Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Information Is Power When You Obtain Insurance

By Richard Johnson

The one error you do not want to make when you buy insurance for your car or your home or other things is to believe that insurance companies are on your side. They are interested in one thing and that certainly has nothing to do with you or your financial wellness.

Insurance companies aren't charities and they'll do everything they can to make sure their profits are as high as possible, including withholding valuable information. What exactly are a few of the things insurance companies would rather you not to be aware of?

Read on to discover.

A Good Insurance Policy

The particular question you need to ask yourself when an agent tells you that the plan they're providing you is a good one is whom it is in reality good for: you or the agent. You need to keep in mind that agents market insurance for a profit plus they often get additional profits from insurers to focus on selling their insurance plans over other competing ones.

Additionally, they're supplied greater commissions for putting your signature on on customers that are low risk, meaning that the rates they pay out are bigger than their claims. As long as you understand that the agent will take their own pursuits before yours, then you will find it easier to invest in insurance that will work for you rather than the broker.

How Rates Are Calculated

Even though all insurance companies make use of the fundamental risk factors when they calculate your premiums, for example where you live, how old you are, driving record, credit history and home ownership, there are many other variables added to the mix which are not revealed. Furthermore, every insurance company utilizes different formulas to calculate these risks and you're simply kept in the dark. A report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reveals that insurance costs can vary from $600 to $1,300 for the same policy, depending on the State you reside in.

Diminished Value

Once you've been involved in an accident, the value of your car drops considerably, even if it has been repaired and runs like new, irrespective of the quality of components used. However, what most insurance companies do not tell you is that you could actually collect the difference, which is called the diminished value, a key factor you have to remember when you invest in insurance.

Bear in mind that not all insurers will allow you to collect this amount, especially if they covered the cost of fixes. However, you can still benefit by writing it off against your taxes and that's why it may be beneficial to use an inspector to verify whether the work was done appropriately and to evaluate the loss.

Your Mechanic?

If you are under the impression that the repair service is on your side then you may be laboring under a serious misunderstanding that can cost you quite a penny and maybe even your safety. An increasing number of insurance providers have established partnerships with repair facilities that are on their list of "approved" mechanics. Because this is quite a lucrative option for the repair center they are quite willing to scrimp to maintain the repair costs down to keep the insurance company pleased. There is no clear cut evidence that this does happen but the risk is too great to disregard.

These are only some of the things that insurers keep from you which can affect the carrier you choose to buy insurance from.

Unfortunately, there is little you can do about some of them but since knowledge is power you can at least ask the right queries and never follow what the agent tells you blindly.

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