One of my clients called me a couple of weeks ago. She’d stopped at a red light waiting with cars in front of her and behind her for the light to change. She heard a horrible noise behind her.
There are three bills that have been filed in the current Texas Legislative session; two are directly related to car insurance, while the third is not. Two of the bills aim to tackle the problem of named driver policies and exclusions, while the third bill focuses on the issue of texting and driving.
I had two interesting conversations over the past two weeks. One was with a client I was assisting with their car insurance renewal, the other was with a colleague who was working on a car insurance quote for a prospective client. Both of the conversations are worth sharing here as they provide a great lesson on how even a small claim can impact your car insurance rate.
Have you heard about the new Ford F-150? It would be hard to miss the press on its predominate aluminum body. Ford shaved 700 pounds off last year’s model by switching from steel to aluminum for 97% of the outside of the truck’s body. Doing so helped improve theF-150’s fuel economy from 5% to 29% depending on which engine is installed.
Sheri and I were returning to Dallas after visiting family in Birmingham for Thanksgiving. A friend and client called me on my cell phone. Since it was Saturday, that usually means a couple of things such as they need help with a claim or a copy of their ID card because they’re getting their car inspected. In this case, it was neither, she was in the process of buying a new car, and before driving off the lot with her new car, the finance manager wanted to confirm she has a current and active car insurance policy.
The straight line winds that struck Dallas last week sheared limbs from trees and blew a lot of trees over. Some had their trunks snapped while others were simply pushed over exposing their roots by the 75 plus mile per hour winds. When the trees fell, they landed harmlessly on a person’s yard, or they landed on the homes they shaded, cars parked in the driveway, or other structures. Seeing the destruction a tree can cause, I was reminded of a claim I saw early in my career.
If you have a son or daughter heading off to college, you’re in the midst of getting everything together, packed, and ready to either take them to school or preparing them to head off on their own. As busy are you may be right now, there are a couple of car insurance related topics that are worth taking a few moments to examine as a parent, and to talk about with your son or daughter before they step onto campus.
You and three of your best friends are headed to the Texas Hill country for a weekend to get away and catch up with each other. You’ve been looking forward to it for weeks! It’s been a very long week with late nights to wrap up a project before heading out of town and you’re tired. You ask one of your friends to drive your car while you rest. They accidentally clip another car while passing. No one got hurt, but it’s your friend’s fault and your car.
A client called me last week with a question about how to handle something. Her teen had been in a little accident with an adult, and it was the adult’s fault. The good news is the teen was unhurt and the damage to her car was minimal; the bumpers simply rubbed together. According to the body shop the client visited, they could either remove, sand, and repaint the bumper or replace it. The difference in cost was minimal.
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