Auto Insurance Can Be Cheap
You’ve probably seen all the commercials on television for direct auto insurance ranging from talking lizards to being in good hands. They make it sound like the best thing since sliced bread. It may be a no-brainer for the DIY crowd, since, you’ll be negotiating the insurance path without an personal agent. But rest assured, as they say, even a caveman can do it!
Would you trade lower rates for dealing with a website rather than a human being? If you are considering direct auto insurance, that’s the question you have to ask yourself. Two factors have combined to create direct auto insurance: no-fault insurance and the Internet. With direct insurance, you deal directly with the insurer rather than through an independent agent. Cutting out the middleman allows direct insurers to offer lower rate. Some provide offices; some are strictly available over the phone or across the Internet.
The majority of direct auto insurance firms operate only in states or areas where no-fault auto insurance is mandatory. In circumstances where fault determination is taken out of the settlement equation, firms can calculate their rates with much higher statistical certainty. The downside is that safe drivers must go to civil court to recover monies lost to higher insurance rates due to claim-filing for damages that were not the fault of the policyholder.
In fault-allocation localities, who pays the cost for damages and losses incurred in a traffic accident is determined by a finding of fault. It is a fact that payouts are delayed and civil court cases are many in fault-finding jurisdictions. In these jurisdictions, the job description of the insurance agent includes hand holding and claims expedition. But under no-fault rules, the payout is made simply based on damages incurred. This means an insurance appraiser, rather than an agent, is the key player.
The intention behind no-fault insurance is to ensure people aren’t left without recourse after an accident while insurance companies fight over which driver was at fault. In case where criminal charges have been laid, insurance settlements sit on a until the person charged has their day in court. By going no-fault, a jurisdiction attempts to streamline and speed-up the settlement process.
But for consumers, the real weakness in the direct insurance business model is the position it puts the consumer in when at his/her most vulnerable. The human body is not a machine and evaluations of what it will take to recover from injury are not always reliable, primarily because full recovery, while always the goal, is not always possible. These types of claims are where a good agent is worth their weight in gold. The agent stays up to speed on your condition and navigates you through the claims process.
With more and more consumers become aware of options that are available for their insurance dollars, the direct auto insurance is gaining the upper hand. Many such companies now have claim agents that are assigned to the insured and remain on the case until settlement. When considering going with a direct auto insurance firm, check them out carefully – do more than get a rate. You can go to the Insurance Institute of America website and get more info on any direct auto insurance firm.
Getting auto insurance direct isn’t going to be as cheap as getting it at a thanksgiving sale but you will be able to get a great price. If you go looking for a way to spend the money you save you will wait for the Cyber Monday Sales
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