Month: November 2021

Do you have sleep insurance?

Sleep insurance is not a policy you can take out on your slumber. It’s not an insurance policy sold to insomniacs. Rather, it’s something that lets you sleep at night.
Without it, you’ll lose sleep worrying about it.
Here’s what we mean: While you’re driving to work, count the number of auto repair shops. There’s a lot, aren’t there? There are! After all, we live in a world that relies heavily on our car. Now think about how they stay in business: from cars breaking down. That’s a lot of cars breaking down.
Now think about this: what will you do when your car breaks down? (Yes, you’ll bring it to the garage… then what?) Will you be able to afford the repairs when you get the bill? When your car’s in the shop, will you be able to sleep at night or will you lay awake, worrying about the price? That’s what we mean by sleep insurance.
Sleep insurance is a warranty on your car.
You car is your lifeline. You need it to live. Everyone does! Do you drive to and from work? Do you use your car to go where the party is? Do you drive your kids to school or soccer practice? Whatever you do in your busy life, you rely on your car to get your there. What would happen if you didn’t have a car?
Owning a car can be a challenge! An auto warranty is one way to have peace of mind if you own a car. It allows you to add a guarantee to your vehicle. After all, that vehicle is your lifeline.
The city bus is crowded. Cycling isn’t an option in your business attire. Who walks anywhere? You need your car to live. Like air and food, our cars help us survive: they get us to work so we can afford a roof over our head and food on the table.
An auto warranty is exactly the thing you need to keep your wheels rolling and your life on track. Without it, you could be faced with the prospect of a broken down vehicle and a difficult spiral to get out of: No car… no work. No work… not enough money to fix your car. No money to fix your car… No car.
That’s no way to live.
You need peace of mind. You need to be able to sleep at night. You need to have the assurance that when you go out to work the next day, your car will start. And if it doesn’t start, you need the peace of mind that the repairs will be affordable and get you “up and running” really soon.
If you don’t have one, how will you afford the next breakdown? How will you sleep when your car is in the shop?

SUV Owners Pay More for Insurance

Hortencia Privett is like thousands of other owners of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). Privett admits that she loves what she drives, a silver 2002 Jeep Liberty, but insurance experts caution that she and other SUV owners have to pay considerably more for insurance than those tooling around town in smaller cars.
The cost to insure an SUV is generally 10 to 20 percent more than a car, depending of course on a driver’s location, claims experience, credit history and other factors, confirms Loretta L. Worters, vice president of communications for the Insurance Information Institute, in New York. “Yes auto rates for SUVs are generally higher than for automobiles,” says Worters. “Rates of course correlate to risk — and there are a lot of risk factors with SUVs. Not so much what affects them, but what they do to other vehicles.”
Cutting to specifics, Worters pointed out that an SUV’s “potential for liability and medical payments coverage losses is a real concern to the industry. Pedestrians hit by SUVs have a 300 percent higher risk of serious injury than if they were struck by a passenger car. There’s also greater injury in cars that are hit by SUVs than it would be with another car.”
Privett acknowledges that she has to pay more for coverage, but that’s okay with her under the circumstances. “I feel safer in my SUV,” explains Privett, an office secretary in Illinois. “I’ve had an SUV for three years, and I wouldn’t go back. Even though I have to pay more for insurance, it’s worth the added cost to me.”
Privett’s SUV sentiments are hardly unique. It’s been reported that SUVs accounted for upwards of 24 percent of all new-vehicle sales in the United States for 2003 and, with well over 20 million on the road today, SUVs represent almost 12 percent of all registered vehicles in the U.S.
The safety reputation of an SUV or other vehicle type certainly has a bearing on insurance costs. On the subject of SUV safety, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) brings up what he considers to be a misconception about SUVs.
“The misconception is that many people think that SUVs are safer than cars, and they’re not,” says IIHS’s Russ Rader. “Vehicle crash statistics that we compile each year show that pound for pound, if you’re comparing vehicles of a similar weight, SUVs tend to be less safe than cars.”
Rader says that cost of repair is a big issue from an insurance standpoint. “SUVs can be costly to repair in minor crashes, because they don’t have to meet the federal government’s standards set for bumpers on cars in terms of withstanding crashes in commuter traffic or parking lots,” explains Rader.
Says Rader: “Most SUVs aren’t built like cars and don’t drive like them. Yes, they’re higher and you can see the road ahead better, but that height also gives them a higher center of gravity, which makes them less balanced than sedans — and more likely to flip.”
Insurance trade organization officer Dan Kummer focuses on high liability claims costs involving large SUVs in vehicular accidents. “If you have a large SUV and you hit a mid-sized or smaller vehicle, you are likely to pay higher liability costs when your policy comes up for renewal,” says Kummer, director of personal lines for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, in Des Plaines, Ill.
For more information about auto insurance please go to: Insurance.com

Tricks On How To Fix Your Ruined Credit

Repairing the damage that has been done to your credit rating is not as difficult as it once was. There are many tools and resources available to help you with the process these days. The following advice will help enlighten you to the prospect of having a credit score of which to be proud.

Knowing how individual agencies report to bureaus will greatly improve your repair efforts. Different creditors may report problems based on certain criteria and use different time frames for reporting. Research the standards for credit cards, utilities and mortgage or rental companies to know when and how these issues are reported.

A great tip for people who are looking to repair their credit is to make sure you give yourself enough time. Your credit score will not go up overnight. It takes time to build a solid credit history of on time payments. Do not get discouraged if you do not see improvements right away.

