Is Car Insurance the Next Car Sales Gimmick?
Car dealers and manufacturers try everything to get you to buy a new car, including throwing in free car insurance now.
At the beginning of July this year, General Motors announced a new incentive for new car buyers in the states of Oregon and Washington. For one full year they will pay your car insurance for you. Of course, as with all deals that sound too good to be true, there are terms and conditions.
It begs to ask the question though, is this offering from General Motors the start of a new kind of car buying incentive?
The Car Insurance Offer
General Motors has partnered with Met Life Home and Auto Insurance to provide this incentive to their new car buyers. The offer is available to anyone that buys a new vehicle from them between July 6, 2011 and September 6, 2011. The new vehicle has to be a 2010, 2011 or 2010 year model and has to be a Buick, Chevy, Cadillac or GMC vehicle.
The insurance will start as soon as you purchase the vehicle and will last for a full year. This is two insurance terms that you will get for free from GM. The policy through Met Life will include the following coverages and limits:
- Bodily Injury/Property Damage Liability – 100,000/300,000/100,000
- Personal Injury Protection – 15,000 per person (Oregon) / 10,000 per person (Washington)
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist – 100,000/300,000/100,000 (Oregon Only)
- Uninsured Motorist – 100,000/300,000/100,000 (Washington Only)
- Comprehensive Coverage – 500 Deductible
- Collision Coverage – 500 Deductible
As you can see by the insurance coverage offered, the policy is a very good one. In fact, it is better than the car insurance that most of us regularly carry on our vehicles.
Does Driving History Matter?
General Motors says that the insurance will be provided for the new vehicle that you purchase regardless of your driving or credit history. They still need this information from you so that Met Life can calculate your premium rates. That way Met Life can send General Motors the bill for them to pay your insurance.
The Free Car Insurance Conditions
You have to be a resident in the states of Oregon and Washington State to qualify for this offer. General Motors is only offering this in these states because this is where their sales are the lowest right now. You also have to register the vehicle in and have a valid driver’s license for these states.
You do not have the option to decline the insurance offer to get a discount on the vehicle instead, this is a take it or leave it offer. If you sell or trade the new vehicle within the year of insurance coverage, you are not due a refund and you cannot transfer the coverage to a different vehicle. After one year of insurance, Met Life will automatically terminate the policy. You will have the opportunity to purchase a new policy with them or take your car insurance somewhere else.
A New Car Insurance Trend?
Is this free car insurance offering something that we are going to start seeing more in the future? You can bet that other car manufacturers are going to be watching General Motors’ earnings report for these two states with a good deal of interest. At the same time other insurance companies are going to be watching Met Life’s earnings to see if this partnership was a lucrative one for them also.
If this works well for both of the companies involved right now, this may be something we see available more often.
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