Sep 20
adminInsurance Captive Agents, Speeding Tickets, State Farmers
When searching for home and auto insurance, a consumer has many options as to who to do business with. Television commercials and online advertisements abound in today’s society. Everyone needs insurance, and insurance companies are battling for clients.
In the world of insurance agents, there are two types of agents: captive agents and independent agents.
An insurance agent that is captive represents one company and independent agents represent multiple companies. The largest and most well-known insurance companies (All State, Farmers, American Family) go only through their own “captive” agents. Other well known but less known insurance companies (Met Life, Travelers, Hartford, Progressive, etc) go through independent insurance agents.
When you walk into an office of a captive insurance agent, he/she will quote you with the one company that they carry. When you walk into an office of an independent insurance agent, he/she will shop all the companies that he/she represents and set you up with the company that matches you the best in terms of lowest rates and best coverages.
The insurance market is very complex. When looking for a rate quote, there are numerous factors which these companies must consider. Because some companies look at different factors in different ways, insurance rates can greatly vary for one person between different companies.
For example, let’s say that Suzie wants an auto insurance quote. She has a pretty good driving record. She has not had any major violations in the past few years. Two years ago, when she was at college and would travel to her parents’ home and back on the weekends, she picked up two defective vehicle tickets.
The officer could have given her speeding tickets, but he reduced them down for her.
When Suzie went to get an insurance rate quote, she found that most insurance companies will give her higher insurance rates because of those two tickets. She would have to pay hundreds of more dollars each year. As her agent continued searching for her, he found an insurance company that would not rate her higher because of the tickets. This particular company does not rate ‘defective vehicles’ as anything abnormal, thus though she had two tickets, she had access to the very lowest rates the company had to offer and she was able to save hundreds of dollars each year.
If Suzie had gone to an agent who was captive, he would have set her up with the one rate that he had to offer. She would have missed out on the money that she was going to save.
The more proactive the insurance agent is, the more he can search for ways to save his clients money. It is a good idea to not only seek an independent insurance agent, but a very proactive insurance agent. Understanding the difference between these two types of insurance agents can save you a lot of money on your insurance. colorado insurance insurance.
Jun 10
adminArticles Arrest Warrant, Car Insurance Quotes, Department Of Motor Vehicles, Fighting Traffic, Insurance Companies, Insurance Institute For Highway Safety, Insurance Market, Linkage, Maximum Penalty, Police Issue, Premium Rate, Prosecutor, Rate Hikes, Risk Assessments, S Hospital, Several Thousand Dollars, Speeding Ticket, Speeding Tickets, Statistical Fact, Traffic Citation
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, if you collect one speeding ticket, there’s a significant rise in the probability you will be involved in an accident in the next three years. This is not opinion. It’s a statistical fact that the chances of an accident rise by 50%. If you have two speeding tickets, the chances of an accident double. Since insurance companies set their premium rates according to these risk assessments, there’s an automatic linkage between a traffic citation and your premium rate. Depending on who you are, the rate can rise just a little or triple. For example, a wife rushing to her husband’s hospital bedside will be penalized less than a young man out street racing. The reality of the insurance market is that, according to the statistics, you get the premium rate you deserve. Since this is going to make the difference between potential discounts for being a safe driver with no claims and no tickets, and rate hikes worth several thousand dollars over the next three or four years for picking up a ticket, it can be worth fighting traffic tickets.
Obviously, it’s better to drive safely and within the law. It’s just as important to protect your reputation. Every few years, spend a few bucks at your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to ensure your driving record is accurate. If there’s a mistake, have it corrected. This could save you big dollars on the premium rates overnight. Now, let’s face the worst. You get pulled over. Remember never to admit guilt to the officer. Just be polite. Upsetting the officer could result in the addition of “ND” to the citation. That’s a note to the prosecutor not to do a deal, but to push for the maximum penalty. OK, so now you are in the system. What should you do? Don’t ignore the ticket. In many states, the police issue an arrest warrant. The first step is talking to your local DMV. Many states have programs in place to help drivers. For example, some will defer judgment and, if there are no violations in the next six months, the ticket is dismissed. Other states have driver safety courses. For minor offenses, attending a course on driving wipes the conviction from your record. You still have to pay the fine and the tuition fees, but this is less than the premium rate increases.
If you cannot prevent this from coming to court, go to court. Often challenging a ticket persuades the court to reduce the ticket to a moving violation which is not penalized by the insurers. If you show but the officer does not, this can persuade some courts to dismiss the ticket – check your local state’s rules. In the end, politely raising any kind of reasonable objection to the ticket is usually rewarded by the court – getting angry in a courtroom is not recommended. Of course, all this takes time and effort. Should this be too expensive, remember you can be saving several thousand dollars on premium instalments, so paying an attorney up to one thousand can be good value. All of this should encourage you to drive safely. It’s better not to get caught. Your car insurance quotes will come in lower and lower the longer you keep your record clean. If defensive driving fails to keep you safe, fight to avoid the conviction. It’s going to show up in the car insurance quotes over the years to come unless you get the ticket dismissed or reduced to a moving violation.
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