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.

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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.

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Good behavior is rewarded by top car insurance companies, according to a recent article by Motley Fool writer Selena Maranjian.  In “5 Car Insurance Surprises,” some benefits and downsides that you may not be aware of are highlighted.  Some insurance companies offer accident forgiveness for your first at-fault accident.  While you may have to be with the company for a few years before you qualify, there are insurers who offer this type of plan right away.

Having a good driving record free of accidents and violations means you will pay less for car insurance than someone without a clean record.  State Farm car insurance quotes may also give you a better rate if you have a high credit score.  You can purchase breakdown insurance which will cover repairs to your car that are not included in any warranty you may carry.  This does cost a good chunk of money though and isn’t available for cars that are too old.

More expensive cars typically cost more to insure, but rates can actually vary significantly from company to company based on your make and model.  That is why it is so important to shop around and get numerous quotes from companies like Mercury insurance.  As long as you were not at fault in an accident, fourteen states have the option of diminished value insurance coverage.  This will compensate you for any difference between what was covered in damage to your car and what value you may have lost.

Gap insurance is available to cover any difference between what your insurer pays you for the value of your totaled car and what you actually owe on the car.  It is possible that without this coverage, you would have to pay the difference out of pocket between your loan or lease amount and the money covered by insurance.  That is in addition to buying another car.  Shop around online for car insurance because Consumer Reports says that 14% of you could pay less with another insurer.

In recent years car insurance companies have realized that “one size fits all” really doesn’t apply to car insurance plans.  The New York Post article “Pay-as-you-drive insurance revs up” by Jeremy Olshan describes a new way to get some traffic off the clogged New York streets.  We recently wrote about insurance companies trying out the pay-as-you-drive system while some places in the country have been using this system for years.  The Bloomberg administration in New York is hoping that a system like this where you save money the less you drive will help keep some drivers off the road and unclog the streets.

While insurance companies traditionally made up for the more frequent accidents by high mileage drivers with premiums from low mileage drivers, this new way of charging customers would change all that.  Driving could be reduced by as much as 8%, emissions by as much as 2%, and oil consumption could go down as much as 4% with these incentives.  A State Farm insurance quote could lower drivers’ rates by up to $270 per car just by installing a device in your car that monitors the number of miles you drive and other driving habits.

Progressive’s Snapshot plan was approved in New York just recently.  In other states, drivers have saved as much as 30% off of their premiums by having their mileage and driving time monitored for six months.  Progressive also looks at acceleration and hard braking and takes those factors into account.  GMAC offers insurance plans using monitoring from their OnStar systems.  The pay-as-you-go plans are not yet available in New York, but have been successful around the country.  Drivers must drive less than 15,000 miles a year to qualify.  Those driving fewer than 5,000 miles a year have received over half off their premiums.  While some are concerned about privacy related to tracking drivers, the ability to save money and cut down on traffic seems to override that.