The value of a totaled vehicle is one of the most contested car insurance claims. Is it too low, is it fair, or is it more than you expected? It doesn’t have to be, based on a recent article in the Dallas Morning News by Jerry Reynolds. His article, “How to Negotiate with Insurers,” suggests, if you’re willing to do a little homework, you’ll know whether the offer you receive for your totaled or stolen vehicle is fair or not.
A client texted me early Monday morning letting me know his car was broken into overnight. The good news was his car wasn’t stolen. What was stolen, though, was his wallet, watch, possibly his passport, a ring, and a few other items. His question was, did his car insurance policy cover this? He has “full” coverage policy on his car which results in a yes and no answer. Let’s look at the reasoning behind the two answers.
In July of this year, news agencies announced Wells Fargo forced unwanted car insurance on 500,000 to over 800,000 of its car loan customers, most of whom had valid car insurance. The type of insurance used is referred to as forced place or lenders insurance. The results of this practice were devastating; 274,000 of Wells Fargo’s customers were forced into delinquency and 25,000 vehicles were wrongfully repossessed. Wells Fargo reaped millions in revenue and fees from this practice.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Corpus Christi nearly two weeks ago then moved eastward along the Texas coast where it stalled over Houston for several days before moving on to Louisiana and off to the northeast. A one-thousand-year flood resulted from the trillions of gallons of water that fell along the Texas coast, enough to depress the earth’s crust by 2 centimeters. The estimate on the number of cars destroyed by Harvey ranges between 500,000 and 1,000,000. Let’s examine what kind of car insurance covers your car from flood damage.
There are a couple of car insurance related topics every parent of a college student should discuss with their son or daughter before they head off to school. Both have a financial impact on the family’s car insurance rate. The biggest one is allowing a friend or roommate to drive their car or truck if they take one to school. The other one relates to grades. Let’s review this issue and ways to lower your car insurance rate.
My office is in east Dallas one of the melting pot areas of the metroplex. Across the street on both corners are two insurance agencies which advertise car insurance for as little as $25 to $30 a month. You may wonder if it’s a sweetheart deal that no one really gets, so I thought I’d answer the question in this post which wraps up a look at liability oriented car insurance. The answer is yes, no, and what are truly getting or giving up!
I’ve had a couple of conversations over the past two weeks on the topic of when to drop, or not even start with, full coverage car insurance (for more on what is full coverage car insurance vs liability only coverage, see last week’s post https://wiseinsurancegroup.com/full-coverage-vs-liability-car-insurance/). Some believe in dropping full coverage when the vehicle’s loan is paid off while others use the car’s age to make that decision. Let’s look at these two criteria, as well as one more.
Some people comparing car insurance cost will request a liability only policy while others request a quote for full coverage car insurance. Most people have a general idea what they are requesting when asking for one or the other, but they may not understand this can be written several ways. Let’s contrast the two and look at how both can be written.
Do you get weak in the knees looking at pictures of a Shelby Cobra, an Ultima Evolution, Catarham Seven or a Kirkham 289 Coupe? Do you dream of a Lister Bell STR, the Lamborghini Diablo, or the Ford GT40? You may not be able to afford the real thing, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, but there is a way to come close with a kit car. There are some amazing car kits with nice engines and the perks of our current vehicles for those who are interested. The issue I’d like to address is what kind of car insurance does a kit car need?
A client called me last week who was surprised at the increase of adding his youngest son with a brand-new driver’s license to the family car insurance policy. I’m reviewing his options, but thought this was a great example of how car insurance companies take different approaches concerning vehicle assignment when adding a teen driver. These differences can result in some very surprising rates, especially if the new driver will be sharing one of the family cars!
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