Avoid Car Insurance Premium Increases

Everyone who drives a car has got to have an insurance coverage. The difference is between the people who are able to pay their car insurance premium with ease, and those who have not found out how to avoid car insurance premium increases. This article will briefly outline some tips that you can use to avoid an insurance premium increase on your car insurance.

Claim Reports: Everyone knows about Credit Reports, but you must also be aware of Claim Reports; C.L.U.E. or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, is a service supplied by ChoicePoint, Inc. They state on their website that, “C.L.U.E. is a claim history information exchange that enables insurance companies to access prior claim information in the underwriting and rating process. C.L.U.E. Personal Property reports contain up to five years of personal property claims matching the search criteria submitted by the inquiring insurance company. Data provided in C.L.U.E. reports includes policy information such as name, date of birth and policy number, and claim information such as date of loss, type of loss and amounts paid.”

Car Auto Insurance Tip: C.L.U.E. reports contain information on claim history by a residential address. Just as Credit Reports do at times, a C.L.U.E. report may have errors. It is prudent to acquire a copy of your C.L.U.E. information so that you are able to check it for errors.

Credit reports: Some auto insurance companies look at Credit Reports to determine future insurance premiums. What they have done is that they have determined that people with better credit scores generally have fewer claims. As a result of which if you have a poor credit rating . . . you may also find yourself paying more for your car insurance.

Car Auto Insurance Tip: Always make it a point to at least make the minimum payment for your bills on time, particularly your insurance bill

Glass Coverage: Almost all auto insurance companies suggest that you get “full” glass coverage for a further premium when you acquire collision coverage for your car. They constantly repeat to you how much it will cost to replace all your windows if broken by a vandal. What they keep from you and it is doubtful that even they would even know, is whether your insurance company will use an earlier glass claim to raise your future premium and whether they will detail your glass claims to C.L.U.E.

There are a few insurance businesses that will report your glass claims to C.L.U.E. and then use these claims to raise your premium, or even worse, completely cancel your car insurance policy altogether, risking a rather substantial premium increase. Allstate will notify a customer that after four claims in less than five years, that they will terminate their auto insurance policy, and then offer to sell them coverage in their Indemnity Company with an appalling premium increase. Even if the claims consisted of just one accident, two windshield breaks, and a car that was stolen and then recovered.

This is an example of a letter that Allstate will send to you if you send a formal letter stating that your glass claims should have been under a separate part of the policy for which you paid additional premium separately.

Allstate: “Although this claim activity does not indicate that you were directly at fault in each loss, the frequency and severity of the above losses was not within our range of acceptability. After careful review, I regret to inform you that we cannot reverse our original decision regarding the above policy. We have however continued to offer coverage in our Indemnity Company.”

Car Auto Insurance Tip: Be sure to confirm with the underwriting department of your insurance company whether they will consider glass claims while evaluating premiums, or if they report glass claims to C.L.U.E. If they do report them to C.L.U.E do not make a glass claim. The two windshields that Allstate provides you with are aftermarket windshields which would cost you less than $300 each. While the financial risk of totaling a car can be considerable, the financial risk of restoring a windshield is somewhat inconsequential. It makes little or no sense to file a glass claim if it will increase your premium at the end. You may even choose to reject this coverage altogether and bank the premium.

Car Auto Insurance for leased vehicles: Certain lease agreements necessitate that the car be returned with an OEM windshield. If you lease a car and change a front, or a back windshield using your “full” glass coverage, MAKE SURE that the insurance party provides you with an OEM windshield straight from the manufacturer. If you chose pay for the windshield yourself, remember to check your lease agreement carefully to see if you must use an OEM windshield from the manufacturer or if you can use an aftermarket windshield as well. Some people with leased cars who have changed a windshield with an aftermarket windshield are taken back, when they return the car to find that the leasing company has charged them $800 for a new OEM windshield, even though the aftermarket windshield is in perfect condition.

Car Rental & Towing Coverage: While it may be a great idea for you to have this coverage, it is not always a good idea to use it. Many people have realized that this coverage is not just accessible when an accident has occurred. For example, many people have used the car rental coverage when their car was in the repair shop or the towing coverage when their car broke down in the middle of the road. As goes with glass coverage, the use of this coverage may be considered the same as filing a claim.

Car Auto Insurance Tip: Be sure to confirm with the underwriting department of your car insurance company to see if they will consider rental or towing claims when assessing premiums or if they report these claims to C.L.U.E. If they do report them to C.L.U.E. then do not use car rental or towing coverage unless you have had an accident, in which case it will become a part of the accident claim. If you are also apprehensive about towing costs when your car breaks down, you can buy one of the ‘roadside assistance’ memberships such as the one available from AAA which grants additional benefits that not provided by your automobile insurance policy.

I hope these helped you, be sure to check back for other articles with more auto tips !