Reader’s Question:

I am a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. I have been involved in three vehicular accidents this year although none of them was my fault. Will this affect my insurance rates when I renew them?

Maureen

Cleveland, OH

Maureen, nice of you to bring this topic as a lot of people I know are asking this question. Let me just give you a brief interlude about insurance.

As you may know, insurance in general is about sharing risks. If more claims are made by members, it will translate to less profit for the insuring company. The opposite of this also holds true, the less claims members make, the more profit for the insurance company.

With this in mind, insurance companies now, including those in Cleveland, Ohio, are giving benefits to those drivers with good records. What does good record mean in the eye of the insurers? Good records come in the form of minimal to zero accident claims. Traffic tickets also are looked at, so expect higher premiums if you have a lot of tickets. The trend now really is, companies are now giving lower premiums to those members who ideally have zero claims. This pertains particularly to road accidents, and zero traffic tickets.

Maureen, I understand that you may gotten involved in three vehicular accidents but none of them was your fault. Although none of them was your fault, what will matter with your insurer is if you made claims on those accidents. So, if it was not your fault, make sure you make the party at fault make the claim so that your insurance premiums will not be affected, and much more importantly, you can keep your good driving record.

Tags: auto insurance, Car Insurance Company, car insurance rate

Reader’s Question:

My 16-year-old son lives in Cincinnati Ohio with an Ohio license and insurance. His dad lives in WV. If he wrecks while driving his dads car in WV who pays the bill?Does my son needs WV insurance or is he already covered on our policy?

Jamie,

Cincinnati, OH

You and your husband should discuss this matter to your insurance company. In an accident where the driver is using someone else’s car, the insurance of the owner’s vehicle would be primarily used. Any excess on that policy limits to be paid, the driver’s coverage in the insurance policy is secondary. Insurance companies typically follow vehicle first and driver second.

It seems your son spends a period of time with his father in West Virginia. In this case, his father will have to check with his insurance company if he needs to add his son in the policy as an occasional driver for his visitation period. Otherwise, his son might not be covered, depending on how the policy is stated and any exclusions that may be indicated , if a car accident occurred.

If his father’s insurance company does not require him to add his son on the policy, I still recommend that you check with your insurance company to ensure that your son is covered while driving in WV with his father’s car under your current Ohio policy.

Tags: auto insurance, Student car insurance, teen insurance, Young driver car insurance

Reader’s Question:

I have an SR22 insurance in Hamilton, Ohio. I am planning to buy a car loan for a used car and I would like to know if this SR22 insurance is enough? Can I also have physical damage liability along with my SR22 insurance if I am going to buy a new car?

John

Hamilton, OH

The SR22 insurance certificate that you have in Hamilton, Ohio is a state liability and most lien holders would require that you have physical damage liability of collision and comprehensive coverage if you have a loan or lease on the vehicle, regardless if the vehicle that you are trying to purchase is new or used.

I suggest that you speak with your car insurance company in Hamilton, Ohio if you could carry physical damage liability of collision and comprehensive that is being required by the lien holder along with your SR22 insurance that you currently have. I believe that you would be able to acquire the physical damage liability and SR22 insurance to satisfy what the lien holder and the state requires you to have.

You can always shop around for car insurance company if your current insurance carrier will not allow you to have both.

Tags: auto insurance, collision insurance coverage, comprehensive insurance coverage, sr22 insurance

Reader’s Question:

What is the difference between liability coverage and collision coverage? I called an insurance office in Akron Ohio OH but the agent’s explanation didn’t make sense to me. Please explain it clearly.

June

Akron OH

How unfortunate, June! Rest assured that most insurance companies in Akron Ohio OH are reliable and professional, and would be happy to assist you when you make queries such as this one. Having said this, let me thank you for trusting me to answer your questions.

Yes, sometimes liability and collision coverage may seem similar but they are not. Liability coverage pays for the damages resulting to a collision where you are liable. It will pay for the damages to the car you have hit and for the medical expenses of the passengers of the damaged car. Collision coverage, on the other hand, protects your car from possible damages brought about by collision. Liability coverage has three limits – bodily injury per person, bodily injury total, and property damages. It can happen that sometimes, your car was hit by a reckless driver whose liability coverage limits can not fully pay for the damages made to your car. This is the time when you will make use of your collision coverage.

Liability coverage is the minimum required when you register your car. It will always be the cheapest available auto insurance around Akron Ohio OH. To compare prices, simply get online quotes by entering your zip code on this page. What is critical is for you to evaluate if you will be comfortable with just the minimum auto insurance.

