Car Accidents
It’s no myth that men on average are more risky drivers than women, but many men will not completely agree with this. Although road accident statistics and evidence consistently shows that men tend to be more aggressive drivers, and are easily distracted behind the wheel leading to higher auto insurance quotes, there’s no way one can conclude that bad driving is strictly a male issue.
The safety of each individual driver is largely due to his or her own personality, but research shows that men are more distracted – for example by scantily clad female cyclists in the summer. Something most women do not suffer from. This seemingly innocent people-watching is a bigger problem than many people realize. Around twenty-nine percent of men say they are distracted by women in summer clothes such as low cut blouses, compared to only three percent of women who let their eyes wander to the handsome men.
This is just one of many factors that contribute to the high number of claims from auto insurance in the summer, despite the relatively favorable conditions compared to other seasons. In the winter you can expect more casualties in traffic due to bad weather. This is to some extent offset by drivers who tend to ride more in the summer – especially on longer journeys for vacation.
Research shows that men are much more to likely claim on their auto insurance during the summer than women. That is also due to rising temperature, so the emotions often run high and male drivers are more likely to explode in rage. This is largely the fault of the male hormone testosterone, present a greater extent in men than in women, that is the source of much aggressive behavior.
But the blame for car accidents pass on hormones or clothing of passing women obviously not help in combating the problem. Many male drivers who are confronted with these shocking statistics take steps to adapt their behavior. Learning to cool off when you feel offended by other road users is an important skill that maybe goes against your nature and difficult to control. Yet many young male drivers would help prevent costly accidents and insurance claims for replaced car window and this can bring down the young driver’s car insurance.
Drunk driving is largely a problem among men and the cause of many incidents on the road. Women are less frequently caught driving under the influence of alcohol. Women also showed more responsibility than men to take basic precautions such as wearing a seatbelt which justifies the lower auto insurance premiums for female drivers.
How Can Gap Insurance Protect You
Written by admin under Car Accidents
Tags: auto insurance, auto loan, cost of acquisition, depreciation, gap insurance, insurance
Imagine that you have just got yourself a new car and it is fully covered by auto insurance. You drive it from the showroom to your home. Within a week you have a bad accident and your car is totaled for the insurance compensation. You would expect to get a full coverage because it’s not even a day since your purchase. But do you think the car will be valued at it’s cost of acquisition?
The truth is that once a car leaves the parking lot, the cost is immediately depreciated by a huge amount which is 10 to 20 percent of it’s actual cost. For example if you paid $30,000 to buy the car and your car gets totaled for the accident after a week of it’s purchase. If you have taken an auto loan for your car and made a down payment, then you are still to pay the full amount towards the loan.
Despite this, what you can expect to receive after the accident will be the fair market value of the car and not the actual cost of purchase, even if you have a comprehensive insurance coverage. This is because your car is devalued by the depreciation percentage once it has left the dealer’s lot. So, your car will be valued at twenty percent lower than the original cost for the compensation.
In other words, you have paid the twenty percent from your own pocket as the insurance company will not cover for that component despite your vehicle being only a week old. However, if you had bought gap insurance, then you will be covered for this difference and there will be no out of pocket expenses. For this you will need to be sure that your insurer provides gap insurance.
In that case you can separately purchase gap insurance for your car. Gap insurance is the insurance covering the vehicle for the differential between the cost of the car and the fair market value of the car determined by the insurance agency. By taking gap insurance with your auto insurance policy , you can ensure that you are protected against financial losses in case of any accident when you don’t get compensated for the entire acquisition cost by the auto insurance provider.
Many people consider auto insurance as an added liability, especially the ones driving an old car. The economic slump has further contributed to people buying used cars. This swell in the sale of used cars has led to several car insurance companies introducing attractive auto insurance policies to target this segment of car owners.
There are certain important differences between insuring an old and a new car. The old car having already lost a lot of its cost to depreciation will have a lower comprehensive insurance cost. This means a used car owner will have to pay less monthly deductible as well as lower insurance coverage to get his car insured. That way, you won’t end up paying more than the actual market value of the car to insure it.
To get a good insurance policy for your used car you will need to have a good driving history and all the documents in order. Of course the make of your car will also influence the cost of insurance. However, if the car is too old , then that may become a hindrance in obtaining suitable auto insurance quotes. In such a situation it is better to opt for only liability insurance.
Collision coverage for used cars is certainly not a good idea. Simply because your car costs less and has inexpensive parts, you can opt out of collision coverage and pay for any damages caused during any accident from you pocket. In this way, you can save money on paying monthly payments.
Liability insurance for a used car is a sensible investment because that way you don’t have to make monthly payments to the insurance company though you will get the same benefits from the insurance provider if you get involved in a car accident and cause damage to other’s car. In such a situation, your liability insurance will cover for the repair of the damages caused to the other car as well as any medical expenses the other driver may incur.
Do some research. Try to find some brokers who specialize in old car insurance. If you know someone who’s got a similar car, then you may even ask them who insured their car and if they are satisfied with the policy. You can also participate in auto insurance forums or spend some time talking to people in local garages. These are always a good source to get first hand information. Of course you can also get help from internet to get auto insurance quotes for your used car.
