Posts Tagged ‘Donegal Insurance’

Co-signers Won’t Pay More for Donegal Insurance

Friday, December 30th, 2011

For a multitude of reasons, people co-sign someone else’s car loan all the time.  Parents sign for their kids, kids sign for their parents, and significant others sign for their partners.  If you have ever worried that your car insurance rates will increase if you co-sign for someone’s car loan, don’t worry.  According to Tara Baukus Mello of Bankrate, “Co-signing a car loan won’t hike (your) insurance.”  Finding cheap car insurance will not be more difficult for you if you’ve co-signed for someone else’s vehicle.

A reader sent in a question asking if her car insurance rates would increase after co-signing a loan for her boyfriend to buy a new car.  Sometimes co-signers are not even listed on the title of a car as an owner or co-owner.  In this case, you surely wouldn’t need to be insured on the car.  Unless you are planning to be a regular driver of this vehicle, you don’t need your insurance to be involved.  The person that you co-signed the vehicle for should have insurance from a company like Donegal Insurance that will cover the car in full.

You likely would not be named as an insured on a vehicle that you co-signed for because you are not going to be the driver of that vehicle.  Your insurance company, if different from the co-owner of the vehicle, has no interest in this car for which you have co-signed.  Even if you may drive the car once in awhile because it is your boyfriend or child’s car, your insurance and the co-owner’s insurance likely cover others driving the vehicle or you driving other vehicles.  You do want to make sure that they are paying their loan however, because you are responsible for that!

 

What Do Top Car Insurance Companies Think of Increased Car-Sharing?

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Car-sharing has increased dramatically in the past year, especially in Denver where it has doubled, according to The Denver Post.  Bruce Finley’s article “More Denver residents embrace car-sharing” says that the nationwide increase was about 16%.  For a monthly or even just an hourly fee, one of 27 car-sharing companies around the U.S. covers the cost of car insurance, gas, and all maintenance.  There are currently more than 500,000 people registered to use the close to 8,000 vehicles available for car-sharing from these companies.

Monthly fees are usually around $10 per month and hourly fees range depending upon the city.  In Denver you’ll pay anywhere from $4.50 to $6 per hour.  This can save you a lot of money when you only need to use a car once in awhile for some errands or special trips.  Top car insurance companies may not be thrilled with this increased car-sharing though.  With the exception of those companies getting the insurance contracts for the car-sharing companies, insurers may be losing out on members who are getting rid of their cars to save money on insurance, gas, and maintenance costs by car-sharing.

While some car-sharing members are doing it to save money, many are trying to go green or just have some fun changing life up a little bit.  One person quoted in the article just wanted to see if they could do it, while another uses it as a way to get more connected to the city through increased walking to the shared cars.  As more people become interested in car-sharing though, it could become harder to get a car when you need it.  Keeping up with demand for cars is important, but car-sharing companies have to make sure that they can cover their bills on a long term basis and the increase isn’t temporary.  Car insurance companies like Donegal Insurance shouldn’t have to worry too much about losing customers because there are plenty of people not willing to be that flexible when it comes to their cars.  The majority of people want their car available whenever and wherever they need it and are willing to pay for that luxury.

Cut Your Donegal Insurance Bill in Half

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

By taking on some more risk when it comes to car insurance, you may be able to lower your insurance bill by as much as half with companies like Donegal Insurance.  Fox Business recently posted an article entitled “How to Cut Your Car Insurance Bill in Half” to explain how to go about it.  First you’ll have to research your individual state’s minimum coverage requirements because they do differ.  Many states have minimum coverage of 25/50/10, which translates to $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $10,000 of property-damage coverage per accident.  However most insurers set you up automatically with 100/300/50 coverage which is significantly more than the minimum in most states.

By reducing your liability limits to the minimum you can save a lot of money.  Other ways to save include getting rid of your collision and comprehensive coverage, increasing your deductible to at least $1,000, and dropping your uninsured motorists (UM) coverage.  By using all or a combination of these changes, you have the ability to lower your car insurance payments by half.  In the article’s financial example, they lowered their minimum coverage to 25/50/10, eliminated their comprehensive, collision, and rental coverage, but left their UM coverage there.  Payment reductions were 35% for a Cadillac Escalade, 46% for a Chrysler Town & County, 47% for a Toyota Camry, 48% for a Hyundai Santa Fe, and 50% for a Ford F-150.

