Saturday, 15 September 2012

Uninsured Motorist Coverage



Uninsured motorist coverage in simple words is an insurance against any damage that is inflicted on the insured person's assets or health in a car accident. This coverage, which in some cases is also known as Uninsured motorist clause of the insurance coverage, is usually given as per the damage that has occurred or it is in proportion with the premium paid for the coverage. In the following paragraphs, this concept has been thoroughly discussed and all related concepts have been explained.

An Encounter with an Uninsured or Under-insured Motorist

A careless motorist who is uninsured is a very bad combination, especially if you are the person who ends up in an accident because of such a person, or as a result of such a person. An Uninsured motorist (UM) and Under-insured motorist (UIM) are two types of drivers who do not have sufficient auto insurance coverage compensate the victim for property damage or health related expenditures. An uninsured motorist is simply the one who does not have any coverage at all whereas a motorist who has an insufficient coverage is an under-insured motorist. The insufficiency in coverage of an under-insured motorist is principally based upon the motorist laws of the state. On the whole from the point of view of accidents, an uninsured vehicle consists of:
  • Any vehicle that does not carry insurance as prescribed by the state laws, or
  • Hit and run cases or incidents where the driver or the vehicle involved has not been identified, or
  • Stolen vehicles, or cases or armed or unarmed violence
On the whole the procedure should go as follows. When you end up in an accident (touch wood that you don't), there are three types of damages that the involved parties suffer from: health damage such as injuries, damage to vehicle and other property damage which also includes different legal implications imposed by the road authority such as fines and compensations. Now, how much the insurance company covers for you or pays on your behalf depends upon what your insurance policy covers. Most of the common auto insurance policies cover damage to health and car, and some related expenditures. When you are not at fault, a major chunk of these expenditures is paid for by the insurance company of the person who has been at fault. However, if the person responsible is uninsured or does not have the designated insurance, you as an innocent person would not get anything or whatever you get would be quite meager, and hence it is essential to have the clause included in your insurance.

How does the Coverage Work?

Now, even before we begin, please take into consideration that the coverage provides partial compensation for some expenses that you have incurred due to an accident where the person at fault was uninsured or under-insured. The compensation is usually provided in proportion to the premium, irrespective of the total amount that the victim is entitled to recover. Some common expenditure that are covered by the uninsured motorist coverage:
  • The most important cover that is provided is of the bodily injury liability (BI) which pays for all medical expenditures that are connoted to be first aid expenses or expenses preceding the accidents such as medical and emergency room expenditures. On the whole the insured person and first family members (if they had been passengers at the time of incidence) receive immediate medical assistance.
  • Collision coverage provides for certain basic repairs of the car. This usually does not include touch up job, paint, polish or anything that may be connoted to be a luxury.
  • Property damage (UNDPD) is coverage, where if any significant damage has been inflicted on properties, especially public properties, then coverage is provided to accommodate it.
  • Lastly, there are two additional and optional coverage, these include, legal processing coverage which helps you to sue the person who caused the accident and lastly and personal injury coverage which covers expenditures such as lost wages and pain and damage. These two coverage have costly premiums.

Thursday, 13 September 2012

Motorcycle Insurance Tips



Motorcycle insurance is mandatory in almost all the countries as the number of two wheelers has increased so has the number of two wheeler accidents. Therefore motorcycle has to be insured but simultaneously the budget also has to be kept in mind. There are very common things, which are if and when considered result in a financially pliable insurance.

Motorcycle Insurance Quote

Since insurance is all about the assessment of risk there are two key factors that play a major role.
  • Rider
  • The motorcycle
The factors that are deemed important in case of a rider are as follows:
  • Rider's age- A middle-aged rider is trusted more than a young rider.
  • Rider's driving record- The number of tickets that have been issued to the rider for various reasons are taken into account.
  • Rider's Location- The location where the rider would ride motorcycle would also play a key role for the insurance company to decide on the premium since city areas pose risks more dangerous than the town or country areas.
  • The Rider's experience- The experience of the rider also matters since if the rider is a pro biker the risk involved would be minimum but if he/she were a beginner the risk would be considerable.
  • The accident record of the Rider- The insurance company would definitely trust a person who is less accident prone and more careful since it actually determines the risk rating.
  • Rider's Occupation- The occupation of the rider helps to determine his/her credibility since that shows how regular and stable he/she would be in paying the auto insurance premiums.
The factors, which are taken into account in case of a motorcycle, are as follows:
  • Make and Model- The make and model of the bike play a key role in getting the insurance, which is quite obvious. If a racing bike is to be insured the risk factors involved would be more than if it is normal motorcycle.
  • Modifications on the original model- When the original model is modified it involves a lot of financial risk to insure such a bike since modifications at times cost half of the motorcycle's price.
  • Value of the bike- This refers to the original value of the bike which varies with the make and model of the motorcycle. A sports bike would definitely cost more than a normal bike. Similarly the premium paid for the former would be more than the premium paid for the latter.
  • Location- The place where the bike is being garaged or if at all it has proper garage or not makes a huge difference in the premium since it helps in assessing the risk factors of vandalism, theft etc.
Cheap Motorcycle Insurance

