When most people think about auto insurance, they think about damage to their car. The truth is, auto insurance covers much more than just your car.
Given the shear amount of cars on the road and the distractions drivers deal with every day, the chances of being involved in a car accident are plentiful.
You’re at risk literally every single day you get in your car.
It’s important to understand what your coverage options are, not just for your car, but for you, and people who may be injured as a result of your negligence.
Having adequate car insurance limits is serious business. If you were ever involved in an accident, and found to be at-fault for someone else’s bodily injuries, you could literally lose everything if you’re not properly insured.
What a lot of people don’t realize is, having great coverage doesn’t necessarily mean having higher insurance premiums. Because Verlinde Insurance is 100% independent, we can take your current coverages and compare them with a wide range of insurance providers to see who offers you the best deal possible.
The best part? It doesn’t cost you a penny more to use us. We get no override or fee. We are compensated by the insurance carriers directly, and work on your behalf to properly cover your needs and exposures, and make sure that there are no hidden gaps in your policy.
No two insurance contracts are the same, and while two policies side-by-side might look the same, the fine print behind the cover page can vary from company to company.
Important Auto Insurance Coverages
When you browse through your policy, you may see certain coverages and wonder exactly what they are, and why they’re on your policy. Let us clarify a few of the more important ones for you.
Collision Coverage — this is the part of your policy that covers your car in the event you damage the car itself somehow, as a result of an accident with a fixed or moving object like another car, a curb, a house, a guard rail, etc..
Comprehensive Coverage — this coverage also protects your car, but in the event that something else damages your car, that is not a fixed, or moving object. For example, theft, a rock that cracks your windshield while you’re driving on the highway, an animal you might hit, and so on.
Property Damage — suppose you damage someones car in an accident, or a guard rail, house, or some other property that belongs to someone else. This is the part of your policy that compensates the other person for that damage
Bodily Injury Liability — this coverage protects your financial interest in the event you injure another party in an accident. This is the part of your policy that pays that other party for their medical bills and related expenses. Due to the high cost of medical care, it’s dangerous to carry liability limits that are too low. This is something we can help you decide on.
Un-insured & Under-insured Liability — this coverage pays you, in the event that you are injured by another party, and that other party was either unidentified, or they weren’t carrying a high enough limit of Bodily Injury Liability to cover your expenses. This is also a very important part of your auto policy because you have zero control over how much insurance other people are driving around with.
Common Auto Insurance Rating Variables
Age — insurance companies use your age in their overall rating algorithms. Drivers who are under 25, and over 65 typically don’t get preferred rates because statistics show that those two age demographics have the most loss frequency and are therefore more at risk for financial loss due to an auto accident
Credit — credit is a metric that has been used in insurance scoring for many years. The better your credit, the more favorable your rates will usually be
Car — the type of car, engine size, safety features, etc.. are all par of the rate of course
Driving History — your driving record and loss history plays a substantial role in the price. If you have a spotty driving history, or multiple moving violations or accidents, chances are, you won’t get a preferred rate until those things are at least 3 years old
Household — insurance companies underwrite at the household level, meaning they try to judge based on the entire household, what the probability of loss will be. If there are multiple drivers in the house who are under the age of 25, that will impact everyone’s pricing in the household
How to get started
Verlinde Insurance makes the process of finding the best company and price easy.
To get started, click the button below, or call our office directly to speak with a member of our staff!