Your deductible and personal threshold for an insurance claim.

Q: I was parked and I reversed and a car passed, then I made my way out and a car moved forward as I was turning out and I beeped the horn and everything was fine. I did not feel myself hit the car and the passengers didn’t either. I get a call an hour later from a friend(I found out I knew the person) saying I scratched their car, but my main concern was that it would look like it because I was hit in the front years prior, and that scratch would look like I scratched her car. So I met her up and she had a minor scratch on the side of her car and it was white, so I’m pretty sure it was me. I am unsure if I should go through insurance because I’m not sure if they would make my dad pay a deductible and if his rates would go up, or if I should just go the paint job way and pay out of pocket?

A: Okay there are actually two questions here, so let’s address each one separately.

1st: The only time you pay the deductible listed on your car insurance policy is when your insurance company is paying for the damage to your own vehicle. There is no deductible you have to pay if your insurance company pays for the damage to another person’s vehicle.

2nd: Never commit to paying for another person’s damage out of your pocket. Have them get a quote for how much it will cost to repair the scratch and then sit down with your dad and decide whether or not to file an insurance claim or not.

Don’t let Halloween fun trick you into higher car insurance rates.

Halloween greetings from Car Insurance Guidebook!

We here at Car Insurance Guidebook want to wish everyone a happy and fun Halloween. We also want to see you safely on the other side of the holiday and without your car insurance rates heading for an increase. So here are some friendly reminders to keep your Halloween a treat.

Halloween Costume Driving

If you absolutely have to wear your costume while driving, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Never drive wearing a mask.
• Pull over if fake hair or eyelashes have detached into your eye.
• Don’t drive if your costume gets in the way of operating your car.
• Don’t drive if your costume is too tight.
• Remove your gloves to be able to operate the steering wheel. safely.
• No clown shoes. Wear shoes that allow you to easily operate your car.

Watch For Halloween Trick-or-Treaters

Per the Center for Disease Control, children are more likely to be killed as a pedestrian by a car on Halloween than during any other time of the year. This is why you as a driver need to be especially vigilant of little ones walking along the side of the road and stop when it looks like they are thinking about wanting to cross the street. The only thing they are paying attention to is the Halloween fun they are having, so it is up to you to help keep them safe.

Pay Attention on Halloween

Don’t let texts, Skype or Facebook distract you while you are driving on Halloween. With the trick-or-treaters out and also your costume on, you have enough distractions to have to focus on while driving on Halloween. There is no reason to add other distractions into the mix.

Don’t Drink and Drive on Halloween

We remind drivers of this every year and this year is no different. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!

There are usually extra patrols out on Halloween night to catch drunk drivers and you can expect that to be stepped up even more with Halloween falling on a Saturday this year. So don’t risk it. Either go sober, have a designated driver, make arrangements to stay the night wherever you decide to party or call a cab.

Stay safe, undistracted and sober this Halloween!

Being double charged for insurance happens more often than you may think.

Q: I was with an insurance company and they told me that they were cancelling my policy so I switched to another company. The 1st company actually never canceled my policy. Should the 2nd company owe me a refund since I was Double insured?

A: Actually, your first company owes you the refund because they never cancelled your insurance policy. Contact them as soon as possible and advise them that you have had insurance coverage with another company as you thought they were cancelling your policy with them.  They will want you to send them a copy of the new policy to verify the date the new policy started, and then they owe you a refund from that date forward as you cannot be double charged for insurance.

Why you have such a hard time finding out if your cost of insurance will go up.

Whether your cost of insurance goes up or down, only your renewal will tell.

We get a lot of questions at Car Insurance Guidebook, but one of the most common questions is from people asking if their cost of insurance will increase. They could be asking because they just added a teen driver, because they just got a speeding ticket or because they were just in a car accident.

In most cases we can usually give you some sort of guidance as to the likelihood that the cost of insurance on your vehicle will increase, but not all the time.  The reason we can’t give you a sure answer on an increase or how much an increase will be is because:

1. Each insurance company rates drivers and vehicles differently
2. Each state allows for different rating practices
3. There are many different factors used to determine the cost of insurance for a policy

Because there are no constants in insurance when it comes to creating an insurance premium, there are no consistent answers we can provide. However, there are patterns that are seen when it comes to insurance premiums, which is where we provide our guidance from.

Here are the top three questions we get and what we can tell you on how they will affect your cost of insurance.

Will a Teen Driver Increase my Cost of Insurance?

Yes, adding a teen driver will definitely increase your cost of insurance. However, we cannot tell you as to how much it will increase your policy.

Just like any adult driver, teen drivers all are rated differently due to discounts and age.

The Cost of Insurance after a Ticket?

This one is most likely a yes. Insurance companies do not like it when their clients get traffic tickets as this increases the chances that they will have to pay out for a claim later on down the road.

Now, the type of ticket will greatly determine whether or not you will see your cost of insurance increase or not. A ticket for speeding or reckless driving will just about guarantee an increase, while a ticket for a tail light being out will not.

How Much Will my Cost of Insurance Increase after an Accident?

There is no one anywhere that can tell you how much your insurance premium will increase after a car accident. They can usually indicate whether or not it will increase, but not the amount it will.

This is because all of your information is entered into the underwriting computer at your renewal for the computer to determine how much your insurance will be next term. It is not until after the computer has calculated everything that a premium is created. So until your renewal actually processes, the cost of your insurance for after a car accident is really an unknown.

A car accident takes a while to jump ship from your car insurance policy.

Q: “So last year in 2014 in August, I was in a really bad car accident (it was my fault) and naturally my insurance went up drastically. (it went from 90$ to 190$) Its been almost a year and a half with my new car and no accident and still my insurance has not gone done. Not even a dollar. My question is how long will it take before my insurance goes down?”

A: Sorry to say, but you still have another year and a half to go. Car accidents stay on car insurance policies for about 3 years, depending on when your renewal falls. Once your 3 years anniversary of your car accident arrives, start talking to your car insurance agent or car insurance company about reviewing your policy.