William Edward “Bill” Haslam, the governor of Tennessee, signed a new bill, HB 2466, on April 16, 2012, to legalize the arrest of uninsured drivers in the event of a serious accident. The enforcement of the new law appears to be an effort by the government to make Tennessee motorists more aware of the importance of having auto insurance coverage. Under the new bill, serious accidents are defined as accidents causing death or serious bodily injury. When the rising cost of auto insurance premiums may be a major reason why many car owners tend to avoid buying cover, auto insurance policies come in as a viable alternative.

Enforcement of HB 2466 at Tennessee: The Background

According to statistics published by the Insurance Research Council, one out of every four Tennessee motorists didn’t have auto insurance coverage as of 2009. Prior to the enforcement of the new law, drivers without proper insurance cover were usually charged by issuing a citation, which had very little effect on uninsured drivers.

In 2010, Ricky Otts, a 59-year-old Tennessee motorcyclist, was killed by an uninsured driver of the state. The driver was only charged with a misdemeanor-level citation by the police. The event was condemned by many people, most of who demanded a strict law to punish uninsured drivers. The newly passed bill, HB 2466, is rumored to be a consequence to this 2010 incident. That is why the bill is commonly referred to as the Ricky Otts Act.

The buzz is that several other states in America may follow the example of Tennessee in the coming years. Drivers who are yet to buy auto insurance should take a quick look at the following benefits of having auto insurance.

Benefits of Auto Insurance

• Peace of mind– Car accidents may suddenly put financial pressure on you. When you are under the cover of auto insurance, you are free from such worries. You get peace of mind in exchange of nominal monthly premiums.
• Affordability– Auto insurance, as the term suggests, is a chance for you to get insurance cover on your car at the most competitive rates.

However, you need to make sure that you compare a number of auto insurance quotes before choosing one. The reputation and background of the insurance provider should also be taken into considerations. If you are planning to buy auto insurance, just enter your zip code in the box given below to compare auto insurance quotes and find the right auto insurance for you.

Ken Kobylowski, the Acting Commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) recently offered some useful tips on how consumers could avoid auto insurance fraud. The prevalence of insurance fraud has been a cause of concern in the US for a long time. According to latest statistics from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, insurance fraud caused a loss of approximately $80 billion in the US in 2006. The situation hasn’t changed much since then. However, Kobylowski believes, “If consumers exercise caution and follow some common sense measures after an auto accident, they can avoid fraud and navigate easily through the insurance system.” Let’s take a look at some useful tips provided by Kobylowski on avoiding auto insurance fraud while getting affordable auto insurance.

• • Keep records – According to Kobylowski, it is very important to keep your insurance records updated and organized. This helps you to get a quick grant on your insurance claims. Organized records reduce the risk of fraud claims to a large extent. Kobylowski also said that you should “be forthcoming about your driving record to your insurance company. It is better to pay a bit more for a policy now than to be denied coverage or dropped from coverage altogether when you need it most.”
• •Take advice from professionals you trust – One way to avoid auto insurance fraud is consulting with professionals you know and trust. Kobylowski specifically recommended doctors and attorneys. In most cases, they will give you honest advice. However, there are exceptions and some professionals may try to earn some profit by taking undue advantage of the situation.
• •Be careful of excessively rewarding offers – While it is good to get a discount or an offer when buying auto insurance or SR22 insurance, you should be careful about offers that sound too good to be true. There must be some reason behind an unreasonable offer. Kobylowski suggests that you should avoid such offers. Moreover, you should be aware of insurers asking for an upfront payment or offering civil settlements.
• •Report after your car meets an accident – Even when your vehicle suffers minor damage in an accident, you should be proactive in reporting it to the police. You should also take photos of the damaged car and take a note of the number of passengers in the vehicle at the time of accident.

Ken Kobylowski also advised consumers to note down the names and phone numbers of the people involved in the accident to be able to challenge any false claim later.

If you are planning to buy auto insurance, just enter your zip code in the box given below to compare auto insurance quotes and discover the most affordable auto insurance for you.

When the day comes that you have to file a claim with your auto insurance provider, there are certain critical things you should do. These steps give you the peace of mind of being sure you are going to get reimbursed for money you spend and that costs get covered by your insurer. Apply each of the following steps anytime you have to file a claim.

The first thing to know in any accident is all the parties involved. Do not just exchange numbers with the other driver. Get their first and last name. Also list down on paper the occupants of all vehicles involved, both passengers and drivers.

