Your Car is Contributing to Global Warming
In a typical year, about 10 tons (or more) of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases. For details, click
here.
Better World Insurance is offsetting your car's first ton
of greenhouse gas emissions free! We will be happy to
calculate your car's greenhouse gas emissions if you are interested
in offsetting your contribution to global warming completely
at the rate of $11.00 per ton. Please contact
us for more information.
Pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) Auto Insurance
Insurance - Commonly Asked Questions
Q. What are the different components of insurance coverage?
An insurance policy usually has between 4 and 13 sections, depending on how many coverages you choose. Insurance Coverages can be broken down into 2 categories:
· personal injury
· property damage.
Property damage can also be categorized:
· the damage you cause to another's property,
· damage to your automobile in an accident,
· damage to your automobile caused by weather, theft,
fire,
· events unrelated to an accident.
Another component of the policy involves the
deductible: the amount that you pay before the insurance
company begins covering the damage or injury. The higher
the deductible, the lower will be the premium for the particular
coverage. For this reason, consumer groups encourage you
to take the highest deductible that you can afford to $500.00
or higher. They also urge you not to file a claim for fender
benders because insurance companies will price your premium
on how often you submit a claim.
According to Robert Hunter of Consumer Federation of America,
insurers are likely to renew your policy even if you have
a serious accident, but might refuse to renew if you submit
claims for a bunch of minor ones.
Check who is covered under the policy by reading
the cover or "declarations" page and your insurance
policy. Identify any exclusions-whatever is non covered. Make
sure you understand these issues before you purchase the policy,
not when you file your first claim.
Bodily Injury Liability: Covers the
medical expenses, pain and suffering, and economic losses
of people that you injure in an auto accident.
Property Damage Liability: Covers the
damage you cause to someone else's property in an accident.
Uninsured Motorist: Covers your injuries
and pain and suffering caused by an uninsured or hit and run
driver. Underinsured Motorist: covers your injuries and pain
and suffering caused by an insured motorist whose insurance
limits are lower than your losses. Personal Injury Protection.
Required in no-fault states. Covers medical expenses and some
earnings, regardless of which driver was at fault.
Q. What is no-fault insurance? top of page
No-fault insurance is typically mandated
by the state to assure that a victim has a recovery regardless
of who caused the accident. In a "no-fault" state,
your insurance will cover your claim (according to the rules
of that state) even if someone else was at fault.
Q: What is cheaper: no-fault or conventional insurance?
top
of page
Although it was once assumed that no-fault
would be a cheaper way form of insurance, it hasn't worked
out that way so far.
Q.
What is "collision" coverage?
top of page
"Collision" covers your car in an accident, even
if that accident was your fault.
Q.
What is "comprehensive" coverage? top
of page "Comprehensive" typically
covers your car from damage not related to an accident:
theft, fire, a tree falls on your car because of the weather,
a pebble breaks your windshield.
Q.
Should I carry collision coverage? top
of page
There is a fairly simple formula that consumer groups suggest
you to consider: if the premium costs more than 10% of the
value of your car, you should consider passing on it. This
is because the average driver gets in an accident once every
11 years-and usually for less than the value of your entire
car. If the value of the car and the premium are close,
you need to consider how upset you will be if you need to
pay to repair the damage at one time out of your own pocket.
This varies from individual to individual.
Q.
How much liability coverage should I purchase? top
of page
Consumer groups urge you not to accept the state minimums
if you can afford more. Injury to a person can be much greater
than damage to property-even reaching millions of dollars.
While state minimums are in the $10,000 to $20,000 range,
consumer advocates encourage you to purchase at least $100,000/$300,000
coverage (pays $100,000 per person and $300,000 for everyone
injured in the accident) if you can afford it. If you have
significant assets, they also encourage you to look at "umbrella" policies, where additional coverage can be purchased relatively
cheaply, typically for no more than a few hundred dollars.
Q.
What about other coverages?
top of page
While each individual must make his or her own decision,
consumer groups generally advise not to purchase towing
or car rental insurance because you are unlikely to need
these services. Towing as an insurance coverage is a "reimbursement"
up to a limit after you purchase the towing. Of course,
you can purchase "sign and drive" road service
right here at the Better World Club.
Also, you should take a moment to consider whether you need
additional medical insurance (generally offered as a "medical
payment option" coverage which will pay doctor and
hospital bills - and sometimes funeral expenses - for you
and your passengers) if you have a good medical insurance
plan (life insurance for the funeral coverage). Typically,
this coverage will help those passengers in your car who
don't have medical insurance.
Q.
Can I get a discount?
top of page
There are a variety of discounts for good drivers. Bad news
for 55 year olds: some insurance companies consider you
"seniors". They'll give you a discount all right,
but only if you take a drivers test. So how much is your
time-and your pride-worth? If it's 10-15% off your policy,
go for it. We have every confidence you'll pass.
Q. Why do we ask for your Social Security number?
top
of page
Better World Insurance represents various insurance companies/underwriters.
Insurance companies use a wide range of information about
a class of risks in order to determine how they set rates.
One aspect of this underwriting information that is currently
causing a furor in many state legislatures is credit rating,
which operates under the assumption that people with impaired
or nonexistent credit records present a greater risk in terms
of premium payment and potential for losses. The most obvious
way for underwriters to obtain your credit information is
through your social security number. This intersects with
yet another public furor over privacy rights and the protection
of personal information. There is no simple answer to this
dilemma, as credit rating is a standard insurance industry
tool and no clear consensus has arisen from the debates in
every state over its use. Suffice it to say that, for the
moment, credit rating is a legal and accepted practice and,
if you have a good credit rating, insurers say that you can
be assured of better rates.If you have personal reservations
about giving out your social security number in order to receive
a quote, that's fine: Don't provide it. You're under no legal
obligation to do so. Understand, however, that any quote you
receive under those conditions may not be a reliable indication
of the premium you will be asked to pay if you actually purchase
the insurance policy. When you commit to obtain coverage based
on the quote, your social security number will then be required,
and the underwriting information - and your price - will be
changed to reflect your exact profile. Again, if you have
a good credit rating, this will generally work in your favor.
Q:
Has Better World researched the environmental records of
the insurance companies they represent and work with?
top of page
We evaluate each of our vendors independently based on their
environmental and consumer records. Unfortunately, we are
not able to base this upon whether or not they do business
with our competition (i.e. AAA). If we did screen that way,
we might not be able to offer our customers certain products
and prices that they may be willing to obtain elsewhere.
In general, we look for insurance companies that have excellent
consumer service and fair prices. |