There are some easy ways to cut down on the premium of your insurance and get affordable insurance if some commonsense methods are followed:
  • It is better to pay high excess in case of a motorcycle insurance claim.
  • If you are a beginner try and check if you complete an advanced course in riding lessons that might give you an option of decreasing the insurance quote.
  • In case you do not have an immobilizer fitted, check the difference in the cheap auto insurance quotes. In case the ones with the immobilizer get lesser quotes, get your motorcycle fitted with one.
  • Decrease the number of miles you ride every year so that you can avail of the Less Mileage Discount. Provide your typical annual mileage to the insurance companies when getting a quote.
  • An old motorcycle with a small engine will help to keep the premiums down in case of a beginner.
  • If you build up a "No claims bonus" it will help you in long run since it will lessen your insurance premium by a considerable amount.
  • Try not to modify your bike in such a way that it enhances the performance of the bike since little modifications make a huge difference in the amount of premium paid.
  • It is better to have a Third party Insurance or a Fire and theft Insurance than total loss coverage, if the original price of the bike is low.
  • Try to get things done when it is renewal time.
  • Check if the manufacturer is providing any kind of discount so that you can avail it since manufacturers do provide discounts when they launch a new product in the market.
  • Check if there are any policy restrictions by your insurance company. Read the documents carefully and keep an eye on them after regular intervals since the clauses are time specific.
Be careful when you are providing information to the Insurance Company since any information that they find wrong would result in you not getting the money in spite of paying the premium regularly.

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Making Your Task of Getting Auto Insurance Smooth by Taking Free Rate Quotes



Life is a smooth sail for some people and for a few, everything goes wrong.  But the fact that everything is going right for you should not deter you from taking an auto insurance policy.  Driving your vehicle without an auto insurance coverage is unlawful.  Not only that, this insurance protects your vehicle, your life and that of your family members when you are on road.

In earlier times, taking auto insurance was a difficult task. You had to wholly depend on an agent who might not have any concern over your interests or if you wanted to choose the best policy at a low cost, you had to visit these insurance companies for gathering their quotes. Sometimes, you could get the quotes over phone also.  This was a time-consuming and daunting task.  Even with all the details, you were not sure if you ended up paying more.

The advent of Internet has metamorphosed this whole process.  You can get the cheap auto insurance quotes of various companies online.  There are providers who can get the free quotes of all the insurance companies so that you can make a comparative study of them and arrive at a decision.

Auto insurance is very expensive and hence you cannot afford to ignore such steps.  But at the same time, you cannot skip taking auto insurance also. The importance of auto insurance need not stressed because if an accident occurs, the cost you incur for setting things right in the aftermath of the accident will be quite enormous. In short, the negative effects of not having auto insurance are huger than the cost of this insurance.

The providers of free auto insurance quote of various insurance companies make your task of taking this insurance simple and easy and you save a lot of time and energy also. Since most of these providers make these quotes available on line, you get all the details wherever you want.

Stiff competition prevails among these providers and hence they will be more than willing to get you the best quotes of insurance companies. If you take your auto insurance policy through them, they earn not only profits but can get many new customers through you because if you are satisfied with their services, you will recommend them to a few of your friends and relatives.  You also get your auto insurance at an affordable cost.

Auto insurance laws may slightly vary from State to State.  Hence you should study the state laws and see that the quotes offered by the providers cover these clauses also. You can mesh your own needs with the mandatory clauses and request them to give quotes that satisfy both these points. 

The common details of your vehicle, the details of yourself and your family members, your driver's license number, vehicle plate number and identification number are given. If you already have auto insurance, those details must also be furnished for obtaining the new auto insurance.