I hope that I have explained it well enough, June; please feel free to contact me again if you have any other questions.

Tags: auto insurance, collision insurance coverage

Reader’s Question:

We promised our teen daughter that she can borrow our car every now and then if she’ll get an average of B or higher. She got an A which pleases us immensely. But now am starting to get worried. I’m not sure I’m ready to let her be out on the wild road, and also, our insurance premiums will surely be higher once we add her to our auto insurance in Canton Ohio OH. How do I get out of this?

Emma

Canton OH

Emma, surely you can’t keep your darling daughter inside your house forever. There will really come a time when you have to let her take the world on her own. The best thing you can do is provide all the protection and coverage you can for her, and that includes auto insurance. Yes, it is definitely true that your auto insurance premiums will increase once you add her to your list of authorized drivers. But surely you’d rather pay this than risk having to pay a much larger sum in the eventuality that something happens to her while driving the car? Depending on what kind of insurance you have in Canton Ohio OH, you can also compensate this with a health insurance.

Also, please take note that your daughter already made things easier for you. Many insurers in Canton Ohio OH will give discounts for teens who maintain an average of B or better. Being an A student definitely helps! She just has to maintain this good set of grades and you will have auto insurance discounts.

You can also surf the net for online quotes so you can compare how much the increase will be in your existing auto insurance. Just enter your zip code and answer a few questions to get free quotes in minutes. From one mother to another, i’m telling you - this is just the beginning, Emma. There will be many other things that your daughter will explore and again, your job is to take a back seat and let her learn!

Tags: Car insurance discounts, car insurance quotes, Student car insurance, teen insurance, Young driver car insurance

Reader’s Question:

I checked the internet one time and searched for auto insurance online and boy was I surprised! There were hundreds of thousands of hits about auto insurance! I was so overwhelmed I ended up not reading any one of them. Can just please tell me instead what auto insurance I should get in Cincinnati Ohio OH? I’ll appreciate it.

Ronald

Cincinnati OH

Yes, Ronald, sometimes I get that too. I am overwhelmed sometimes by things that I just completely turn my back to it. Well, I guess that’s why they call this the information age because information is literally at your fingertips in seconds! But just a few tips on how you can narrow your search. You can be more specific by searching for “auto insurance Cincinnati Ohio OH”. This way it will only yield results that are relevant to your location. You see, auto insurance policy can also vary from state to state.

But since you’re asking me on which auto insurance online you should get, I’ll try to come up with some guidance for you. There are two things that you will always look at when you are getting auto insurance – coverage and price. Coverage is dictated by you, depending on how little or how extreme you want to have protection on. In insurances, protection usually means that there will be financial assistance for you in cases you’ve identified, meaning you are protected from the brunt of having to spend tremendous sums of money. Of course, no insurance can protect you from actual bodily harm or property damage. So, you dictate the coverage and you can be as picky or as creative as you want to be. I’m sure that auto insurance in Cincinnati Ohio OH can come up with an auto insurance policy suitable to your desires.

The second item is price, which literally means the price of the auto insurance or premiums. Greater coverage will mean higher premiums and this is usually a decision point in most buyers. What you should do is get back on your computer and make use of the internet again. Get some free quotes online so you can have an idea of how much you will be spending for a particular package. This page provides you with a space where you can enter your zip code and will give you up to 5 quotes in just a matter of minutes.

So, don’t be intimidated by the information you see online– you just have to learn how to use it to your advantage.

Tags: auto insurance online, car insurance cost, car insurance quotes, car insurance rate

Reader’s Question:

I have a comprehensive insurance in Cleveland Ohio OH, and I’m telling you it’s not cheap! I’m about to renew it and my agent is asking if I’d like to upgrade it and include gap insurance? What’s that? Is he trying to pull one on me?

Jimmy

Cleveland OH

Hold it there, Jimmy, no one’s trying to get smart on you. Comprehensive insurance are really more costly than other insurance because it offers far more coverage for the policy holder. It offers coverage not only when you are in the road (which is the usual case for liability and collision coverage) but also when you are innocently parked somewhere. If some naughty kid decides to leave a “Jimmy was here” spray paint on your car, your comprehensive auto coverage in Cleveland Ohio OH will pay for the costs of having your car restored.

