Plenty of us believe that we have adequate amount of car insurance coverage, regularly renewing our policies as they come due without giving much though to what our insurance provides. It only is when we’re in an accident or make the decision to switch to another carrier do we acquaint ourselves with what we have, with the former yielding unpleasant surprises for some drivers.
For one thing, liability, comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist coverage, deductibles, and other language makes it difficult for some drivers to figure out what coverage they have. Include the limits of your coverage, $100K, $300K, $50K and how that coverage works and most of us have no clear understanding of what insurance coverage we have.
Frank N. Darras, who is known as America’s top insurance lawyer, offers some practical advice about insurance, “Make sure you are covered for any accident that could put you and yours in the poor house. Raise your limits on all the coverage you can afford and lower your premiums by raising your deductibles. If your car is older, why carry a low deductible on comprehensive insurance which pays for fire, wind, hail and glass breakage?”
Darras says, “Carriers also look at your age, driving record and the make and model of your car. Where you live plays an important role in determining premium. If you live in a nice neighborhood, there generally is less congestion, which means fewer accidents and probably not as many thefts. Most carriers want a three year history of how many tickets you have had and the accidents you have been in as part of the premium equation. The kind of work you do also factors into the premium equation. Do boring safe work and you will pay lower premiums.” “Finally, a high credit score can lower your premiums. Carriers believe the more responsible you are about staying current on your bills will translate into responsible driving.”
Darras offers these money saving tips:
– If you get a ticket, fight them or go to traffic school so they don’t stay on your record and cause your premiums to go through the roof
– Cover your teenagers on your policy so they are not the primary driver on an expensive car. By covering your kids on your policy you can take advantage of your insurance carrier’s multi-car discount as well
– If you get in a minor accident and damage is less than $500, see if you can pay the other driver outside your insurance to prevent your rates from skyrocketing
– At renewal time, check your premiums against the market, make sure you are receiving all of your discounts, like the good student and customer loyalty discounts
– Pay your bills on time if you can, credit scores count big in the premium mix
– Timely premium payments will also lower your underwriting risks and future rates
– Boost your uninsured motorist coverage. For about $100 more a year, you can have uninsured motorist coverage of at least $100,000. Remember, uninsured motorist coverage is protecting you if the other driver has none. When was the last time you went to the emergency room and were out of work for a month when your losses weren’t more than 25,000?
– If your car is older than 5 years, drop the comprehensive coverage, if it is older than 12 years, drop the collision
“Always keep a disposable camera in your glove compartment. If you are in an accident, make sure you take photos before any vehicles are moved. Minutes after the accident, the story will change, so make sure you have pictures,” says Darras.
Clearly, in these days of financial pressures, following advice shared by Darras and others can save you a lot of money. Auto insurance isn’t a water cooler topic but it is a conversation that needs to be started especially as we begin a new year.
Matthew C. Keegan
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/when-it-comes-to-auto-insurance-being-street-smart-helps-704943.html
good people?
In mexico they travel by auto bus as they call it, i lived almost 3 years down thier and guess what i seen many many times at the bus stops, signs saying employment for cement workers home builders and gen labor apply by calling —number- must be willing to travel to united states tranport and insurance and sleeping areas covered,my wife speaks english spanish and i can so so but their was no mistake in what the signs said, many companys in the usa have chosen to side step our labor laws by smuggling mexicans in ,using them and when things get difficult on the companys the put them out on the street, no unemployment no ssi no nothing and the company has a large pool to pick from now, a win win for the companys, and america blames the mexicans, a smart little corp plan they have isant it, the INS comes around and cleans up the mess at the tax payer expence,somone should have told you all before, its the truth so help me god, so be kind to mexicans please’they are not to blame.
good story!
References :
http://www.angelfire.com/blog/illegalimmigrants
A lot of us know that …
References :
You’ve addressed half of the problem. The other half are the actual illegal immigrants that are ALREADY here, and getting jobs that they know are illegal for them to have, with either fake papers or willing to work for dirt cheap so that no one asks them questions. And hopefully you understand what I’m saying cuz its in english.
References :
You’re right! US economic policy has a whole lot to do with undocumented workers in the States. Thanks for giving a view from the other side, not that everyone will be willing to listen.
References :
There is something called an H2 visa where the employer can register with the government and bring in people. They are seasonal jobs, so the worker returns home in the off season. The employer has to provide housing, and probably insurance. It sounds like it might have been that that you saw. If so, it is legal, and since those workers don’t bring families and have insurance, they don’t impact the services the way illegal immigrants do as a class.
For what it is worth, the ‘fake’ version of this is getting expensive for employers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/us/31immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
References :
But they also know it’s illegal to come here so they’re breaking the law and no, we do not have to be nice to anyone that breaks the law.
References :
Why don’t you go to Mexico and do a documentary proving this is true? If it is, the American people will want to know so we can "out" and boycott these corporations.
References :
But wait a minute….
I thought it was those damn illegals causing all the problems in this country!
You mean we go and solicit their labor? NO WAY…..
I thought Americans didn’t want illegals here, I’ll be damned! LOL
References :
Most Americans don’t know that our government actually endorses this, along with several of the biggest companies.
What’s sad is that eventually new illegals will start taking jobs away from illegals who have been here a while. It’ll be a never ending cycle. Illegal immigrants are a problem, but I suppose we need to look at ourselves also, if we truly intend to correct this problem.
References :
YES, WE KNOW THE BIG COMPANIES ARE TO BLAME FOR MOST OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION PROBLEM!!!! BUT, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS COME TO THE U.S.A. BY THEMSELVES TOO!!!
References :
Well, how about the Mexicans who have been burnt in this way, return home and tear down those garbage signs?? Try to spare other of their countrymen and women from being burnt in the same way!
Actually, though, I think DAR is right here. People are probably misinterpreting many of the signs and thinking they are a "welcome – come on up illegally" advertisement. There is probably a number to call or somewhere to go to complete the necessary paperwork to come up LEGALLY to do those jobs!
The signs that are from unscrupulous employers should be looked into and the employers should receive severe penalties in the USA for their false advertising.
References :
I agree and really hope that the language barrier is broken.I believe the first step is communication.I do not speak spanish,but have alot of spanish speaking friends.We"US"cannot say what the problem is until we know what it is.Peace and Love!!To US and Them!!
References :
Poverty makes people do desperate things. Mexico’s government has used the US as a safety valve one time too often!
References :
Yeah, we know this, but SO WHAT, the illegals still know it’s a criminal offense to sneak over here! It just means the employers and the illegals are ALL criminals! But it still doesn’t give illegals the RIGHT to sneak over here and knowingly break the laws! I don’t care if these are poor people, they’re still criminals. there are poor people in all other countrys, but you do not see them sneaking over here by the millions, now do you?
References :