What Is Car Sharing?

How Are Vehicles Insured With Car Sharing Services?

A lot of people would prefer not to own a car. This may be especially true in large urban centers with parking hassles and good alternative forms of transportation. Still, once in awhile the need for a personal vehicle may come up. A family vacation, business trip, wedding, funeral, move, or large purchase may just be easier with personal transportation.

Of course, you can always use a traditional car rental company. You can rent a variety of vehicles for a day, a week, etc. However, car rental companies have some disadvantages.

• Car rental rates may be high, especially for the rental of some vehicles, or during peak times.
• There is a lot of confusion about car rental insurance. Sure, you are free to purchase an over the counter insurance policy, but these are expensive, and may not cover everything.
• The vehicle rental office may not be convenient to you. You have to get there, and you have to get home after you turn in the vehicle.

To answer these issues, peer to peer car rental services have popped up over the last few years. This is also called car sharing. Basically, vehicle owners will have scheduled times when their personal cars, or other vehicles, are open for borrowing. People in the area may opt to borrow a car from an individual who offers their car for borrowing.

Note that instead of calling the people who need the vehicle, renters, they are called borrowers. They are still paying for the service though.

In the same way that peer to peer loans have become more popular lately, these peer to peer car sharing arrangements have become an affordable and convenient alternative to owning, leasing, or renting vehicles.

Car Sharing Services

The middle man here is a neighborhood car sharing service which posts the vehicles and schedules, and may even handle some insurance.

How Does The Shared Car Get Insured?

Services differ between companies.

One popular peer to peer car sharing service – Relay Rides - offers car insurance to renters as part of the agreement. If the borrower does not have their own insurance the policy will cover them with the exception of a $500 deductible. If the renter pays extra, that deductible could be reduced or even waived.

Of course, this peer to peer company insurance coverage also protects the vehicle owner. The vehicle owner is also protected by the car share company’s ability to check out the borrower’s driving record in advance to make sure they are only doing business with low risk drivers.

Related posts:

1. Rental Car Insurance — Is your own Auto Policy Enough When Renting a Car?
2. Personal Injury Protection vs. Health Insurance
3. Why You Need Renters Insurance

What To Consider When Comparing Auto Insurance Companies?

If you are looking for your initial car insurance policy, or if you have owned or operated a motor vehicle for a very long time, you might need a refresher class about car insurance comparisons! There are many significant things to look for, and a bit of time can help you save cash and trouble in the long run.

Sure, we always push the benefits of online insurance quotes. But we know that cost comparisons are not the only step you should take when trying to find the right coverage for your vehicles.

By taking the time to comparison shop, you can be sure you can find the best, consumer friendly auto insurance companies. You could possibly get the policy you would like at a price that you ought to be in a position to afford. A variety of helpful tools, from online insurance quotes to client review reports are at your fingertips today.

How Will You Find Top Insurance providers?

Actually, it is actually much easier to shop for auto policies than it was in years past. In the old days you had to set several visits with various agents. All of these wanted to sell you policies, so it might be stressful too. A lot of people would likely buy the first policy they saw to steer clear of all of this.

In the event that sounds familiar, you simply need to enhance your shopping skills a touch. The Net, for example, has a lot of great tools which will help you to get your concerns answered too!   Take A Look At Shopper Satisfaction With Various Insurance companies   It is actually difficult to know which insurer will really make you happy before you make use of them. But you may get feedback from past customers by using many on-line review web pages. Quite a few websites even post client complaints. Others publish different surveys of past consumers. This could warn you of potential problems in advance!

Auto Insurance Price Is Important Too! 

Not surprisingly, in all probability you’ll choose to find a very good price for the automobile policy. It is rather simple to figure out which good insurer likes to supply you with the lowest price if you use an Internet quote form. You’ll find the bottom priced insurance firms and review them!

Related posts:

1. Teen Auto Insurance Revisited
2. Mandatory Auto Insurance Laws
3. Why Bother To Compare Auto Insurance Quotes Today?

 Have You Missed These Hidden Auto Insurance Discounts?

Did You Miss These Hidden Discounts?

We are always searching for different ways to give our readers the best car insurance at the best price.  Of course, one simple tip is to simply compare insurance quotes! But sometimes consumers and agents miss these hidden car insurance discounts.

