Travel Insurance 24

It sure it hot outside in most of the United States right now.  The heat affects many things, but some people may not realize how much it affects their cars.  Car insurance companies are well aware of increased wear and tear on cars in the hot summer months, and carefully compare what is covered by insurance by what is not.  Madison, Wisconsins WEAU News d some of AAAs Tips to help your car survive the heat.  Most drivers perform routine maintenance to protect their cars during the cold of the winter, but you should also do some maintenance for the dog days of summer.

• Batteries: The two things that wreak havoc on batteries are heat and vibration.  It is especially important during this uncontrollable heat to make sure that your battery is mounted securely and avoid any unnecessary vibration.  Battery fluid also evaporates faster in the heat, so clean off any corrosion and make sure that all of the clamps are secure.
• Engines: Since your engine is on overdrive during the summer heat, make sure to get routine maintenance done on your cooling system to protect your engine.  Also check for any deterioration on the rubber parts in your cooling system since heat makes them wear faster.
• Tires: Make sure that your tires are properly inflated to the vehicle manufacturers recommendations.  When tires are low, you are more likely to have a blowout because of the extreme heat on the roads making your hot tires even hotter.  Infinity auto insurance and other insurers hope drivers keep tires inflated because of heat, braking, and overall handling.  This helps reduce the risk of accidents and the claims on insurers.
• Fluids: Check all of your fluid levels because fluids help cool your car by taking heat away from other car components.  Transmission, power steering, and brake fluid, as well as motor oil are important to keep at the recommended levels.
• Air Conditioning:  Make sure that your air conditioning system is checked over and well maintained.  Cool passengers and drivers are better able to function on the roads and help avoid more accidents and car troubles.

Even with all of the proper preparations, you still may have a summer car breakdown.  As many people are keeping their cars more years to save money, older cars can breakdown more often if not properly maintained.  AAA recommends having a breakdown kit in your car just in case.  Be sure to keep your car as far off the road as you can and be safe in the event of a breakdown.

Your car insurance rates from companies like Infinity auto insurance will increase dramatically the more traffic violations you receive, according to Chris Bissell of Fox Business.  In the article “Car Insurance Rates Soar as Tickets Pile Up,” there is a comparison of insurance rates with no violations to those who have one, two, and three driving violations.  Violations include speeding tickets, running red lights or stop signs, DUIs or DWIs, failure to stop or yield, reckless driving, wrong way driving, illegal U-turns, running from the police, illegal passing, not using child restraints, and more.

The average premium for an insurance policy with one-car and one-driver last year was $1,119.  That rate increases 18% with just one traffic violation to $1,318.  Cheap car insurance gets even harder to find after two traffic violations, as the average car insurance paid increases 34% to $1,497.  After three traffic violations car insurance rates are 53% higher than without any traffic violations at $1,713.  The more violations that drivers have, the more likely they are to cost car insurance companies money through crashes and increased claims.  One of the best ways to get cheap car insurance from a company like Infinity auto insurance is to drive carefully and avoid traffic violations.

A DUI or DWI is the worst violation for increasing car insurance rates pretty much across the board.  But car insurance companies do put a different weight on other violations when determining car insurance rates.  State Farm car insurance quotes take many factors into consideration and may place greater importance on some traffic violations over others.  Just about anyone can get car insurance now because competition is so high among insurers, but those with multiple violations can expect to pay more regardless of who insures them.

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According to the Rochester Homepage in New York, lawmakers in the state are working to crack down on fraudulent no-fault car insurance claims.  This is good news for car insurance companies, especially those dealing with fraud related to no-fault car insurance claims.  After a car accident, no-fault insurance allows drivers to be paid out even though the blame for the car accident is not placed on either driver.  Unfortunately, New York state lawmakers say that there are a lot of fraudulent claims being paid out and that New Yorkers are paying millions of dollars a year for these fraudulent no-fault claims.

Some criminals actually create car accidents so that they can file a no-fault insurance claim with their car insurer.  Insurance companies like Infinity auto insurance are obviously not happy about that and will be pleased to see lawmakers help cut down on false claims.  Lawmakers have already made it a felony to cause a car accident intentionally, the first step in cutting out this fraud.  Even though there aren’t that many people filing fraudulent claims, it really does effect everyone because it causes car insurance rates to increase.  Lawmakers hope to find a way to cut down on this expensive fraud very soon.

Car insurance coverage laws are ever changing which for many people can be a double edged sword for them. Every time that the majority party in the Senate or House changes, the newly elected politicians changes the rules in regards to car insurance laws.

In the state of North Carolina, the General Assembly will be voting on three car insurance related bills soon. These bills are called Senate Bill 477, Senate Bill 490, and House Bill 834. The bills are controversial because if passed and enacted they would make residents in the state face higher monthly car insurance premiums.

What these bills aim to accomplish is to strip the state’s insurance commissioner of his authority to oversee the insurance rates that car insurance companies give to their policy holders. A

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