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Top five tips to help save you hundreds on your car insurance

12 December 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

car insurance

“Sometimes going direct to an insurer can be cheaper but in many cases motorists will get a lower price by going through a broker – particularly where they don’t perfectly match the big insurance companies’ target customers of Mr and Mrs, 40-year-olds, with full no-claims bonuses, no penalty points and driving a VW Golf,” said Brian McNelis, director with the Irish Brokers Association (IBA).

“A huge proportion of motorists will end up paying more if they don’t ask a broker to price their insurance for them. Also, should you need to make a claim, you need an independent person such as your broker to advise you on what you’re entitled to. Relying on an insurer to show you the small print that could make a big difference in the outcome of your claim seems somewhat illogical.”

McNelis, however, also said there is fierce price competition in the direct-insurance market (where consumers buy their insurance directly from an insurer instead of from a broker). “It can be hard for brokers to compete with direct Irish insurers [on price] – unless they go outside the country to a non-direct insurer,” said McNelis.

Commissions also come into play. Car-insurance brokers typically earn commissions of between 5pc and 10pc, according to the IBA. A discussion paper published by the Central Bank last June found that motor insurance brokers typically earn between 7.5pc and 10pc commission. Furthermore, “better rates of commission have been negotiated individually by some brokers and the Central Bank also observed some profit-share arrangements between general insurers and some larger intermediaries”, said the paper.

It is always worth contacting different insurers and brokers to see if you can get a better deal on your car insurance – particularly if you’re facing a steep price increase. Be sure to highlight your claims-free history (if you have one) when shopping around – some insurers offer a bigger no-claims bonus than five years so you may get a better discount if you have not made a claim for the last seven or more years.

By Louise McBride

See full story at www.independent.ie

10 Ways to Lower Car Insurance Costs

7 December 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Car insurance is a significant operating cost, especially for large families, those with low credit scores, and drivers with imperfect track records. But with some work, there are ways to lower car insurance costs.

Here, we present 10 strategies to consider.

1. Do an Annual Rate Check

If you’ve been with the same insurer a long time, it might be tough to beat its rates, especially if you haven’t filed any claims lately. In fact, a 2014 survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found that only 10 percent of 19,000 CR.org subscribers who compared premiums found they would save money by switching.

2. Pick a Top-Rated Insurer

Saving money isn’t simply a matter of finding the lowest premium. Some insurers have lower premiums but end up costing you more in the end by lowballing loss estimates, hassling repair shops to cut corners, and forcing you to pay extra for original-equipment replacement parts. They might even unfairly jack up your premiums after an accident.

We surveyed 64,872 CR.org subscribers in 2014. Eighty-eight percent of them were highly satisfied with the handling of their claims. Among the highest-rated groups were USAA, Amica, and NJM, with overall satisfaction scores of 90 or higher.

3. Set the Right Deductible

A higher deductible reduces your premium because you pay more out of pocket if you have a claim. Hiking your deductible from $200 to $500 can cut your premium on collision by 15 to 30 percent. Go to $1,000 and you could save 40 percent.

If you have a good driving record and haven’t had an at-fault accident in years—if ever—opting for a higher deductible on collision might be a good bet. Just make sure you can afford to pay that cost if your luck runs out.

4. Review All of Your Coverage

Your liability coverage pays for bodily injury and property damage that you cause. Don’t get caught short by reducing your liability limits to the state minimums. Buying more coverage might seem like an odd way to save, but the benefit comes if you have a costly claim, which can put your life’s savings at risk.

If you have another car you can use while your vehicle is being repaired, you don’t need to pay for rental-reimbursement coverage. Dump roadside assistance if you have an auto-club membership that’s a better deal or if it’s part of your new car’s warranty.

Think carefully about personal-injury protection and medical-payments coverage. Forget it if you have good health coverage; keep it if you don’t or if your usual passengers aren’t well-insured.

See full story at www.consumerreports.org

5 Tips for Getting the Best Value on Car Insurance

5 December 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

If you’re already insured, check your policy to see what you’re now paying, then follow these steps

1. Shop often. Check out several different insurance companies every two to three years. Maybe your situation has changed—say you’re driving fewer miles, which can lower your premium a little. Or maybe the carrier has adjusted its underwriting or rating in ways that help, or hurt, your bottom line. You get little benefit from sticking with the same insurer year in and year out; our research in the past has found that the “long-term customer discount” is mostly a myth.