Nobody is really trying to cover up any ways to help you save money. But these lesser known price breaks just tend to get missed.  Knowledge really is power, and when you know what to ask for, it can help you save a lot of money while keeping top quality coverage.

What Is A Consumer’s Largest Expense?

Did you know the second largest expenditure for the average consumer is transportation? The cost of vehicles purchased is an average of $3,244 per year, making it 6.5 percent of the average budget. The cost of oil and gas for vehicles costs the average consumer $2,384 per year, for an average of 4.8 percent of the total yearly budget. Combined, the cost of vehicles and their maintenance costs consumers an average of $8,758 per year. This is a total of 17.6 percent of the yearly budget.

This figure does not even include insuring your vehicle.  Considering how expensive it is to own and operate a car you want to look for savings anywhere you can get them. There are savings to be had in your auto insurance premium that you probably are not aware of.

 Common Auto Insurance Discounts

If you have tried to get your auto insurance cost down you probably know about the standard discounts. The first and foremost is being a good driver because that makes you a lower risk to the insurance company. Good credit is another big one that many people are not aware of. Many companies look at your credit rating before calculating a rate to give you so you should always try to keep your credit rating as high as possible.  Insurance companies also base your premium on the kind of car you drive. If you are purchasing a car always consider the safety ratings on the car you want to buy. It is easy to get the information online about which cars insurance companies are offering lower rates on.

Here are some unusual discounts that people generally don’t know about:

Low risk occupation auto insurance discount – Insurance companies keep their formulas as secret as Google keeps their algorithms but it’s generally known that engineers cause the fewest accidents. Accountants and teachers are also considered very safe drivers. So, if you work in one these occupations be sure to mention it to your insurer (if your occupation isn’t already listed on your policy application). If you’re not employed in these professions, ask your agent or a customer service rep about your job to see if you might quality for a low risk occupational auto insurance discount.

Renewal discount – A discount that most people overlook is a renewal discount. If you have not lost your insurance due to bad driving, numerous accidents or non payment then you are a valuable customer. Your insurance company knows that it takes more money to sign up new customers than to keep existing customers so they should be willing to give a little something to keep you. Make sure you ask about the renewal discount because it may not be something they offer to you unless you bring it up.

Alumnus discount – Some companies have a list of schools and if you’re an alumnus, you could earn a discount. Check with your insurance company to see if you qualify. Again, often your insurance company won’t tell you about these discounts but if you ask you may save yourself some money.

More Discounts We May Have Missed?

Do you know about any more car insurance discounts that we may have missed? Feel free to register for free and leave your best tips in the comments!

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Which Cars Do Thieves Favor?

Which Cars Get Stolen The Most?

One thing that can really affect your car insurance rates, and of course, you peace of mind, is how likely your car is to get stolen. Thieves really do favor some makes and models over others. If car theft is one of your concerns, you may want to choose a lower profile vehicle the next time you go shopping!

How Do We Know Which Cars Get Stolen The Most?

We based this article upon data published by the Highway Loss Data Institute.  They analyzed car insurance claims from 2008 to 2010 in order to come up with the list. It is possible that some thefts never get reported to insurance companies, but we have to figure this is a pretty good way to answer this question.

Note that this information is based upon the frequency of thefts for insured vehicles of a certain make and model. This is different than other crime statistics which just report total thefts. Those reports will reflect larger numbers for the most common cars.

Which Cars Get Stolen The Most?

The Cadillac Escalade is a luxury SUV.  This vehicle has topped the list for years, and 4 different versions of this vehicle make the top of the list this time! A version of the Escalade that has a pickup rear end tops the list with fourteen claims per one thousand vehicle years.

Pickups seem to be favored by vehicle thieves too. In fact, pickup trucks as a group have a much higher chance of being stolen than regular passenger cars and SUVs, according to this data. The Ford F-250 crew cab 4-wheel-drive comes in second, only to the Escalade.

Which regular passenger cars get stolen the most? The Chrysler 300 tops the list, and it is followed by models that are prized because they have a lot of power. These include the Chrysler 300 HEMI, the Dodge Charger HEMI, and the Nissan Maxima.

Are there any cars that thieves seem to pass on? The least frequently stolen cars are the Audi A6 4-wheel-drive sedan and the Mercury Mariner,

What Stops Car Thieves?

