Archive for June, 2009
Car Insurance Deductibles in a Down Economy
Many consumers are looking to cut household expenses any way they can in these uncertain economic times. The first place most households often look is car insurance premiums. To clarify, a car insurance premium is the amount you pay to the car insurance company on a regular basis (ie monthly) so the car insurance company will fix your car in the event of a car accident. Car insurance can be considered a necessary evil. No one likes paying for car insurance. You have to pay for car insurance when you don’t use it and when you finally need it; car insurance companies make it a major hassle to obtain your money from them to fix your broken car.
One of the most common ways to reduce your monthly car insurance premium is to increase your insurance deductible. What is a deductible you ask? A deductible is the amount of money you pay out of your own pocket in the event of a car insurance claim (i.e. a car accident that is your fault).
As tempting as it may seem to raise your car insurance deductible to reduce your monthly insurance payment, you need to evaluate your financial situation first. For example, ask yourself, “If I raise my deductible from $1,000 to $2,000 do I have the $2,000 deductible set aside in the event I get into a car accident?” If the answer is no, you may want to postpone raising your car insurance deductible until you save $2,000 and can comfortably put it aside. If the answer is yes, you still need to consider your car driving habits and your risk of a car accident.
Your car driving habits can alter your car insurance expenses significantly. If you are a safe driver and can go a long period of time without getting into a car accident, raising your deductible may be a smart move. If you are not a safe driver and you frequently get into car accidents, raising your insurance deductible may not be worth it. The longer you go without getting into a car accident, the more money you save on car insurance expenses. If you get into a car accident shortly after raising your deductible, you may end up losing money. Let’s look at an example.
If increasing your deductible from $1,000 to $2,000 decreases your monthly car insurance premium by $25, then it would take 40 months (starting from the date you raise your car insurance deductible) for your monthly savings to cover the $1,000 increase in deductible (40 x $25 = $1,000). So that means if you have an accident during those 40 months, you are better off keeping your deductible at $1,000. With your driving record, can you go 3 years and 4 months without a car accident? If not, you may want to reconsider or change your driving habits.
So, you are a great driver and fully confident in your ability to go 3 years and 4 months without a car accident. Too bad it’s not that easy and too bad we don’t drive on roads without other vehicles. You also have to consider other drivers on the road. We all know there are plenty of dumb drivers on the road. Due to congestion and higher population, there are a larger number of morons on the road in the city than in the country. Your chance of getting into an accident in an urban environment is a lot higher than in a rural environment. So carefully take into consideration where you live, work and play before you raise your car insurance deductible.
Is raising your car insurance deductible right for you?
Car Insurance
Brand Management
The ambition of the Brand Management Group is to be the leading competency within innovation and brand management. Our mission is to add strategic brand building and brand equity to the agenda of Scandinavian boards and management.
Throughout many years of practice we have identified concrete and great challenges for Scandinavian business:
- Low frequency and awareness of innovation practice
- Brand Management practices are incomplete and lacking substance
- Short-Term Management and sole focus on cost efficiency are the unfortunate leading rule
The Brand Management Group has the mission to influence and attend to these challenges, which slowly have emerged due to financial management focus and the philosophy of maximization of shareholder value.
It is therefore; we exclusively work with the implementation of strategically strengthening the ability to create, develop and maintain customer loyalty and to hence increasing revenues and the long-term financial value of the organization.
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All challenges are met and solved by involving the client, and smart, relevant thinking leads through organization of projects and facilitation of processes.
We transfer concrete methods, tools and insight to the owners of the challenge. By following this practice we secure that word leads to action.
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