“Will a claim cause my car insurance rate to increase? “ This is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear when talking with a client about an accident. The short answer is yes. I don’t always know how much of an impact an insurance claim will have on any person’s specific renewal premium, but claims do have an impact on their rate.
The Detroit auto show started last week and runs through January 26th. There are the debuts of new models from domestic and international car manufacturers, concept cars, and lots of new technology. Chief among the new offerings arriving in cars are those technologies that are grouped in a category referred to as advanced car safety systems. They aren’t quite as sexy as the new Corvette, but if they better protect us from accidents, we’ll be just as appreciative of them.
John Hooper’s story hit the internet last week. He was the proud owner of a 580 horse power 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. John took his Camaro to the local dealership, First State Chevy in Georgetown, Delaware, for warranty work on an issue with the car’s paint. One of the dealership’s employees took his car for an unauthorized joy ride on a Sunday in December when the dealer was closed.
November 7, 2000. This was the last day there was not a fatality on a Texas roadway, county road, farm to market road, or highway. For over 13 years, there’s been at least one traffic fatality per day. Over 45,000 people have died on our roadways during this time period …
?2013 has come to a close and 2014 is off and running. Housing in north Texas rocketed last year, however many predict it will cool a bit in 2014. The population of Texas continues to grow at a rapid pace. While the rate of growth is predicted to slow a bit in the coming years, it will still grow.
?What do you consider when buying a new or new-to-you car? Is it style, comfort, or enough room to run the kids to school or soccer practice with their friends? What about color and features? Maybe it’s pickup, handling, and how it feels when jumping on LBJ when there’s no one there? Whatever it is that moves you toward a particular vehicle, have you considered the safety of the vehicle you’re considering and its crash rating?
It’s New Year’s Eve. 2013 draws to an end tonight and tomorrow a New Year dawns. Your outfit’s picked out and reservations are made for dinner and the after dinner party. Or maybe you’re going with a group of friends to a club. Or maybe you’re hosting the party at your house. Champagne is chilled and hors d’oeuvres are ready! So what’s to worry? Plenty if you drink too much and get a DUI.
Driving in the Dallas / Fort Worth area is always entertaining when we have an ice storm. Those of us who grew up in Texas or the southern parts of the country are just not very good at driving on ice, although I don’t know anyone who is. Aside from the normal slipping and sliding on LBJ or North Central Expressway, we learned that “cobblestone” ice can be just as challenging as sheet ice. There were also some interesting things that occurred with falling or flying ice that led to a number of car insurance claims.
I got a call from a client on the Friday after Thanksgiving. He’d been hit on Central Expressway in Dallas after some Black Friday shopping by someone with no car insurance. The person who hit him was driving a pickup truck that rear ended him and then did some damage along the side of his car when he took off. He wanted to know what to do.
Before credit reports and scores existed, financial institutions had to guess whether someone was a good applicant (or risk) for taking out a loan. Credit reports and scores were “invented” to take the guess work out of it. The national average credit score is approximately 672 – – but how are credit scores calculated?
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