Collision and Comprehensive Insurance in Louisiana For New Car

 

November 21, 2008 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Auto Insurance Quotes 

Reader’s Question:

I’m planning to buy a new car here in Louisiana. Will my collision and comprehensive insurance rates be affected by the model of my car?

Paula Anne

New Orleans, LA

Before you buy a car or before you buy auto insurance, try to get more information because insurance rates are definitely affected by the model of the car that you’re driving. Driving a high performance car or driving a sports car means you will to pay more for auto insurance. But this fact is not the general rule in determining insurance rates for your car. As a matter of fact, most auto insurance companies calculate your collision and comprehensive premiums by studying the car’s loss history, whether the model gets stolen very often, and the costs of its repair after an incident. Nowadays, insurers charge higher premiums to sports utility vehicles or SUVs due to recent tests that show that SUVs cause more damage in accidents than other passenger vehicles.

Auto insurance companies often utilize actuarial companies that give ratings of vehicles. Certain factors are used to determine the comprehensive and collision coverage costs in order to minimize the insurance company’s risks. Then, these actuarial companies assign a risk number to a car which is then used by the auto insurance company to calculate their policy rates. However, these risk numbers are not available to the public.

But if you want to know how much it will really cost you, you can contact an auto insurance company before you purchase a vehicle. That way, you can find out first how much you should pay for an auto insurance of a BMW or a Ford pick-up truck.

Just remember, it is better to look around for more information before jumping into conclusions or making decisions about buying a car or getting auto insurance.

Comprehensive Car Insurance – Do I Need To Have It?

 

November 9, 2008 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Comprehensive Insurance 

Reader’s Question:

Hi! My name is Jimmy, and I would like to know a couple of things about getting a car insured . I have the car financed, and I wanna know which kind of insurance would suit best for this setup. Thanks.

Jimmy

Hillsboro, OR

This should be an easy one, Jim. You’re going to need ALL of them. You have to have full coverage, Liability and Comprehensive, and Collision type. This, i think, should hold true not only there in Hillsboro, Oregon, but across all states. You see, Jimmy, finance institutions aren’t about to take the risk of not being able to retrieve the loan amount in case there is total loss. Though “full coverage” doesn’t necessarily mean your car and everything in it is covered, it still would cover “the whole car”– to include those “parts” that are permanently attached to it. Though loosely defined in this sense, it is also about the only type of vehicle insurance coverage the finance institution would want you to carry.

As with any other business, the financing firm will invariably require that you have the means to address issues involving collisions, damages to the vehicle, property, etc., etc. If you consult your finance relations officer, you’d be sure to hear the exact same thing, though maybe in a slightly more acceptable tone. But the bottom line of all this is that they want to get their money back in case you lose the car for some reason or another, and they want to make sure you can get the car fixed if it is damaged.