Insuring business vehicles isn't cheap. John Schack, vice president and chief sales officer with insurance brokerage HUB International, offers these tips for keeping your premiums down:
* IMPLEMENT LOSS-CONTROL MEASURES. Evaluate the necessity of trips during bad weather or heavy traffic periods, use vehicles for business purposes only, and keep vehicles in good operating Condition.
* VERIFY THE GARAGING LOCATION OF VEHICLES. If vehicles are taken home at night, the garaging location may have a lower cost factor.
* INCREASE DEDUCTIBLES. Schack recommends a minimum of $500.
* DON'T BUY COVERAGE YOU DON'T NEED. Consider not buying comprehensive or collision coverage on older cars. Also, vehicles used strictly for business by employees may not need medical-payment coverage if injuries would be covered under workers' compensation insurance. But business owners and corporate officers are typically excluded under workers' comp, so review your coverage carefully before dropping anything.
* FOR COMPANY-OWNED PRIVATE PASSENGER VEHICLES, check for savings in insuring them on a personal-lines policy, rating the usage as business and listing the company name as an additional insured.
Talk to your insurance agent about these and other ways to reduce auto-insurance premiums.
JACQUELYN LYNN is a freelance business writer in Orlando, Florida.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Auto Insurance Scams are Big Business In Russia.
M2 PRESSWIRE-23 November 2004-Axcess News: Auto Insurance Scams are Big Business In Russia(C)1994-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD RDATE:11232004 (AXcess News) Moscow - Reforms in Russia often inspire new and innovative scams because laws are incapable of evolving fast enough to control every aspect of the changes in society.
When car insurance became obligatory in January 2004, there were no new norms installed to regulate the process. The resulting loopholes provided a fertile ground for people duping insurance companies. Auto insurance fraud is the most common form of insurance ...
When car insurance became obligatory in January 2004, there were no new norms installed to regulate the process. The resulting loopholes provided a fertile ground for people duping insurance companies. Auto insurance fraud is the most common form of insurance ...
Premium performance: give your vehicle the coverage it deserves - Auto Insurance - B.E. Personal Finance; Part 1
In our continued quest to give you tangible tips on making the most of your hard-earned dollars, BLACK ENTERPRISE begins a new series on auto coverage. We'll show you how to shop around and tell you what to look for.
You can say this much for the folks in the auto insurance industry: they always find a way to boost a policyholder's premium. If you're a staid, middle-aged family man leading a quiet life in an exclusive suburb, they'll stick you by labeling your conservative sedan a "high risk" car. A grandmother who drives only to church on Sundays will get nabbed for living in a rough part of town. And if you're the average driver wirh a few tickers, they've got you on your record.
But don't despair. Here's some advice on ways to slash your premium immediately, by as much as 20%. You'll be pleasantly surprised to find that, in most cases, all you need to know is what discounts to ask for and what you can press your agent to do for you.
* Get credit on safety features. Be sure to tell insurers about all the extras that make your car safer to drive--and in their eyes, less likely to cause an accident. If you have air bags, you qualify for a 20%-50% discount on the medical and personal injury part of your coverage. Automatic safety belts can get you a 10%-30% discount.
Some states, like Florida, New Jersey and New York, require insurers to discount drivers with antilock brakes, but drivers elsewhere may also reap benefits. Ask about such amenities as car alarms, hood-and-wheel locking devices and window identification systems. Also check out visibility features, like daytime running lights.
* Raise your deductible. You probably already know that the deductible in your policy is the amount you're willing to pay before your insurer forks over any money. Raising your deductible, even by just a small amount, can make a big difference in your premium.
Boosting your deductible from $200 to $500 can garner you a 15%-30% savings on both collision and comprehensive coverage, says Jeanne Salvatore of the Insurance Information Institute. In fact, when we called around we found that a female driver with a clean driving record could figure to spend $350 over a six-month period with a $100 deductible. By increasing it to $500, she'd shell out only $290 during the same period and save over $120 on the comprehensive and collision portions of her bill annually.
* Drop collision and comprehensive coverages. Collision coverage pays for damages caused to your vehicle and can be the most expensive part of your policy. Damages to your car caused by fire, theft, vandalism and natural disasters are covered under comprehensive coverages. But if your car is worth less than $1,000, there's really no need to carry either, says Salvatore. That's because if any major damage costs more to fix than the value of your car, your insurer simply won't pay to repair or replace it. Ask your insurer how much they'd pay and also check the Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com), available at most public libraries, or consult a car dealer or bank.
* Keep it low-profile. Buying a new car? That shiny number out on the dealer's lot might cost you more than you expect. That's because insurers rate cars based on a number of factors, including the cost of the car, theft rate, cost to repair and safety record. Mid-size and larger family cars generally run you less, says Salvatore, but sometimes minor differences can cause a major jump in your rates. Think a Volvo is the safest thing on the road? Well, while a 45-year-old man living in Queens, New York, would spend $1,249 a year to insure a Ford Taurus, he'll have to cough up $2,313 for a Volvo. "Some cars may be very safe, but they can be expensive to replace if stolen and costly to repair," says Salvatore.
