from an accident comes from these other traffic laws.

Using Your Signals and Headlights

The headlights and signals that we have on our vehicles are safety equipment, and failure to use them properly can definitely result in a car accident.

Sec. 42-81. Dimming headlights

Any person operating a motor vehicle, when meeting another vehicle, shall so control the lights of the vehicle operated by him that the headlight beams shall not project a glaring or dazzling light to persons in front of such headlamp, in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 20-131.

Sec. 42-54. Signal by driver on starting, stopping or turning

The driver of any vehicle upon a street, before starting, stopping or turning from a direct line, shall first see that such movement can be made in safety, and, if any pedestrian may be affected by such movement, shall give a clearly audible signal by sounding the horn, and, whenever the operation of any other vehicle may be affected by such movement, shall give a signal as required by G.S. 20-154, plainly visible to the driver of such other vehicle, of the intention to make such movement.

Don’t Challenge the Train

Challenging the train is like playing Russian roulette. You may win a couple times, but when the train wins you’re dead. So be a better driver than that and follow these traffic laws for your own safety.

Sec. 42-53. Obedience to signals indicating approach of train

  • (a)Except as provided in section 42-84, whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a railroad grade crossing under any of the circumstances stated in this section, the driver of such vehicle shall stop within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail of such railroad, and shall not proceed until he can do so safely. These requirements shall apply when:
  • (1) A clearly visible electric or mechanical signal device gives warning of the immediate approach of a railroad train.
  • (2) A crossing gate is lowered or when a human flagman gives or continues to give a signal of the approach or passage of a railroad train.
  • (3) A railroad train approaching the street crossing emits a signal audible at the crossing, and such railroad train, by reason of its speed or nearness to such crossing, is an immediate hazard.
  • (4) An approaching railroad train is plainly visible and is in hazardous proximity to such crossing.
  • (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to drive any vehicle through, around or under any crossing gate or barrier at a railroad grade crossing while such gate or barrier is closed or is being opened or closed.

These are of course just a small portion of all the traffic laws out there to protect you from an accident. And for those times that you forget one of those many traffic laws is when you will be thankful for the safety of your Winston-Salem car insurance.

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