According to the institute, not much can really stop a professional car thief with the right opportunity. Engine immobilizers can keep some joy riding teens from taking your car for a ride, but they will not prevent a crew of professionals from towing your vehicle away.

• We should all know by know to lock our cars and take our keys.
• Keep prized vehicles parked inside a secure area, especially in higher theft areas.
• It may be find to keep your vehicle in the driveway in your peaceful suburb, but you may want to spend the extra $5- $10 for a parking garage or valet in any location you are unsure of.
• Also pay attention to things you leave in unsecured or visible areas of your vehicle. The best anti-theft device may not keep a thief from taking things out of the bed of your pickup. A visible purse or cell phone on the front seat may make your car a tempting target too. Even if the robber cannot start your car, he can break the window and take your things.
• Of course, modern anti-theft devices like security alarms and engine immobilizers will deter casual theft. They will probably earn you some car insurance discounts too!

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3. Used Cars May Mean Cheaper Car Insurance

Which Car Insurance Companies Provide The Best Service?

Best Auto Insurance By Customer Satisfaction

This website spends a lot of time discussing the best insurance, but when it really comes down to it, you find out how good your insurance is when you need to make a claim! All the fancy quote systems, cute spokes people, and perks will not help you if your insurer does not have your back when you need to get paid for damage!

That is why a priority should be checking out consumer satisfaction ratings to find out which insurers are the best car insurance companies by customer satisfaction. The JD Powers 2011 car insurance study provides some insight into this question.

JD Powers is an independent market research and study company.

They rate car insurance providers by a variety of factors which include:

• Overall Satisfaction – This rating is from a consumers who noted how well satisfied they were with the overall experience of using their current insurer.
• Policy Offerings – - Insurers were scored on the variety of policy options, and how well those policies met the needs of their customers.
• Price – Given the current level of coverage that the customer has, they rated their insurer on the value for the premium paid.
• Billing and Payment Processes – This score includes a customer satisfaction rating with things like the clarity of the billing statement and the actual payment process.
• Contacting The Insurer – This score is the real meat of the issue. When customers had to contact their insurer or insurance agent for any reason they would rate the experience. So this contact could be on the phone, through email, in person, or even through an insurance company website. The contact could be to buy a policy, make a claim, or ask a question.

Which Auto Insurance Companies Won The Customer Satisfaction Study?

Here’s the deal. Some of the most highly rated companies are not open to everybody. For example. USAA and New Jersey Manufacturer’s Insurance Company earned 5 gold balls in overall satisfaction. But USAA only accepts military and family members. New Jersy Manufacturer’s Insurance Company only accepts a select group as well. So they are not included in the rankings.

Amica Mutual won the 2011 highest level of customer satisfaction award for the 12th year in a row.

State Farm, Erie Insurance, Shelter, and Auto-Owners Insurance each checked in with a 4 Gold Balls rating.

According to the legend, 5 gold balls indicates that the survey respondent thought the company was “better than the rest.” Four gold balls meant the company was “better than most”.

Is One Of These Insurers Best For You?

Insurance is marketed and regulated at a state level. Other factors can affect your own satisfaction like the services of your own local insurance agent or representative. To make matters even more complicated, not all insurers do business in all markets. You cannot really assume that the company that pleased your great Aunt in Wisconsin will give you the same experience if you live in Nebraska or New York!

These national customer service rankings can give you a place to start, but you may need to also add in some opinions from your neighbors.

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3. Best Auto Safety Features – 2011

Who Makes The Safest Minivans In 2011?

which minivans are safer in the front, side, rear, and rollovers!

Many families buy minivans for growing families. Since these vehicles tend to transport kids around, families are very interested in purchasing one of the safest minivans. In addition, any vehicle that has been highly rated for safety will usually earn cheaper insurance rates. Buying a safer car gives you a win-win situation. You can get a safer car, and a cheaper car to insure!

To save you some time, and a headache reading very small print, we went to the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety to research the current data on the safest minivans today. You can read the short list to help you start shopping.

Top Picks For Safe Minivans

These are the vehicles that earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick Seal.

• Honda Odyssey – 2011 Models with Side Airbags
• Toyota Sienna – 20011 Models with Side Airbags

Here are the runners up.

• Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country, Volkswagen Routan – 2011 models with standard side airbag
• Kia Sedona 2012 models with standard side airbags
• Nissan Quest 2011 models with standard side airbags

It is important to note that sometimes the IIHS used data from the manufacturers test, and also that some features were not rated on all cars.  For example, they only had rollover data from the top two vehicles in the list. The last car in the list had no rear crash data. These are all rated as safe cars, and the lack of data seems to make up the difference between the top ones and the lower ones on this list.

That said, each of these models was rated GOOD (G) by the institute in any things that were tested.

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2. Best Auto Safety Features – 2011
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Do You Need Personal Injury Protection If You have Health Insurance?

Do you need personal injury protection if you have health insurance?

Auto insurance may have personal injury protection, which I will shorten to PIP for this article. You may also have a good major medical health insurance policy.

The question is – do you need both types of coverage to cover yourself while you operate a vehicle?

This question arises because some insurers are encouraging drivers to cut back on coverage in order to save money on premiums.It may also come up if you have had a claim, and had to reimburse your health insurer because a claim was already covered by PIP.

However, PIP may also reimburse you for things that your medical insurance will not cover. Conversely, your major medical policy may be the simplest and best way to get other types of health needs covered.

PIP vs. Health Insurance

Let us compare and contrast some of the benefits and features of personal injury protection and major medical insurance.

• PIP may also reimburse you for lost time from work if you cannot work while recovering from an accident or need to take time off to seek treatment. One of the largest true expenses of an injury may be the time you lose from work.
• PIP can also be handy because it may not have a deductible. If your medical plan has a large deductible, co-pays, etc, the personal injury insurance can step in and pay those out of pocket costs up to the limit of the protection you have.
• For example, say you have major medical with a $1,500 deductible, 80-20 payments up to $10,000, and co-pays of $40 a visit.  If you have a serious injury that ends up costing $10,000 to treat, your PIP may step in and help you pay that extra $4k or so the major medical company will not cover. The PIP could help reimburse you for the deductible, coinsurance payments, and co-pays.
• Your PIP may also cover passengers in your vehicle that are or are not covered under your own major medical policy. If you are driving your family around, they may be under your own medical insurance plan. If you are driving other people around, they may not be covered.
• The points above are mostly relevant to having an accident that is judged to be your fault. If you have an accident that is the “other guy’s” fault, you should be covered under that driver’s PIP from his liability insurance. If he is uninsured, you could still be covered if you have uninsured motorist protection.
• If you are a passenger in an uninsured vehicle, you may have a problem getting your own PIP to cover you. You should make sure the vehicle you are riding in is properly covered.

To make a final choices, please consult your insurance agent about the benefits of having personal injury protection and health insurance. These two policies can work together to reduce your expenses.

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Can You Do Anything To Get Lower Car Insurance Rates?

Can you control your auto insurance premiums, or is your bill totally in the hands of insurers? Well, actually your actions do control your rates to some degree. You can do some things that will help lower your rates fast. Other actions, that may get you drastically cheaper rates, may take a little longer.

• Compare online insurance quotes – You can always do some rate shopping. It hardly takes any time these days when you use the power of the Internet. I cannot sit here and tell you if your insurer already has the cheapest rates for a person like you, and the only way to be sure is to do some comparison shopping.
• Avoid Tickets and Accidents – It is probably obvious but people with clean driving and accident claims records get better rates than more reckless or unlucky drivers. If you do get into an accident or stopped by the traffic police, you can take advantage of driver’s safety courses. These courses take up a few hours, but the insurance discount may help balance out a rate increase! Still, you will have to pay your ticket and the cost of a driver’s safety class. Then you may have to pay higher insurance rates. It would be a lot cheaper to avoid problems in the first place.
• When you shop for a new or used car, figure out how the next car will affect the price of your insurance. Some cars are safer to insure than others. It is not always obvious which vehicles will cost less to cover either. Go ahead and get free quotes before you buy the new vehicle.
• Make sure you are taking advantage of any discounts or price breaks you can! Lots of people miss some of these, and even agents neglect to bring themselves up sometimes. For example, if you do not drive very many miles every year, you may qualify for a low mileage discounts.

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2. Teenage Drivers Auto Insurance
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Teen Premiums Too High?

Making Teen Drivers Safer And Cheaper To Insure Today!

This website has covered this topic before, but things have changed in the last couple of years, so we thought it was appropriate to discuss the topic of teenager car insurance rates, ways to keep under 25 auto insurance cheaper, and of course, ways to keep our young people safer!