Many people don’t realize that moving around a lot can also lower your credit score. Creditors will see you as unreliable and un-rooted if you change your address more than once every couple of years. If you are the type who can’t help but move often, consider getting a P.O. Box or other steady mail location where you can have all your bills and credit cards sent. This will reduce the risk that these companies realize you have moved.

Look into getting a secured credit card. A secured card works like a credit card for buying purchases, but you need to deposit the funds for use into the account. Before you choose which secured card to use, make sure that the company reports to the credit agencies, so that your use will reflect positively on your credit rating. Also, watch out for card issuers who charge high fees or security deposits.

To build your credit score, apply for secure credit cards. You decide in advance how much these cards will cover, so that you do not spend more than you can afford to pay back. This should help you manage your finances efficiently and build your credit at the same time.

To improve your credit rating going forward, pay attention to the quality of your creditors. This doesn’t impact your credit as much as other factors, but having credit accounts with banks and auto manufacturers is better for your credit score than having credit accounts with general lenders like finance companies. You can often identify a general lender by the fact that it has “Finance” or “Banc” in its name.

Whatever you do, try not to file for bankruptcy. Credit repair is much more difficult after you have filed, so make every attempt to consolidate your debt and pay off as much as you can before you take this step. People think it’s a credit cure-all, but it ends up being a huge black mark on your record instead.

Now that you are aware of how simple it can be to repair your credit standings, you can benefit by using the advice and getting to work on doing the necessary repairs. Work at improving and sustaining a positive score so you have more opportunities available to you throughout your life.

Why Not Buy Mexican Auto Insurance In Mexico?

It’s a bad idea for US and Canadian tourists to wait to buy Mexican Auto Insurance at the border or inside Mexico. Most people plan their vacation, then forget all about insurance until they cross the border… then they proceed to buy insurance at the nearest seller. This is the equivalent of buying your groceries at a convenience store: no matter how well you shop, you’re going to pay too much, and your options will be limited, too. You don’t even have the option of researching those insurers that vend at the border, and who knows how strong their grasp of the English language is going to be. It’s better to buy it before you leave.

How much time is it going to take to purchase a policy at the border? What extra fees will they add? Is it a PAPER policy? Is it printed in -2 font? There might be a reason. What are the options? Why not purchase a policy before you go to Mexico, in the comfort of your home? It costs less. You need a policy with an English or a Spanish translation. You also need ID cards and accident instructions.

What will you do if you can’t find an insurance booth as you cross or find that your favorite booth is closed or having equipment failure problems? What about Legal? Do they make you pay for the bond? What about emergency medical assistance? Is that included? Are they hawking Split limits or Combined Single Limits? Does it matter? Yes, depending on the amount of the limit you purchase?

Are you getting an electronic policy or a bare bones paper generated policy?

Does the insurance company you are purchasing from have a good or bad reputation for paying claims?

Does the policy say that’s it’s OK to repair your car in the United States, & then restrict the Labor Rate to rates commonly found in Mexico such as $10.00 or $15.00 dollars an hour. Who pays if difference if the labor rate in the US is $65.00 per hour?

TIP: Most likely you will.

Have Questions On Auto Insurance? Check Out These Top Tips!

Auto insurance seems like it should be easy, given the constant bombardment of commercials and ads screaming free quotes and instant proof of insurance. Yet, if you’ve ever really looked at your policy or had to deal with an auto insurance company, you know it’s anything but simple. Read on to learn a few tricks that can make this area of your life easier.

If you plan on buying a new car but want to keep your insurance rates low, buy a cheaper car. The more expensive a car is to repair, the more money your insurer will require from you. You will save money both in buying a lower priced car and in insuring it, keeping it safely in your pocket.

Finding a good auto insurance policy is much easier than it used to be. There are so many great online references to use to learn about the different kinds of coverages that are required in your state. You can then use the internet to compare multiple companies’ rates on the type of coverage that you need.

Before you buy a policy from an insurance agency, search the Better Business Bureau’s website to track their customer satisfaction rating. If you find that they are not up to par with other companies’ standards this will give you valuable information and help you decide if they are the right company for you.

Pay a yearly sum for your automobile insurance. Some companies charge a little more to put their customers on a monthly billing plan. If you are able to pay off the bill in one lump sum for the year, you could save some money and you will have one less bill to worry about.

Since your car insurance premium is based on your past credit history and ratings, be sure you pay all your bills on time. This will keep your credit in good shape and ensure you are receiving the lowest insurance rates, because they are based on your credit report and history.

Gather as much data as possible when you are involved in a car accident. Include vehicle information about the other cars involved such as year, make and model. Try to capture any passenger or witness information as well. If a police report is filed, it often includes this information but if not, take a moment to write it down yourself.

If you have a consistently favorable driving record and are not currently strapped for cash, contact your insurance provider to determine whether you can lower your monthly rates by agreeing to increase your deductible. Most drivers never actually end up filing claims with their insurer, which essentially makes the cost of the deductible irrelevant.

Better your eye focus while you are driving. Let your vision focus on something far away, such as an oncoming car, and then quickly look at your speedometer. Continue doing this as the car approaches, and every time you drive. You will eventually find that your eyes are focusing much faster than before!

Car insurance can be extremely complex. Hopefully after reading these tips through, you feel a little more clear and confident about how to handle such matters. Keep what you read in mind in order to save your stress, time, property, and money in future car insurance dealings.