Posts Tagged ‘Bristol West Car Insurance’

State Farm Auto Quote May Not Cover These Things

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Car insurance companies must find a balance between offering excellent insurance coverage and running a business.  In the Fox Business article “6 Auto Insurance Potholes,” by Jay MacDonald, we learn some of the actions we should take to avoid damage that won’t be covered.  When you get a State Farm auto quote or that from another car insurance company, they are covering damage to your car assuming that you act in a responsible manner.  It’s just not possible for a car insurance company to exist and cover any possible thing that could happen to your car.  You have the responsibility to make good decisions, which should ensure that you are covered by your insurer if something does happen.

Any intentional damage to a vehicle or person will likely be excluded from your coverage, so keep your road rage in check.  When you compare car insurance policies, most have a livery exclusion.  So if you use your vehicle to make deliveries or transport people on a regular basis, whether for business or charity, you need a car insurance policy that specifies coverage for the continual transportation.  Be sure that your policy covers any damage if you lend your car to a friend or family member.  Your policy may or may not cover them and even if it does, it may limit coverage or stipulate that you have to be riding in the car with them.

Don’t brush off your car salesman when they offer you lease-gap insurance coverage.  For those who lease vehicles or take out a loan to pay for new vehicles, a totaled car is usually only covered for the market value.  If you owe more than that, which most people do, you have to come up with the extra cash to cover the difference if your car is totaled.  If you don’t have comprehensive coverage from a company like Bristol West car insurance, you probably aren’t covered from damage caused by acts of nature.  Comprehensive coverage will pay for storm or flood damage, problems animals cause to your car, or damage from hitting a large animal like a deer.  Anything that doesn’t come with your car is not covered by your car insurance policy if stolen.  Electronics and shopping bags alike are not reimbursed, even if they are stolen from your car.  Make sure to double check your car insurance policy to see if you have any gaps.

Compare Car Insurance in MI

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Michigan drivers pay more than double their neighbors in Ohio when it comes to car insurance.  A news story from journalist and reporter Marc Schollett entitled “Fact Finder: Car Insurance Costs Rise” seeks answers for disgruntled Michigan residents as to why they pay so much for their car insurance.  Michigan falls in second place when it comes to the top five states with the highest car insurance premiums behind only Louisiana.  Residents of Michigan pay an average of $2,098.29, while their neighbors in Ohio are paying half that at $999.86 and landing in the list of the five least expensive states when you compare car insurance costs.  Unfortunately there is more bad news for Michigan residents because industry insiders say that their rates are increasing at a faster rate than the other states, while some states are even seeing decreases in premium costs.

While the overall reason that car insurance is more expensive in Michigan is quite complex, Schollett found some interesting reasons and facts during his research.  Insurance companies in Michigan have the second highest rate of profit in the United States, only beaten by Hawaii.  It appears that companies are holding high reserves because they overestimate the amount of money they need to cover drivers.  Unfortunately the Insurance Commissioner in Michigan doesn’t have the rights that most other state Insurance Commissioners do and cannot stop insurance companies like Bristol West car insurance from increasing rates across the state or mandate refunds when customers have been overcharged.  Additionally, Michigan drivers have had their insurance rates based on their credit scores since 1996.  This may lead to someone with a terrible driving history but a good credit score to pay less for car insurance than a great driver who was laid off and has a bad credit score.  There are currently petitions being sent to Michigan lawmakers to change some of these policies.

Bristol West Car Insurance Now Related to 21st Century

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Farmers Insurance will soon be the third largest auto insurance company in the United States, according to Bristol West’s website.  Bristol West car insurance belongs to the Farmers’ family and they are getting some new members.  Farmers recently acquired AIG’s Personal Auto insurance business.  This includes 21st Century auto insurance, among others.  Although all of the companies are related, they run separately and offer their own unique customer benefits in their marketplaces.  Bristol West and Farmers’ Foremost Group will begin to merge and run concurrently.

Bristol West operates in 40 of the United States currently.  They assure their customers that their merger with Farmers auto insurance and the acquisition of AIG and 21st Century will not affect Bristol West customers.  Policies will remain unchanged and their great service and excellent products will move forward with the company.  Bristol West has combined their operations with the Foremost Group of Companies, so while policies and services will remain unchanged, some insurance documents may look a little different with the Foremost name attached.

Mercury Insurance Chairman Talks Prop 17

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Proposition 17 will be on California voters’ ballots in June, according to Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times.  Lopez sat down with the Chairman of Mercury Insurance, George Joseph, for his article “Talking car insurance with Mercury’s top man.”  Joseph is bankrolling Prop 17 because he says it is in the best interest of California drivers.   While Mercury often gets bad press in California, they offer customers low rates and have been the leading independent car insurance broker in California for nearly 50 years.  Maybe the bad press comes from competitors’ attacks?  As a Mercury Insurance customer, Lopez wanted to talk with Mr. Joseph to get his side.

Proposition 17 would offer loyalty discounts to customers even when they switch companies.  If a good customer was insured through Bristol West Car Insurance for years and switched to Mercury Insurance, or vice verse, they could retain their customer loyalty discount.  This sounds like a great advantage for California drivers, but Mercury adversary Consumer Watchdog believes differently.  The company  said that along with that small discount to some consumers would come large increases for others.  They believe that a lot more uninsured drivers would be on the road because of the surcharges that would be implemented for drivers who do not have the industry standard ‘perfect’ records.  This battle will remain strong until the vote in June.