You have to understand that reducing coverage like this will add a lot of risk to your car insurance needs.  Be sure to speak with an agent or multiple agents to see what type of risk and coverage is best for your individual situation.  Another good way to lower your car insurance payments is to shop around and see what pricing you can get from a company like Farmers auto insurance.  Look for deals and make sure that the company has a good reputation from the BBB and lacks a lot of complaints.  You can save a lot of money by shopping around.

Amica Car Insurance

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

The top ten professions that crash their cars the most and get the most speeding tickets may surprise you, but they may not.  According to “Who Crashes the Most? Car Accidents by Occupation,” Kat Zeman reports that doctors are the number one culprits.  Insurance companies like Amica Car Insurance often take professions into account when quoting your rates.  They are used in conjunction with many other factors like your driving record, past claims, credit history, age, gender, location, and the kind of car you drive though.  Doctors might account for a large number of crashes and speeding tickets because they are tired after working long hours or are rushed to get to hospitals when they’re on call.

Lawyers account for the second largest amount of car accidents.  Architects are in the third largest amount of accidents and have quite a high number of speeding tickets.  Real estate brokers come in fourth place for accidents, possibly because they spend a lot of time on their cell phones.  Enlisted military personnel are fifth and social workers are sixth.  With the amount of time social workers spend on the road, they might already pay more for car insurance from companies like Donegal Insurance.  Manual laborers and analysts come in seventh and eighth place in car crashes.  Engineers and consultants round out the top ten spots.  Even with the higher accident and speeding ticket rates of these ten professions, students are still by far the worst offenders.

Compare Car Insurance from Rental Car Companies Before Purchasing

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

A recent lawsuit brought to the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit clarifies the breakdown of insurance coverage when dealing with supplemental rental car insurance.  In Auto Rental News, the article “Lawsuit Highlights Responsibilities of Rental Car Supplemental Insurance” explains the recent lawsuit between Vigilant Insurance Company/GEICO and Lincoln General Insurance Company/DTG Operations.

A man driving a rental car in Las Vegas was involved in a car crash.  He had purchased supplemental insurance from the rental company, Dollar Thrifty Group (DTG).  This insurance had coverage from DTG and supplemental liability insurance from Lincoln.  Compare car insurance that you purchase from a rental company before assuming that they will cover any problems.  Lincoln fought paying the balance after DTG’s coverage was exhausted with the argument that the driver’s private insurance, GEICO, should exhaust their coverage before Lincoln.

The court disagreed and forced Lincoln to pay back the money covered by GEICO and Vigilant, which totaled $500,000.  Basically the court said that it didn’t make sense for Lincoln’s supplemental coverage not to kick in until after the driver’s personal car insurance.  They said that Lincoln was falsely representing their coverage to DTG which could cause problems in the future.  What would really be the point in purchasing supplemental insurance if your personal insurance paid the accident bill anyways?  Companies like GEICO or Donegal Insurance and its subsidiaries would have to raise rates to cover the cost of paying for insurance that was supposed to be covered by a supplemental plan.

Donegal Insurance + Kia Soul Could = Cheap Car Insurance

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

The US Insurance Institute for Highway safety chose the 2010 Kia Soul as its ‘Top Safety Pick’, according to theautochannel.com.  If you shop around, a safer car can make for cheap car insurance.  This is the Kia Soul’s 2nd year in a row for the award in the small car category.  It has also won awards from Time Magazine, Popular Mechanics, and Auto Week Magazine since launching in March.  Both consumers and the media seem to love this car for offering the entire package.  While the Soul is popular with teens, consumers from many age groups are interested in its funky look, safety features, and low insurance expense.

Donegal Insurance, with headquarters in Marietta, Pennsylvania serves regional property and casualty insurance needs.  When their customers drive cars like the uber-safe Kia Soul, they can be comfortable with insurance premiums to match the added safety features their customers have purchased.  Donegal Insurance is made up of 7 regional insurance companies throughout the United States’ Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest.  They excel in customer service and profitability.  If you are looking for cheap car insurance compared to other companies, having a safe car like the Kia Soul might be the way to get that with Donegal Insurance.