Q: I need a declaration page for my bank holding my truck’s title. How do I get it?

A: Actually, just getting your declarations page to your bank as proof of car insurance will not satisfy them.

If they have your title, I am going to assume you have a loan with them and they are actually the legal owners of that truck. If you get into a car accident and that truck is totaled they are legally entitled to whatever you get for the truck from your car insurance policy, since they own the vehicle.

So, what they are really asking for from you is a declarations page showing them as the loss payee for the truck. That way the insurance company will know to pay them in the event the truck is totaled.

To get them what they want the first time, instead of having to go round in circles, contact your car insurance company and add the bank as the loss payee for the truck. Once your car insurance company does this, they will automatically send proof of car insurance and loss payee status to your bank for you. They will even send it to the office that handles the car insurance requirements for your loan, so it gets there faster.

For your part, make sure you have the correct address the bank wants as their loss payee address on this proof of car insurance.

Q: I just turned 20, but my car insurance didn’t go down. How much longer am I considered a young driver?

A: Sorry, you have a long way to go. You are no longer considered a young driver once you turn 25. This probably wasn’t the answer you wanted to hear with how high your car insurance is being a young driver, but there is not much you can do. Unfortunately, accident statistics are against you as they consistently show that drivers under the age of 25 are more likely to have an accident than any other age group.

There are ways to help soften the effect being a young driver can have on your car insurance rates, though:

1. If you are a student keep your grades high.
2. Pay attention to your credit score.
3. Don’t drive a high priced or high-performance vehicle.
4. Try and stay on your parent’s insurance policy as long as possible.
5. Don’t get any tickets or accidents.

However, even when you turn 25 don’t expect an earth-shattering decrease in your insurance premium. You just won’t be rated as negatively once you are no longer a young driver, which will help your rates.

Q: I have heard filing a claim can increase my car insurance rates, does that mean glass claims also?

A: I have yet to see glass claims affect a car insurance premium. A glass claim is a comprehensive claim, and most comprehensive claims do not affect car insurance rates for two reasons.

1. Most comprehensive claims, like glass claims, are not your fault.
2. Most comprehensive claim payments are usually under a certain threshold that does not affect your rates.

However, while you are safe as far as glass claims are concerned not affecting your car insurance rates, don’t think you are free and clear to make as many other comprehensive claims as you want.  Not all comprehensive claims are created equal, and if an insurance company starts to see a trend in comp claims from you they may not raise your rates, they may just cancel you for excessive claims.

But if you haven’t filed a claim to replace that broken windshield because you were afraid of it raising your car insurance rates, go ahead and make that call.

Q: Why can’t insurance companies tell me exactly how my car insurance rates calculated?

A: Because a computer calculates car insurance premiums now.

That is the simplest answer to this very common car insurance question. Gone are the days where underwriters calculate personal car insurance rates, now computers figure out your eligibility and rates by using a multitude of factors and formulas. And to be honest, most company employees don’t even know how your rates are exactly calculated by the computer. So when they tell you they don’t know or they can’t give you that information, they really don’t know, they aren’t lying to you.

The only thing they can tell you is how something can negatively or positively affect your car insurance rates.

Q: What does my credit score have to do with my car insurance premium?

A: Credit score is one of the most controversial rating factors in a car insurance premium. You would think car insurance companies would focus on driving based information and vehicle information to determine if they want to cover a person if they get into a car accident.

From a driver’s perspective, this is a rational thought. However, insurance companies look at it from more of a claims standpoint with questions like the following:

1) How likely is this person going to have a claim?
2) How much is it going to cost us if they do have a claim?

Question number one is why they now use your credit score when factoring your insurance premium. They claim that research shows that people with lower credit scores are more likely to have a claim or exaggerate the amount of a claim. This course of action was mostly triggered by the rising numbers of insurance fraud about 20 years ago that forced the car insurance companies to look for solutions to combat it in every way possible.