Once you have established that everyone in all vehicles are okay after an accident, look around and see if there are witnesses. See if any of them can stick around until law enforcement arrives for their reporting. If not, get contact information so that both police and your insurance company can contact them in the future if their input is needed in determining the sequence of events.

When one or more police officers respond, get their individual information. They may not have individual phone numbers that they can give out, but you can get things like names, ranks and unit numbers. Definitely get the police report number that gets filed, as many insurance companies will not cover any accident not formally reported to the police.

Determine the vehicles that were involved in the accident. Typically, this will involve just your car and another car if it was a minor collision, but sometimes there are three or more vehicles. In some cases, one vehicle involved might flee the scene. Write down any distinguishing characteristics you can remember before it disappears. For cars still in place, get makes, models, manufacturers, license plate and even VIN numbers.

If you have a camera or phone with photo capacity on your person at the time of an accident, take all the pictures you can of the accident scene. These are powerful sources of information your insurer can use to protect your interests against the offending party in court or settlement negotiations. Even if you are at fault, these photos can protect your rates if the other driver claims more damages than actually happened.

Once it is time to get your car somewhere to get fixed up, make sure you choose a covered repair shop. Tows are expensive, so there is no point getting your car to a shop that your insurance will not do business with. That either means another tow or paying for your repairs out of your own pocket.

In all cases, keep written records. Put everything you can possibly think of down on paper. If there are matters that are not resolved between the other driver and your insurer, court action is a possibility and documented evidence helps you out. Even if there are settlement negotiations outside of court, evidence still plays for a stronger bargaining position.

If you are able to file a claim with sound evidence and proper documentation, your claim process should be a breeze. This way, damages will get covered by your insurer, and you can get back to normal life.

One of the most important parts of being a responsible driver is to have auto insurance. There are so many drivers on the road and you want to make sure that you are protecting them as well as yourself. Each year the amount of insurance premiums goes up. Here are several discounts most people do not know about that will help you find affordable auto insurance and keep more money in your pocket.

While it is true that auto insurance companies charge you more if you are a young driver, being one proves to be to your advantage in some cases. Having a 3.0 GPA or higher shows the insurance company that you are very responsible, which gives them confidence that you will be a better driver. As a result, good grades will help you save money. Not all students are eligible so you will have to find out more from your provider.

Not every car is equipped with anti-lock brakes, but those that are may be eligible for a discount. Insurance companies do not like making payouts so having extra safety features like this on your vehicle makes them feel like they may not have to pay out any money for accidents. If the car you purchase does not have them you should consider getting them installed for safety as well as the discount potential.

Going to school far away from your home is another way that you can get a discount on auto insurance. If you are a student that attends college pretty far away and you do not drive you should convince your parents to add you to their policy in order to receive this student auto insurance discount.

It is not always practical for people to make their auto insurance payments in one large lump sum. The benefit of this is that it can save you more than $20 a month. That might not seem like a lot of money, but if you intend to drive for the next 50 years that is a lot of money saved. If you cannot afford a full year ahead of time see if you can pay in biannual installments.

Carpooling is a great way to save the environment, but many people do not know that it is also a great way to save money on car insurance. When you carpool that dramatically decreases the amount of miles that your car is driven yearly so your insurance company might offer you a discount for that. Most of them also have discounts for those who use public transportation options.

These discounts are available for many people, but every single person who applies for insurance will not be eligible. Many people are eligible, but do not know this so they fail to apply which means that they will not end up with discount auto insurance. While these are great options, you should explore the various other discounts that may be offered by your car insurance provider. Call them and see what else they offer so you can be sure to save as much as you can in your quest for cheap auto auto insurance.

Here’s Officer Larry sharing some tips on obtaining discount auto insurance, car insurance for women, and student auto insurance:

Our new demo showing how easy it really is to compare auto insurance quotes and finally obtain cheap auto insurance…

Are you in the market for an auto insurance provider? What do you look for in auto insurance quote?

The carrier you choose can make a big, big difference – it can mean the difference between having claims paid quickly and promptly and going through endless hassles! But how do you know when you have found a good company? What are the signs you should look for?

It can sometimes be the case that major companies will offer the best discount auto insurance rates, but there are quite a few smaller companies that deserve a second look as well. Make sure you consider a variety of companies – some will likely fit your needs much better than others.

You want to make sure that your insurance company is dependable and reliable. If they have a poor track record – low customer satisfaction, a history of claims either not paid at all or paid late, for example – then let that be a big red flag for you.

Do not be fooled by a slick advertising campaign – if a company has good marketing but bad ratings, keep looking! Make sure you do your research – it can be easy to say almost anything in an advertisement or ad, but you need to know that the company you pick is solid and dependable.

