Accidents Happen
Sometimes accidents just can't be helped, but in
other cases they can be prevented.
According to a CNN report, below are things drivers do
that cause car crashes:
Drowsiness - 22.2% of crashes
Dialing hand-held-devices - 3.6%
Talking or listening
to hand-held device - 3.6%
Reading - 2.9%
Eating -
2.2%
Applying makeup - 1.4%
Reaching for object
- 2.3%
Looking at external object - 0.9%
Insect in vehicle -
0.4%
Don't Be Afraid To Look For A Better Rate After An Accident
Be Fearless: Many
drivers are "afraid" to switch
insurance
companies to get a lower rate, after an
accident,
mainly because they don't think any other company will want
them. They're wrong.
No matter if you have a perfectly clean driving record, or a
spotty one, insurance
companies
target their
rates for
different profiles. Look at these 2
"shocking"
rate examples by the government
(scroll down).
Clean Record vs. A Ticket & Accident
The purpose of insurance is to put you back in the
place you were in before the loss.
Unfortunately, that doesn't include your insurance
rate after an accident. Insurance company
rates for the same car and driver can be $1,000's of
dollars apart and rates can change up to 4
times
a year. It's impossible, without a rate guide, for
drivers to find the
insurance company with
the
best rates for them at any given time.
Rate
Alert:
When you do a rate search on
www.InsuranceHotline.com,
and get a quote, you can opt in to our Rate Alert service
that will re-run your quote automatically every few months
to keep you informed of the changing prices.
InsuranceHotline.com automatically shops the top 30 Canadian
insurance company rates, for the 3 lowest prices.
Look at these 2 Rate Examples: The
Ontario government published these rate comparisons to
encourage drivers to shop before they renew their car
insurance. Look at the vast rate differences between 52
insurance companies for a:
1) driver
with a clean record.
2) driver with
a ticket and accident.
Keep In
Mind: Each rate
comparison used the same driver, car and policy coverages.
If you look at the first example of a driver with a clean
record, in Toronto, 56 companies quoted 56 different rates.
Changing the postal code produced 448 vastly different
quotes for the same car and driver.
Example 1: Toronto Driver Profile - Driver, Clean Record
Lowest
For Toronto: $970 |
Highest For
Toronto:
$4,641 |
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It is critical to note that
if one variable changes like
the age, car model or postal
code, and so forth,
company positions and rates
change drastically. Look
at AXA, for instance, for a
Toronto postal code the rate
is $1,521, for Ottawa it
drops to $936.
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Note:
Some of these companies
listed don't sell to the public. They only sell through
specialized groups and employee company plans. |
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Example 2: Toronto Driver Profiles - Driver, 1 ticket & accident |
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Lowest
For Toronto: $2,051 |
Highest For
Toronto:
$17,468 |
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The amount the insurance
company pays for the
accident claim does NOT
affect the amount by which
the insurance company will
increase your rate.
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In this example if the
driver were with Citadel
General Assurance Company,
their rate would be $8,497,
yet other companies' rates
are less by half. So why
wouldn't you switch? And
with a different
driver's profile
Citadel General Assurance
Company
could be the best rated
company.
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Note:
Some of these companies
listed don't sell to the
public. They only sell
through specialized groups
and employee company plans. |
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