Five auto insurance myths busted

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Purchasing auto insurance can be a very confusing and frustrating time. It’s hard to know just what will affect you and what won’t affect you. One person tells us one thing, another tells us something else, and we just don’t know who to believe or what the truth of it all is. It can certainly be disorienting to try and sift through the falsehoods to get to the truth. Well, here is some information to help you.

Men under 25 have the highest rates: This is partially true, men are statistically more prone to get into accidents or collisions then women, and this coupled with the fact that statistically younger drivers are also more prone to accidents and collisions means that a male under 25 will have high insurance. But this, however, doesn’t mean that men under 25 will have a higher rate then another person. Every factor goes into the calculation of an auto insurance premium; this means that it is possible for a person who is middle aged to have a higher insurance rate. This is not always the case, but it is possible.

Another myth is that if you have collision coverage in your auto insurance you will be covered in the event that you hit an animal while driving, or in the event that hails, trees, or any other flying object, hits you. This is not true. Auto insurance companies will not pay out for acts of nature or animals. They also will not pay out for acts of vandalism. To be covered in case of these events you need to have comprehensive coverage. If a tree falls on your car, and you don’t have comprehensive coverage, the costs for repairs or vehicle replace, tree removal, will be coming out of your pocket.

A third myth is that if you have just recently paid for your premium, it will cover any new car you buy. This is true…but only for a short period of time. An auto insurance policy goes with the vehicle and not with the policy holder. There fore, auto insurance companies will not cover a new car after a 30 day period. If you have not reported the vehicle change or addition within those 30 days and you get into an accident or collision, they will not cover any of the costs and you will have to pay for all of them out of your own pocket once again.

A fourth myth which is similar to the third myth, is that if you let a friend or family member borrow your car, and they get into an accident, their insurance will pay for all the costs and not yours. This is completely false. If they get into an accident with your vehicle, it is your insurance that pays and therefore your rates will be the ones to rise, not your friends. Why? Well, because as I said earlier, auto insurance coverage goes with the vehicle not the policy holder.

A fifth myth states that credit scores will affect your rates. This one is partially true once again. While your credit score will affect your rates, other factors will affect them too, so your auto insurance coverage with bad credit may still be lower then that of someone who is accident prone. As well you may be denied coverage from a company due to this, but there are state insurance pools for you to get insurance from until your credit rating improves.