* Ditch miscellaneous extras. You'll be offered lots of extras, like rental car reimbursements and towing and labor insurance. Think twice. Though they may seem cheap, they don't always add up. Rental reimbursement generally pays a low rate--$15 a day on average--far less than the cost of the car. The same goes for towing. If you don't already belong to an automobile club that generally covers this, you're going to find the insurer reimburses only a fraction of the cost--$25-$75--which you could probably afford to pay yourself. Our advice is to first find out how much your insurer will pay, then consider if you have these services covered elsewhere.
BE advises you ask what other discounts insurers give. It varies from state to state and agency to agency. Here are some of the more common ones we found:
* Carpoolers. Insurers figure if you're in a carpool you're probably driving less, and will reward you by cutting your rate 10%-20%.
* Driver training or defensive driver courses. Enrollment in one of the schools approved by your local Department of Motor Vehicles can cut your rates by 5%-15%.
* Good drivers. No accidents or moving violations in the last three to five years? Good drivers in California, for example, get a mandatory 20% reduction.
You can say this much for the folks in the auto insurance industry: they always find a way to boost a policyholder's premium. If you're a staid, middle-aged family man leading a quiet life in an exclusive suburb, they'll stick you by labeling your conservative sedan a "high risk" car. A grandmother who drives only to church on Sundays will get nabbed for living in a rough part of town. And if you're the average driver wirh a few tickers, they've got you on your record.
But don't despair. Here's some advice on ways to slash your premium immediately, by as much as 20%. You'll be pleasantly surprised to find that, in most cases, all you need to know is what discounts to ask for and what you can press your agent to do for you.
* Get credit on safety features. Be sure to tell insurers about all the extras that make your car safer to drive--and in their eyes, less likely to cause an accident. If you have air bags, you qualify for a 20%-50% discount on the medical and personal injury part of your coverage. Automatic safety belts can get you a 10%-30% discount.
Some states, like Florida, New Jersey and New York, require insurers to discount drivers with antilock brakes, but drivers elsewhere may also reap benefits. Ask about such amenities as car alarms, hood-and-wheel locking devices and window identification systems. Also check out visibility features, like daytime running lights.
* Raise your deductible. You probably already know that the deductible in your policy is the amount you're willing to pay before your insurer forks over any money. Raising your deductible, even by just a small amount, can make a big difference in your premium.
Boosting your deductible from $200 to $500 can garner you a 15%-30% savings on both collision and comprehensive coverage, says Jeanne Salvatore of the Insurance Information Institute. In fact, when we called around we found that a female driver with a clean driving record could figure to spend $350 over a six-month period with a $100 deductible. By increasing it to $500, she'd shell out only $290 during the same period and save over $120 on the comprehensive and collision portions of her bill annually.
* Drop collision and comprehensive coverages. Collision coverage pays for damages caused to your vehicle and can be the most expensive part of your policy. Damages to your car caused by fire, theft, vandalism and natural disasters are covered under comprehensive coverages. But if your car is worth less than $1,000, there's really no need to carry either, says Salvatore. That's because if any major damage costs more to fix than the value of your car, your insurer simply won't pay to repair or replace it. Ask your insurer how much they'd pay and also check the Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com), available at most public libraries, or consult a car dealer or bank.
* Keep it low-profile. Buying a new car? That shiny number out on the dealer's lot might cost you more than you expect. That's because insurers rate cars based on a number of factors, including the cost of the car, theft rate, cost to repair and safety record. Mid-size and larger family cars generally run you less, says Salvatore, but sometimes minor differences can cause a major jump in your rates. Think a Volvo is the safest thing on the road? Well, while a 45-year-old man living in Queens, New York, would spend $1,249 a year to insure a Ford Taurus, he'll have to cough up $2,313 for a Volvo. "Some cars may be very safe, but they can be expensive to replace if stolen and costly to repair," says Salvatore.
* Ditch miscellaneous extras. You'll be offered lots of extras, like rental car reimbursements and towing and labor insurance. Think twice. Though they may seem cheap, they don't always add up. Rental reimbursement generally pays a low rate--$15 a day on average--far less than the cost of the car. The same goes for towing. If you don't already belong to an automobile club that generally covers this, you're going to find the insurer reimburses only a fraction of the cost--$25-$75--which you could probably afford to pay yourself. Our advice is to first find out how much your insurer will pay, then consider if you have these services covered elsewhere.
BE advises you ask what other discounts insurers give. It varies from state to state and agency to agency. Here are some of the more common ones we found:
* Carpoolers. Insurers figure if you're in a carpool you're probably driving less, and will reward you by cutting your rate 10%-20%.
* Driver training or defensive driver courses. Enrollment in one of the schools approved by your local Department of Motor Vehicles can cut your rates by 5%-15%.
* Good drivers. No accidents or moving violations in the last three to five years? Good drivers in California, for example, get a mandatory 20% reduction.
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