Gap insurance, on the other hand, offers a very special kind of protection which is very useful for new cars on auto loan or leased cars. If you have purchased your car through an auto loan in Cleveland Ohio OH, you naturally have to pay it over a period of years. If before you were able to fully pay your loan you got into a nasty accident and your car was beyond repair, your comprehensive auto insurance will “pay” you the fair market value of your car prior to the accident. This will most of the time be less than the value you owe on your loan because of devaluation. Gap insurance, if you have one, will “pay” the remaining balance of your loan which was not shouldered by your comprehensive insurance. So you see, there is no redundancy between comprehensive auto insurance and gap insurance.

To make doubly sure that your insurer is not getting smart on you, you may want to get free quotes online for gap insurance. On this page you will see a space where you can enter your zip code and it will give you quotes on how much auto insurance costs. It can serve as a guide when you get back to your insurer.

Tags: auto insurance, comprehensive insurance coverage, gap insurance

Reader’s Question:

I recently discovered that my roommate is borrowing my car without my permission when he goes out at night. He told me he doesn’t want his girlfriend to identify him and so he uses my car instead. We both have auto insurance in Dayton Ohio OH. If anything happens to the car while he’s driving it, his auto insurance will pay for it, right?

Hal

Dayton OH

Sorry, Hal, but no, his auto insurance will not pay for the damages your car. Remember all the time that auto insurance is meant for the car, not for the driver or the passengers. Although some auto insurance packages offer medical protection for the drivers and passengers of the car, it also pertains only to those drivers and passengers of the insured car. So, your friend’s auto insurance will only cover his car and those inside it depending on the type of insurance he has.

I don’t know what type of auto insurance you have, but it is supposed to pay for the damages your car has incurred as long as it was driven by the authorized driver or those allowed by the owner of the policy. In this case again, if your car was damaged while your friend was driving it without your knowledge, you will not be able to claim anything for it. Now that you know what your roommate was doing, it is a very good time to review your auto insurance very thoroughly or even call your insurance agent in Dayton Ohio OH. You see, auto insurance varies from state to state and you might want to check what is applicable to you in Dayton Ohio OH.

if you love your roommate enough, you might want to include him as an authorized driver, especially since it seems like he does this trick regularly. You can expect that it will naturally incur additional expenses. You can have some idea on how much you will be paying from this page. Just enter your zip code and the type of coverage you want for your car and you can get free quotes instantly.

When you have all these settled, it will be a good idea to have a man-to-man talk with your roommate. I think that all indications show that he has one mighty secret!

Tags: auto insurance, car insurance agent

Reader’s Question:

I hope you can help. Please clarify the difference between liability and collision coverage as it relates to my auto insurance policy in Cleveland Ohio. Thanks for the help.

Mary

Cleveland, OH

Hello Mary,

Every auto insurance policy contains liability and collision coverage. With auto insurance policy, basic liability insurance protects you in the event you are the cause of an accident and other people are involved. If other riders are injured, your auto insurance liability coverage will protect you by covering the cost of these damages. Most liability coverage has additional riders to provide a variety of liability protection.

Your auto insurance policy also contains collision coverage. If your car collides with either another car or a stationary object, repairs will be covered up to the actual cash value of the vehicle. Under the terms of your auto insurance policy, the actual cash value is not related to the purchase price of the vehicle, but is determined by the actual book value of the car. Actual cash value takes into account wear and tear of the damaged vehicle.

When considering purchasing your new auto insurance policy, you may want to review all the liability coverage options offered by your carrier. This site provides many options for you to consider. By completing the auto insurance inquiry form at this site, you will receive proposals from several auto insurance carriers in the Cleveland area. These nationally acclaimed auto insurance companies will outline their various liability coverages for you. Good luck, Mary.

Tags: auto insurance, collision insurance coverage

Reader’s Question:

Can a law enforcement officer impound your vehicle because you fail to show proof that your vehicle is insured?

Mandy

Lorain, OH

In Ohio, it is illegal to operate a vehicle without insurance or any form of Financial Responsibility (FR) on the car that is accepted by the state. It is also illegal for any automobile owner to permit anyone else to operate the owner’s vehicle with Financial Responsibility proof. If you get caught driving without automobile insurance in Lorain Ohio, the penalties can include: driver’s license suspension for a minimum of ninety days and up to two years, impoundment of your license plates and/or vehicle plus court costs and fines.

If you get involved in an accident without automobile insurance, or other Financial Responsibility coverage, in Ohio additional penalties may apply. You may have a security suspension of your license for two years or more and a judgment suspension for an indefinite period, until injuries or damages are paid.

If you are driving without insurance then you have to be sure that you have proper proof of valid auto insurance in your car at all times. Normally proof of insurance is shown by providing a valid insurance card to police officer.

Tags: auto insurance, driving without insurance, traffic violation