Automobile Insurance 101

by: Christine Zafra

If you have car insurance, lucky you.

According to Sainsbury car insurance’s latest data, about 1.15 million drivers have driven their cars for the past year without car insurance. But that’s not the most disturbing fact in their data. According to the same recorded evidence, almost half of those drivers were from the 17 – 24 age group. It is a fact that the people belonging to this age group are considered to be the most dangerous drivers since, they are either ignorant of the traffic laws or they are too aggressive on the road (DUI rates are high within this age group).

Photo taken from http://www.utvet.com

by: Christine Zafra

The rising costs of premiums and policies have made six million people in the United States switch car insurance companies for the past six months. According to MoneyExpert.com, these people tried to look for another one when their own insurance company announced that there will be an increase in their insurance premiums. MoneyExperts predicted that there will be about 10% increase this year because a lot of claims have been made (and rising!). Of course, MoneyExperts said that for these insurance companies to attract new clients, they will still give out discounts—at the expense of the old policyholders for sure.

Photo taken from http://www.weeklygripe.co.uk

by: Christine Zafra

GIECO, an automobile insurance company, has reported that according to their gathered data, catalytic converters are the leading parts that are stolen in today’s cars. These converters can be sold to junk shops and auto car dealers, who may or may not be part of the scheme.

Basically, the gadget plays an important role. It “converts” the toxic gases produced by the car itself by filtering it before it shoots out of the car’s exhaust pipe. Normally, these thieves position themselves in a parking area or perhaps, a busy street with parallel parked cars to eliminate suspicion from other passersby.

Photo taken from http://static.howstuffworks.com

by: Christine Zafra

Insurance fraudsters are getting ingenious day by day. There is actually a new trick these people are employing. Here’s how they operate so better read on.

If you have been following a vehicle in front of you, and that car has no break lights, watch out. If that person inside is a fraudster, he or she will floor the breaks and chances are, if you drive too near its tail, you’ll crash to it. This requires the fraudster to have a conniver since he or she cannot just floor the breaks for nothing. The conniver will try to swerve at the direction of the fraudster’s car to make him or her step on the breaks.

To prevent this from happening, do not ride the tail of the car in front of you. Keep some distance and drive carefully. Be cautious of your surroundings.

Photo taken from http://www.vti.se

by: Christine Zafra

Forensic paint analysis is an anti-crime division of the authorities in charge of tracking down bad guys who have utilized cars in their crimes. If ever you wonder how they do it, here’s how.

The paint of the car is coated many times. The first coating (direct to the metal casing of the car) is the electron coating. This coating is dark gray in color. Then another batch of paint is added, this time, the color is either light gray or red brown. Then, the third and final batch is added (the color that is visible to the eye).

Now, here’s the coolest trick. Have you heard of the color spectrum? No matter how alike the colors of the cars are, the spectrum says otherwise. If the car bumps another car, or a post or a person, a part of the car paint chips away and sticks to the other. Forensic paint analysts use the spectrum method to determine the color of the car, the model (some car manufacturers only use a certain type of paint) etc.

When enough data is gathered, they go search for the culprit and believe me, this has been proven effective.

Photo taken from http://mediagods.com

by: Christine Zafra

Before, making a hit and run is very easy. You arrive at a party, drink some booze and stuff, prepare to leave and fumble for your car keys. You actually think that you’re sober but the truth is, you’re not (most drunks think this way). You drive on the highway, then suddenly, bam! You hit a car. You got to your senses and scared to be actually held responsible for it, so, you run. Isolated place, wee hours in the morning, perfect crime.

But not anymore. Science has unveiled its latest discovery on forensic paints. Yes, you heard it right, forensic paints.

So, what is forensic paint all about?

To be continued.

Photo taken from http://www.panamacarinsurance.com

by: Christine Zafra

There are a lot of insurance frauds going around town. Thousands of them are being tracked by the authorities and hundred have been persecuted for their wrongdoings. Insurance companies do their best to provide people with much financial security as possible, but some people just have this urge to abuse it. For the insurance companies, one way of detecting insurance fraud is to interrogate the policyholder while doing your own research as to what really happened. The policyholder might say that he or she was hit by another car (and wasn’t able to get the plate number because it was too dark etc.), but upon doing some investigation, there was no other car that passed the area during those hours.

Insurance companies, be wary.

Photo taken from http://www.cartoonstock.com

by: Christine Zafra

Everyone talks about getting a car insurance, but after that, what now? Perhaps your car is insured right now and that’s great news. At least you got to your senses. But do you know how it works?

If you have had a car accident (I hope it’s nothing serious), you can file a claim with your insurance company to have your expenses reimbursed. You have to give your insurance broker a ring ASAP. Delaying might make things worse. Now this is the hard part. If you tend to lose things, better change you ways right now as you will need to keep all the receipts you have incurred when you had your car done. Now all you need to do is submit those to your insurance broker and ta-da! Reimbursement will be on its way.

Photo taken from http://www.fototagger.com