February 10, 2011
Is ‘Cheap Auto Insurance’ Really Cheap?
It is significant to see the amount of prose that has been published online about the automobile insurance polices and companies. The main trend for the bulk of the writing in use this insurance literature is in the direction of selling cheap insurance, the low cost insurance policies with little regard to other facets, and not in the right context of offering ‘a security product to protect your wealth and assets.’ This is why when looking for the keyword ‘auto insurance’ you get a large amount of internet websites showing up with the ‘selling’ themes such as affordable auto insurance, or low cost auto insurance, or cheap auto insurance.
In the first quarter of 2011 Google AdWords reported that there were 8,100; 9,900; 74,000 monthly searches for the above key phrases, respectively. Alternatively, there were only 110 monthly searches for the expression ‘reliable auto insurance’, 170 monthly searches for ‘quality auto insurance’, and 8,100 monthly searches for ‘top auto insurance companies.’ It is rather easy to come to a conclusion that most of the auto insurance searches on line are about price, not quality.
A basic principle in marketing is to understand what people ‘need and want’ and devise and put together your product or service in a marketable position to meet ‘what the folks want.’ Studying these figures we can reach a result that most people want low-priced auto insurance, the really cheap one. As a marketer, if you plan any promotion without bearing in mind the previous analysis you may ultimately flunk the marketing exams, shut down your website and consider becoming a tattoo artist, not a marketer.
What’s the variation among car insurance polices? From a ‘financial planning standpoint’ car insurance comparison should never be based on price only, and perhaps most people agree that cheap insurance is not necessarily the best car insurance. If you purchase tires for your 2005 Honda Pilot you maybe be able to use them with some tweaking to fit your Accord, but the situation will look clumsy and perhaps unsafe. But what most people do not know is that a car insurance policy with the highest rated insurer may also be one of the most difficult contract. In planning for your finance, an auto insurance policy should be evaluated in reference with three aspects:
1. Price: of course the cheaper the better.
2. Company Rating: Non standard companies are more flexible than their standard or preferred counterparts with regard to past violations found on the MVR activities of the drivers and the credit score of the car insurance applicants. However, non standard companies are harsher than others in customer service and paying claims. Most of complains come from non standard insurance companies. While preferred companies do not hesitate to quickly pay for smaller claims suck as seven or eight thousand dollars claim, or even little more; all companies from top to bottom will try to examine the application to see if they have to or do not have to pay a $100,000 claim.
3. Liability Limits. This is the most ignored, least understood, but is the most important aspect of the policy which affect customers during time they need the insurance. It measures how much protection you have in the event you get sued. A professional financial advisor will never ever sell you an auto insurance policy at low limits if he/she has enough information that you and your spouse have enough wealth to be sued for in the event that you or a family household member cause a major auto accident and your car insurance pays the maximum on the policy which turns out not to be enough.
There are many insurance policies sold with superior insurance companies at the lowest liability limits mandated by the state. In the State of Illinois these limits are 20/40/15, which means that in the event you cause an accident that is your fault and you get sued by others, then your company will pay to others on your behalf no more than $20,000 for bodily injury for one person, no more than $40,000 for bodily injury for all other people in the accident, and a maximum of $15,000 for any and all property damage you case in that accident. If you are a business owner and you cause a major accident resulting in a unbeaten lawsuit of $300,000 and your insurance company maxed the payment on the policy and paid $20,000 , the difference of $280,000 will have to come from your own money!
Ed Sneineh, an insurance professional since 1989, former college educator of insurance, and founder of Insurance Navy, a leader in providing Chicago car insurance quotes. Visit our website and get your Illinois SR22 insurance quotes in 5 minutes or less.
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