If the insurance company’s current customers are happy with them and have good things to say about them, then the company certainly merits a second look. Thanks to the internet, it will likely be relatively easy for you to find out what customer satisfaction levels are like with many different companies.

Take the time to be fully aware of all your options. Research companies that you are interested in, get a number of auto insurance quotes, and make the best educated decision possible. The time that you invest now will have a significant payoff in the future!

Thinking about which car insurance policy to purchase can be a hassle if you are not sure what all is included in the policy. This article will help you cut the clutter, and it will help you gain a better understanding of the details of your policy. Read on to find out helpful car insurance policy tips.

First, you must know the different types of coverage. This does not just mean full coverage and liability. It also refers to uninsured motorist coverage, rental options, and much more. You have to know what your available options are when you are purchasing insurance, whether you’re searching for new driver car insurance, student car insurance, car insurance for woman driver, or general affordable car insurance.

You might wonder why you are being charged for certain options. You need to make sure you always keep track of the itemization of your insurance. If there is something you do not want on there, request that it be taken off. If you request it be removed and it doesn’t happen, it is most likely because it is either required by law or part of an insurance package option and is included in the price.

Get every kind of discount that you can find. Discounts really help out immensely when it comes to purchasing auto insurance. Auto insurance discounters can help you with this. A few good discounts can significantly reduce the amount you have to pay for your premium.

Look for the section in your policy on accidents. Know the protocol for the company, and have an action plan. You need to be prepared when it comes to accidents.

Many people wonder if the insurance provider can change their policy. They can for certain reasons in accordance with changes to your driving record or if legal changes occur. This is likely not to happen; however, it can occur and is possible.

This article has hopefully given you a better understanding of auto insurance policies. It can be quite complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Use the tips you have just read, peruse our other articles, and look over your current policy or the policy you plan to purchase.

When it comes to shopping for an auto insurance quote, you should consider several variables that will impact your premium costs for insurance coverage. If you are considering car insurance policies, use the tips below to avoid choosing the wrong insurance for your needs.

First and foremost, you must decide whether you need to have collision coverage in addition to having liability coverage. If your car is financed, you will have no choice because financed cars are required to carry collision coverage. If your car is older, you may decide to forfeit coverage of collision insurance. The decision still requires some attention because car repairs are very expensive and you might still end up saving money by paying for collision so that in the event of an accident you don’t have to pay for repairs for your older car out-of -pocket.

The decision to have a liability coverage-only policy will also require that you do some research. Liability coverage varies in amount of coverage and you can compare how much the difference in your premium will be for less liability coverage or more liability coverage.

In the event you decide to have collision and liability coverage, you will need to address the amount of deductible on your policy. Deductibles in all types of insurance impact your premium costs. Car insurance policies that offer a shrinking deductible if you drive a certain amount of time without an accident often charge more for their insurance coverage to begin with so you will want to compare prices among insurers if you are considering purchasing a shrinking deductible policy. If you have a good driving record, your options to get lower premium charges will not be dependent on some shrinking deductible gimmick provided by insurance companies.

There are other costs that are often built into or can be added onto car insurance policies. One of these is rental car coverage. Usually the rental car coverage will be a daily allowance towards the expense of a rental car; you will want to note whether it’s $30 or $50 or some other number towards the cost of a rental car. You’ll also want to know how much more you’ll pay as part of your monthly premium for such coverage.

It is important to read about the insurance company you are considering in terms of claims experience by customers. Whether the company makes it difficult to get the repairs or takes a long time to process claims can impact the actual value of your auto insurance to you.

A bad driving record will likely prompt you to seek the cheapest insurance that your driving experience will allow you to have. The best way to shop for car insurance in this instance is to price out how much insurance would cost you if you purchased a certain type of car or a car of a certain age.

When it comes to car insurance, examining the details of a policy can be an important part of your consideration in addition to the cost of the insurance coverage. Use the tips above to consider the auto insurance policy that best fits your needs.

No, we’re not talking about the iconic motel of the same name located on the South Carolina border.  We love it too, but here we’re talking about the real deal.  Whether it’s the Baja peninsula or mainland Mexico, if you’re going to be driving south of the border, you’re going to want to get the full scoop on Mexican auto insurance.

Is Mexico auto insurance required for tourists?  Is it expensive to get a policy?  What if you have an accident and don’t have it? Find out all the details in our special article: Mexican Auto Insurance – What American and Canadian Tourists Need to Know.