2. Cast a wide net. Try shopping on TheZebra.com, which uses data from Quadrant, a private company that collects and analyzes rate filings supplied directly by insurers. (Quadrant is also the company we engaged for our price analyses.) The Zebra offers estimates from 18 to 35 insurers, depending on the state. That compares with just 3 to 10 quotes provided by other sites, including Insurance.com, NetQuote, and NerdWallet.

3. Consider raising collision and comprehensive deductibles. Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle caused by impact with another car or object, regardless of who’s at fault. Comprehensive covers theft of your vehicle and damage from fire, flood, a falling branch, and the like. The average driver files a comprehensive or collision claim only once every 5 to 10 years, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The higher your deductible—the amount you pay before insurance kicks in—the lower your premium, especially for collision, as shown at right.

By Tobie Stanger

See full story at www.consumerreports.org

Essential Tips for Saving More on Auto Insurance Costs

30 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Auto insurance can weigh heavily on the budget of your family. It is a very important investment and any drivers have to purchase auto insurance in order to legally drive in United States. If you do not have so much money to spend on auto insurance, you should fin way to reduce the premiums. Follow our guide and you will certainly save some bucks. Read our list with top 4 tips to save money on auto insurance.

Make your car safer to drive. Each car comes with a safety rating, obtained after a series of tests. If the car is considered very safe, it will be very cheap to insure. But if this is not the case, you should make some efforts to ensure a higher safety degree. Check specialized shops and websites and buy efficient devices. Installing anti-theft and tracking devices is also a good idea that will lower the premiums.
Combine car insurance policies with one carrier. If you plan buying multiple policies, why not buying them from the same car insurance companies? It is highly probable that the cost of bundling them will be lower than purchasing them individually.
Drive less and save more. Car insurance companies will ask you to approximate an annual mileage for the vehicle you want to insure. If you do not drive that much and you use it only to go to work, you can surely ask for a low-mileage discount.
Increase the deductibles. A deductible is the amount of money you pay for an accident until the policy kicks in. if you select a high deductible, the premiums will be lower.

See full story at www.lowestcarinsuranceratesonline.com

Mistakes to avoid when buying car insurance

28 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Car insurance is purchased with the main intention of covering expenses in case of an accident to ensure you can repair or replace your vehicle. However, there are pitfalls in the process of buying insurance which could result in you buying insurance that is not suitable for your needs and sometimes lead to complications when you need to claim in the future. iWYZE shares their tips on what consumers should be aware of when buying insurance.

Not comparing your insurance quotes

There are many insurance providers, but consumers often settle for the first offer they receive without comparing quotes. Shopping around will allow you to weigh up options of offers, deals and benefits that are suitable to your requirements that are available in the industry.

Going for the cheapest offer

Consumers are constantly looking for better premiums to fit their budgets; however, cheap insurance is not always the answer to cover your most valuable assets. The trick is to not be blinded by the cheapest offer and to ensure you are sufficiently covered which is the purpose of insurance. The financial consequences can be devastating if you have insufficient insurance cover and need to pay for the repairs or replacement out of your pocket.

Omitting information/Dishonesty to your insurer

An insurance policy is a legal agreement between two parties: the insurance provider and the policyholder. It is a contract between them that if the policy holder pays their premiums, the provider will cover them accordingly in the event of loss or damage. Both parties need to be honest in order for the agreement to be valid. Your quotation is offered based on the information you provide to the insurer to help them assess the risks involved in covering you. If you omit information – this could impact you at claim stage. As a legal contract, lying to your insurer will result in your claim being rejected.

Insisting on lower premiums

Most people want lower premiums and do not realise in order to get cover of the same value at lower premiums, it may result in increases their excess fee. It is advisable to select a lower excess as accidents are unplanned and if the excess is too high, it will be hard to raise the required funds immediately.

Unfortunately, most mistakes made when buying car insurance are done in an effort to reduce costs but this ends up costing you more than you realise. These mistakes are seldom picked up in time to be corrected before you need to claim. This is the reason it is so important for you to consistently assess and review your insurance contract to ensure the information provided is correct, relevant and you are covered for the correct value.

