Never Assume That You Are Sufficiently Covered
Motor insurance is a topic that all car owners should have a basic comprehension of. When one of my co-workers recently bought a new motor vehicle, she had an informal talk with some of our other colleagues, enquiring about their protection plans, insurance type and insurance fees and I was astonished to hear how clueless many of my colleagues were about their auto insurance policies.
If you ask the question: “Do you have vehicle insurance?” the answer is generally “yes”. But when you try to obtain additional information about the type of cover and the exclusions and conditions, lots of individuals look at you with a very baffled look on their faces. Individuals just assume that their responsibilities end the day they accept their car insurance quote. The truth is in fact that that is only the beginning. If you do not have a clear understanding of the conditions and terms of your contract, and what all the small print actually means, you can end up not being covered by insurance for everything you take for granted!
Let’s have a look at some of the elements that are not always automatically included with standard insurance plans:
Acts of God. An act of God is the term given to an occurrence that has nothing to do with human interference. This may refer to anything from a tornado to an earthquake. When getting a car insurance quote you have to clearly specify if you would require this type of cover to be included with your coverage.
Breakdown assistance. Some policies include a program where they will send out someone to give you a hand if you have a breakdown next to the road. This will generally include having your motor vehicle towed to the nearest repair garage and making sure that you get home safe and sound. This is once again available as an add-on to an existing policy and can typically be obtained at a very reasonable price.
Rental-car. This is similar to the above, but the insurance carrier will in this instance supply you with a rental-car for the duration that your car is being fixed. There are generally strict stipulations as to the type of motor vehicle supplied, the duration that the loan vehicle will be available etc. Ensure that you confirm this with the insurance company when enquiring about their car rental option.
Additional drivers. If you are the named driver on your vehicle, you simply can’t assume that your better half, child, colleague or any other person will be covered when driving the car. Extra drivers should be named or otherwise you have to pick a fully comprehensive insurance option where your car will be covered regardless of who the driver is at the time of the accident.
Obtaining a car insurance quote is really not a difficult task. You can make use of a professional broker or simply pop in at your local insurance company and discuss your needs and requirements. Even easier is visiting the web – here you will be able to contrast and compare a number of quotes in a matter of minutes!
