Archive for the ‘Saving Money On Auto Insurance’ Category
Life Events Affecting Your Auto Insurance
Posted by Cassandra in Consumer Advocacy, Saving Money On Auto Insurance on October 27th, 2009
Ever wonder before those big changes, how exactly is this going to affect me and the rest of my life? Here’s the skinny on how a few life changes may affect your auto insurance…
Marriage: Many changes come with marriage from filing taxes to adjusting bank accounts and discounts on your auto insurance as well. Combining spouses on the same policy saves money on the plan itself, not to mention the multi-car discount couples receive.
Getting Older: Auto insurance tends to drop after the early 20’s. These years increase your driving as maturity level and ability to make decisions. In fact the safest drivers seem to be ages 55 – 65 years.
Retirement: After retirement you’re no longer driving Monday through Friday to and from the office. Your leisure diriving is likely to be less than it your total driving prior to retirement. Likely decreasing your annual mileage, and thus your insurance premiums as well.
Drunk Driving and the Consequences
Posted by Cassandra in Consumer Advocacy, Legislation, Saving Money On Auto Insurance on October 26th, 2009
Drunk driving can lead to more intense consequences than you may thing. From fines and jail time to a suspended license and interlock devices the penalties are harsh. Once convicted of a OUI or DWI insurance companies see you as too big of a risk and may choose to drop you from their coverage. You can bet your search search for auto insurance after drunk driving charges will include sky high premiums.
On the first offense Massachusetts drunk driving laws mandate a fine from $500 to $5,000 and/ or face up to two and a half years in prison after driving with a blood-alcohol-content of .08 or more. Not only will you face these hardships, but your license will be suspended for a full year.
On your second offense the consequences are more sever. A second conviction comes with: guaranteed jail time of at least 60 days no more than two and a half years, fine of $6,000 – $10,000, suspended license for 2 years, and an interlock device installed in your car. If the first offense consequences didn’t deter you from drunk driving, the second offense punishment should.
After a night at the bar or drinks at a firend’s house, do yourself a favor and call a taxi. The cash spent on cab fare may have just saved you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you would have been caught driving under the influence.
Startling Statistics on High Risk Teen Drivers in MA, and Ways to Lower their Premiums
Posted by Katelyn in Consumer Advocacy, Saving Money On Auto Insurance on October 20th, 2009
If you’re a parent, you know the feeling. You’re daughter or son has just received his/her driver’s license and is now legal to drive. While this is a joyous time for them, it doesn’t have to be you’re worst nightmare. Being aware of these facts and informing our teens of the dangers of the road may be half the battle.
I stumbled across an article from autoinsurancetips.com that had some startling facts about teen drivers here in the Bay Sate.
- Teens receive the highest number of traffic violation in the state
- MA teens are involved in more fatal night time crashes than any other group of drivers
- MA teens (16&17) are 4x more likely get in a crash
Parents need to be aware of the facts and teens need to be educated. It’s hard to think of the repercussions of speeding when you’re late to meet your friends for 9:05 movie. But traffic violations raise a driver’s SDIP, and higher SDIP’s mean higher policy premiums.
However, despite being considered higher risk drivers, there are ways to lower their premiums.
- Driver Education- Having teens enroll in driver’s education classes is a way to reduce insurance costs. Teens that have completed this training are considered to be safer drivers.
- GPA- Teens with a high Grade Point Average are considered more responsible and therefore offer discounts to the driver
- The vehicle- While your teen would probably love to drive a new luxury car, they may not love the higher premium. Older cars are typically less expensive to insure
Teens get a bad rap with insurance companies. Talk with your teen about the responsibilities they take on when getting behind the wheel. And who knows, in 2020, teens here in the Bay state could be the group 4x LESS likely to get in a crash.
Cancelling Your Auto Insurance
Posted by Cassandra in Consumer Advocacy, Legislation, MassDriver.org, Massachusetts RMV, Progressive Insurance News, Saving Money On Auto Insurance on October 6th, 2009
Write it on a post it note. Program it into your phone. Leave yourself a voice mail at home. What ever it takes, don’t allow your auto insurance to lapse.
Here are a few things to remember about auto insurance cancellations:
- Driving with out insurance is illegal. Should anything happen while you’re driving, not only will the violation be added to your driving record with a citation, raising your insurance rates – if you’re at fault for an accident, all damages your insurance company would have paid will come straight out of your pocket.
- You don’t need to wait for renewal time to cancel a policy. Shopping around to find another policy with better rates is a great idea. No need to wait until your current policy is up to start saving.
- Never ever ignore your insurance bill. Ignoring your insurance bill may be cause for cancellation due to non-payment. When this occurs not only will future insurance companies see you as a higher risk, they may ask you to pay the full insurance amount up front.
- Cancellation must be done in writing. When you notify your current insurance company of your cancellation allow a reasonable amount of time for cancellation. When notifying the company, be sure and include the date you would like cancellation to take place giving yourself peace of mind for when you’re old coverage is up and your new one is to begin.
Keep Insurance Rates Low
Posted by Cassandra in Consumer Advocacy, MassDriver.org, Massachusetts RMV, Saving Money On Auto Insurance, Uncategorized on September 30th, 2009
Q: What’s the easiest way to keep low insurance rates?
A: With a clean drivers record.
Not only will you need to pay that speeding ticket, you’ll be paying for it the next couple years on your auto insurance. Insurance companies determine your rates in part by what kind of a driver you are. If you’re a safe driver with no citations, an insurance company sees you as a low risk to insure. If you’re a road-raging multi-major-accident driver, the insurance company may view you a little differently.
Massachusetts determines the magnitude of driving violations with surchargeable points. For example, a major accident will count more points than a 5 mile over speeding ticket. Take a look at how Massachusetts classifies your driving violations:
| Surchargeable Incident | Surcharge Points |
|---|---|
| Major Traffic Violation (i.e., D.U.I.) |
5 |
| Major At-Fault Accident (claim over $2,000) |
4 |
| Minor At-Fault Accident (claim over $500 to $2,000) |
3 |
| Minor Traffic Violation (i.e., speeding) |
2 |
Each citation adds more than just a few bucks on to your insurance. Avoid these hefty points with safe driving: allow extra traveling time, drive defensively, and buckle up. Your check book will thank you.
Good News! Competition is working
Posted by Ryan in Competition, Saving Money On Auto Insurance on June 9th, 2009
The new deregulated system for auto insurance in Massachusetts is showing signs of success!
The number of auto insurance carriers offering plans in Massachusetts has increase by 50% since deregulation last year. Companies that have not been in Massachusetts are coming in. They are now able to offer discounts to compete for the business of Massachusetts drivers!
The Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers collected data and found that the number of drivers classified as a high risk is at an all time low in decades. To give you a better perspective of how much this has dropped, the percentage of high risk drivers was above 60% in 1988. It is currently at 3.5%!
It’s statistically obvious that the deregulation of the market has proven to be beneficial thus far but it has also received consumer praise. More than 71% of all drivers have voiced there support of the new system. Why wouldn’t they? Drivers are saving!
Look into your options at massdrive.com if you are not happy with your current provider. The Massachusetts auto insurance market has changed and you could be eligible to receive the benefits!
Did you save money? Let MassDriver know!
Posted by Paul in Consumer Advocacy, MassDriver.org, Saving Money On Auto Insurance on April 6th, 2009
Recently, MassDriver covered reports that Western Massachusetts residents saved money on auto insurance. We want to know if you did too! Either comment on this blog post or complete the MassDriver survey. Let us know if you saved!