See full story at motoring.iafrica.com

Pet Insurance Tips on How to Get the Best Deal

23 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Deciding that you’re going to get pet insurance for your non-speaking friends, it’s great because it means you want to take care of them as best as possible. However, you also need to take care of yourself and you can do that by making sure you are choosing the best deal available in terms of pet insurance. There are enough pet insurance options out there for someone to easily get confused or make the wrong choice which they will regret later on.

Research the market thoroughly

You should never choose the first service that pops up in your Google search results. It’s important to make sure that you are actually choosing the best option for you and research is the only way to accomplish this. When you’re looking for a pet insurer, be certain that you’ve investigated all the potential solutions on the market currently so that you can have your pick of the litter when it’s time to pick one.

Go with the winning record

The best way to tell if a pet insurer is any good is by checking out their track record. Depending on how they’ve conducted business in the past, leading up to the present, you can determine whether or not they’re a trustworthy pick and if they’re an insurer you should deal with. Asking other pet owning friends or just comparing feedback from customers of various insurance providers is a good way to get a feel of what it offered.

Make sure it’s what you need

You wouldn’t be the first person to sign an insurance deal only to find out later that the medical reasons for which they’ve gotten insurance in the first place aren’t actually covered by said insurance. It’s very important to make sure that you know precisely what’s covered and what factors can influence covered items.

See full story at www.finsmes.com

How to Save on Car Insurance by Using 5 Simple Tips

21 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Auto insurance is an important investment. However, many drivers do not have an easy time finding affordable coverage. It is now possible to use online car insurance quotes to find affordable premiums. However, besides comparing prices, clients can also use other four simple tips to reduce coverage expenses:

Complete defensive driving courses. This can help high-risk drivers find affordable coverage for their vehicles.
Exclude high-risk drivers from a policy. A high-risk driver signed on a policy will increase prices for all the other covered parties.
Instal safety equipment
Increase the deductible.

How to get the best car insurance prices

An auto insurance quote is a simple tool that helps clients understand the basics of a policy. Every quote displays the following details about a plan: the price, the coverage type and amount and the provider who sells the policy. By getting multiple car insurance quotes on the same web page, http://www.cheapinsuranceforyoungdriver.com/ can help clients compare various policies, which is the best way to find coverage at competitive prices.

The auto insurance market is competitive and online quotes give clients the edge they need to take advantage of the competition. A simple quote comparison can reveal great policies that anyone can apply and qualify for.

“Online car insurance quotes are a great way to save more on your vehicle coverage,” said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Cheapinsuranceforyoungdriver.com is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.

See full story at markets.businessinsider.com

Tips to ensure your insurance claims are processed after severe weather conditions

16 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Recent severe weather has cursed South Africa with disastrous hailstorms, rain and strong winds. The country witnessed roofs being torn off houses, roads being flooded and sweeping everything in their path, cars overturned and involved in accidents, uprooted trees and walls and most regrettably, people losing their lives. As those affected by the severe weather try to pick up the pieces, homeowners and insurance companies are experiencing a massive increase in insured losses.

South Africa has seen a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of severe weather conditions over the last six years and there is no denying the impact of climate change in the insurance sector.

The recent weather conditions reminded one of the hail storms that took place last year in Bedfordview during November, which claimed lives and caused massive damages to property and vehicles.

Mandy Barrett, insurance broker and risk advisors at Aon South Africa, said, “With much of October and November still ahead of us, traditionally the months that have tallied the most severe weather events and financial losses, there is a need for extra precautions.

The severity of the flooding and damage we are seeing is alarming and while there is little that you can do to prevent a flood, there are some important tips that can help protect your personal safety and assets in such freak weather conditions.”

Barrett advised the following:

On the road

Take note of weather warnings and if possible, avoid being on the road or out during such times.
Avoid driving in heavy downpours. Never attempt to drive through a flooded area of the road.
If caught in a flash flood on the road, get yourself to safety as quickly as possible. If you can, get out of the vehicle and get to high ground. Don’t close all the windows as the water will cause a vacuum and trap you in the car.
Many car accident claims are due to slippery roads and potholes. Tyre damage is a common occurrence and is normally not covered by a motor insurance policy unless another part of the vehicle is damaged at the same time.
Check your tyre tread and replace worn tyres, an accident claim could potentially be repudiated if the tread is deemed insufficient to have stopped the vehicle in time. The legally required minimum tread depth is 1.6mm.
Increase your following distance and reduce your speed to allow enough time to react.
Watch out for potholes as they are filled with water in rainy conditions. Heavy rainfalls can also cause potholes to appear where there weren’t any previously.
Watch for motorists swerving to avoid objects on the road and be prepared to do the same.
Many traffic lights are out of order during heavy rain, so drive carefully.
Roads are congested with many tempers fraying, keep your cool.

