Insurance Tales

Drivers love to brag on how they save on gas, going a short route, and so on and so forth as well as tell all their insurance stores whether horror stories or fabulous ones that saved them money. The truth is that the stories that are told often change as the go from one person to another until no one knows the real scoop. You know that you have told your friends about so and so that saved money on auto insurance just by adding an anti-theft device. Whether that is fact or fiction, you are not sure, but you passed it along anyway.

Now, let’s look at the different tales that are told about auto insurance and learn the truth.

Tale – A Speeding Ticket will make my rates go up
Truth – It may or may not. Your insurance company will normally look at your complete driving record before making such a decision. It is true though that any provincial or federal convictions related to the use or operation of a vehicle, the insurance company can raise your rates. The rules vary regarding convictions from one insurance carrier to another, however, in most cases it has to do with the type of speeding ticket you received. A minor ticket is one being up to km/h over the speed limit, which may not increase your rates at all, on the other hand, a major ticket being one that is over more than 50 km/h over the limit is a sure increase.

Tale – If a police officer states the accident was not your fault you do not have to pay the deductible on the claim.
Truth – The police do have the final say is you are criminally responsible for an accident, however, your insurance company will determine if you have to pay your deductible. In some cases, they may waive the deductible.

Tale – Several unpaid parking tickets will make my rates go up
Truth – Parking tickets do not cause any harm to your driving record, thus you will not see your insurance rates increase.

Tale – If I do not make a claim after an accident, my rate will not increase
Truth – This is very wrong. If the other person in the accident files a claim, his/her insurance company will contact yours and in the end, both yours and their rates may increase.

Tale – The color of my car raised my insurance rate
Truth – An insurance company does not care what color your vehicle is at all.

Tale – I have a 2-door car and my rates are higher than my friend with a 4-door
Truth – your insurance may be higher but it has nothing to do with whether you have a 2-door or 4-door. The rate you must pay is based on the vehicle model, year, purchase price, repair costs, stability in an accident, theft frequency, and the various claim history for this type of vehicle.

Tale – Small claims do not really affect my insurance rate
Truth – This may or may not be true. The fact is that the insurance company will want to know if the small claim affected your driving record, if so, you may see an increase.

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About the Author:
Antoine Belanger works as an auto insurance consultant and is an expert on insurance bureau of Canada, the agency responsible for Canadian insurance laws. He also provides online car insurance quote.