Mar 2, 2012

Car insurance policy limits

Things To Consider Before Choosing A Car Insurance Company Everyone needs car insurance, but choosing which car insurance company to insure your vehicle with can be quite an exhausting task. There are many auto insurance companies out there for you to choose from, and knowing which one will be the right company for you can be difficult. One person’s opinion of a fantastic insurance company could be another person’s idea of the worst possible one. It depends completely on your individual insurance needs. We will outline some things to keep in mind so that you make an informed and good decision based on your own specialized vehicle insurance needs.
Why Won't the Minimum State Insurance Requirements Cover Me?
This is a good question. It seems funny that each state legislature would set a minimum insurance requirement and then your insurance agent tells you that the minimum is not enough. But it is true and sometimes the changes it takes to put into law what is the best coverage for car insurance is a lengthy process and is often behind the economy changes. Let us look at an example:
Wyoming's state minimum insurance requirements are 25/50/20. The first two numbers refer to bodily injury liability limits and the third number refers to the property damage liability limit. The first two numbers in 25/50/20 would mean in an accident each person injured would receive a maximum of up to 25,000 with only 50,000 allowed per accident (ex. 2 people needing 25,000, if the need is more such as 3 people needing 25,000 then whoever files first gets first access to the 50,000 limit and you may be sued for the rest if the accident was your fault!). The last number refers to the total coverage per accident for property damage which in this case would be 20,000.
It is easy to see how these limits may not cover all the the liability and property damage needs. Now that you understand what the numbers mean, below is a listing of each state's minimum insurance requirements. Look up the state you live in and do the math to see if you feel comfortable with the minimum numbers. It does not cost much more to raise your car insurance limits and I would encourage you to contact your insurance agent to do just that if you find that you only have the minimum car insurance required by your state. The first thing you need to do is to carefully think about what you want from your insurer. Consider what your insurance needs are and what sort of cover you are looking for. Research the assorted kinds of insurance cover that you can take out, and then look into insurance companies which offer that kind of cover. Remember the cheapest deal is not necessarily the best. It’s all about the value for your money you will be getting. What you need to do is to compile as many quotes as possible from as many different car insurance companies as possible. Once you have some good quotes in front of you, you have to take some time to consider the attributes of each company so you know who would be a good choice. Firstly, take into account the insurance company’s ways of handling clients. Are they always polite on the phone? How seriously do they take your questions and is their customer service efficient and professional. The way they handle you when you are only a potential customer goes a long way in telling how they will handle you as a client. Check up if they have a portfolio of client reviews on their service that is legitimate with signatures. In relation to this, you can also talk to trusted family members and friends and find out who they are insured with. Ask them for their honest opinion on the car insurance companies they know of, and what they like or dislike about their insurance company. The next thing you need to do is to research the auto insurance companies you are interested in. Find out how long they have been in business for. You will want to go with a good, established company that has a few years behind them. That way you will also know they are financially stable. You will want the company to be financially stable, as it goes without saying that if the company does not have money, you could find yourself without any payout when you need to claim! Researching the insurance company you are interested in will help you make an informed decision. You can find a lot of information online and through the media.

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