By Andile Dlodlo

See full story at randburgsun.co.za

4 Tips to Lower Business Insurance Premiums

14 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Navigating the complexities of business insurance can be daunting, but the good news is that there are actions business owners can take to lower business insurance premiums.

Business insurance premiums are influenced by several factors, including your business’s risk profile. That’s why it’s important to have a high level of communication with your insurance broker: he or she is the one responsible for relaying key data about your business’s risk profile to insurance carriers. The carriers then assess that data to provide a premium estimate. When a business has few claims and demonstrates that it has a safe workplace, it can lower business insurance premiums.

Here are four ways to mitigate your risks and make your business more desirable to insurance carriers.

Create an Employee Handbook and Keep it Updated

Make sure your rules and procedures are up to date and documented in a comprehensive employee handbook that includes your policies to maintain a safe workplace. New hires should receive a copy of the handbook, and all employees should receive an updated copy on an annual basis.

Take the time to review it with your entire team annually to make sure everyone understands your policies and has the chance to ask questions. This review will also help ensure consistency in how rules and procedures are enforced.

Additionally, review your employee handbook at least once a year with your lawyer and insurance agent to make sure it includes current information and any new industry requirements.

Launch a Robust Safety Training Program

With a comprehensive handbook in place that outlines your safety initiatives, the next step is to institute an employee safety training program that offers courses tailored to various roles, such as driver safety. Offer different types of programming to ensure materials are accessible to different learning styles, including options like training videos, in-person workshops, infographics, short quizzes, etc. Be sure to also include the training program as part of employee onboarding.

Not only will you and your clients benefit from a well-trained, safe workforce, this kind of program shows insurance carriers that you take safety seriously and go a step beyond putting rules in a handbook—and this can help lower business insurance premiums.

By Luke Wester

See full story at thebossmagazine.com

5 tips to make sure your insurance claim goes through

9 November 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

“There are common pitfalls we see time and time again that result in insurance claims being repudiated, or only partially paid out because the ‘contract’ has been broken,”says Bertus Visser, chief executive of distribution at PSG Insure..

Below are five key examples to avoid…

1. The regular driver and owner of a vehicle differ on a policy

An example of where this happens is if a parent is the policyholder and a student child purchases a car that is insured under the parent’s policy. Because the vehicle was purchased by your child, there is no insurable interest, as there will be no financial loss for you if anything happens to the vehicle. If your child claims, the claim will likely be rejected.

Top tip: Clearly let your adviser know the full details of any vehicle added to a policy, so that appropriate cover can be put in place. Do not assume that simply adding a vehicle to a policy will mean that it is covered.

2.Vehicle extras weren’t specified

A case in point was when a client put in a claim for a bulbar that was stolen from his bakkie. No extras were noted in his policy and the sum insured was only sufficient to cover the bakkie itself. The claim was therefore rejected.

Top tip: Ensure that any fittings, such as bull bars and all accessories like a sound system or canopy are specified as extras, in addition to the sum insured value of your vehicle. Also keep in mind that you might need cover for mag rims on your tyres, so keep their replacement value in mind – anything you have changed or upgraded compared to the standard vehicle must be noted.

3. Security specifications weren’t discussed

All too common, this is an issue when claiming for a burglary. If your security features weren’t enabled at the time of the burglary, the claim will likely get rejected.

Top tip: Make sure you ask about any elements of your cover that are your responsibility. If you are covered for having a locked security gate, an active electric fence or burglar bars on your windows, these features need to be in place and in good working order at all times. This will keep both your property and you safe.

4. You moved but didn’t say anything to your insurer

If you move house and don’t notify your insurer of your new address, any claims at the new premises will be rejected. This might seem like an obvious change to make to your policy but we do experience clients forgetting.

Top tip: Insurers usually require that you give written notice of your new permanent, physical address before you move. This is because your new address means your risk has changed and your premium may also change.

See full story at businesstech.co.za

Insurance Agency Singapore | Commercial Insurance and Personal Insurance