There is some good news. Tougher state licensing policies have actually cut teen traffic fatalities a lot. In some states, that number approaches 1/3. It is a bit harder, and takes a little longer, to qualify for a driver’s license. In my opinion, saving thousands of young lives makes this a great deal!

Again, when we discuss teen auto policies, we are really talking about the higher risk for any younger drivers under age 25. In our culture, studies have shown that we do have a longer adolescence, and so the mid-twenties may be an appropriate age point to discuss.

Here Are Some Of The Latest Ideas On Young Drivers And Auto Insurance

• As with any other driver and vehicle, anything you do that convinces auto insurers you are trying to reduce the risk of claims, will probably result in lower premiums. First on that list should be avoiding wrecks or traffic tickets. Beyond that, driver’s ed and safety classes, auto safety features, and buying vehicles that are rated highly for safety are usually good bets!
• If adults share a vehicle with a younger driver, you may be able to place him or her on the policy as an occasional driver. Ask your agent or company representative about this. It will certainly cost less than naming the young driver as the main driver on another vehicle.
• Bundling policies has become the new buzz word. It is not a new concept though. If you place more than one policy with one company, they may offer a discount because this saves them money. It may also make your life simpler. Take advantage of auto and home insurance discounts so you can save more on all your coverage.
• Some parents think it will better to set up a teen on his or her own policy because it will keep their own rates lower, while only the teens will remain high. In my opinion, it is just better to suck it up and lump the teen with the rest of the family.  This also seems like a risky move in case the younger driver ends up using another family vehicle than the one named on his or her policy. Of course, you are free to compare premiums either way to see how you do.
• No tips can offer you really cheap rates for young drivers. But adding a few discounts together can actually shave quite a bit off your bill.  Be prepared to shop around to find affordable insurance premiums for drivers under age 25.
• Remember, most of us older drivers had to start out as younger drivers!

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Avoid Accidents!

Cheap Fixes For Safer Cars

Avoiding accidents rests on the driver. However, there are things we can do to make our cars safer too! These things may aid the driver’s ability to detect problems or simply make a vehicle easier to operate.

When you can avoid accidents, you can keep your auto insurance rates down too! The simple and cheap ways to make your car safer should pay for themselves many times over because they will help you avoid accidents, keep your premiums lower, and provide convenience and safety.

Top Picks For Safety Fixes

How Are Your Headlights?

Did you know that dirty or yellow headlights can reduce your night vision by as much as 90%. This usually happens very gradually, so you may not really notice it. But when you get your headlights cleaned, you are likely to notice the difference right away!

Your normal trip through the car was may not fix the problem, and the wax and soap may actually add to the problem. You can purchase inexpensive headlight cleaners or visit your local auto garage for help.

Do You Remember The Rules Of The Road?

When I took a defensive driving class a few years ago, I was really surprised by all of the good tips I learned. Actually, I remembered that I had already known some of them, but had forgotten them over time.

The class did not take that much time, earned me a good auto insurance discount, and helped me be a safer driver too.

On board GPS

When you look for an address, are you taking your eyes off the road to read street signs. Even worse, are you looking down at a map while you are driving?

I have no idea how many accidents have been prevented by navigation systems, but I can bet that the number is large! These come with a lot of newer cars. But you do not have to run out and buy a new car because you can purchase them for $100 all over the place.

Shiny New Car Safety Features

If you are in the market for a brand new car, you can find all sorts of great safety features that come with them. Some examples are collision prevention detection systems, blind spot warnings, and rear view monitors.

You may spend a little more to get these features. However, this added expense will probably add something to the value of the car. In addition, many insurers offer a discount for new safety features. Third, they may help you avoid a car wreck!

Ride RIGHT!

Here’s is the cheapest thing you can do! Simply make sure your seat, wheel, and mirrors are adjusted correctly before you leave your drive way. It takes a few seconds, and it can help you drive more comfortably and safely.

Drive Smart

In the past, when I have looked back, I could have avoided almost all of the accidents that I had. Most of them were not considered “my fault”, but later I would have to admit they weren’t really my virtue either! And in the 30 years of driving I have logged, the two that were my fault were certainly due to lapses in judgment.

The cheapest way to avoid accidents is to make sure you are paying attention!

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