Every driver has wondered who the ideal insurer is, the one with the best prices and least hassles, the insurer with the best commercials and the hottest spokesperson. Who is the best insurer to purchase insurance from? Whether or not a driver is willing to admit it, there has been at least once where they have thought this. These thoughts can come from viewing a recent commercial, hearing what a neighbor is paying for their policy, or seeing the problems arising from the insurer of a family member because of their accident. In addition to these, the economy has got everyone wondering if there is another way they can cut back on daily life expenditures and the auto insurance bill is one expense many people have considered trying to cut back. So really, who has the best Car Insurance?

Instead of beating around the bush I’ll come out and tell you the bottom line is, the ideal insurer is the company who will fit the ideals of the driver. I know that one motorist may feel one insurance company is superior while another motorist could completely disagree and find another insurance company as the best. To find the “best” insurer for your needs, you first need to assess your automobile insurance needs.

What Are Your Car Insurance Needs?
When evaluating needs for your car insurance policy, start at the beginning, what is your net worth? (What you own minus what you owe). You want to make sure you’re insured above that. Then let’s look at what’s required by law. When you know what types of coverage and how many dollars must be purchased, think about whether or not that dollar amount will protect you and your assets in the even you cause an accident. The state requirements may not be enough protection for you and your circumstances. Perhaps considering a higher amount would be something you need.

Medical options are available for purchasing on an auto insurance policy. Healthcare coverage purchased through other means may be combined with these medical options on the policy, so be careful of duplicate coverage. A good agent can advise and explain this.

In addition to medical coverage and liabilities, insurers offer other options too. For instance, what would happen if your car were totaled? Could you afford to purchase another vehicle? With comprehension and collision coverage the insurer would repay you the cash value of your car’s worth if it were totaled or stolen. Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan also offers a replacement value option worth considering for a car less than three years old. A vandalized car is also covered here. Weather related accidents such as hail storms or wind damage can be covered on a vehicle that is not stored in a garage. Think about how you would pay for any type of damage done to your vehicle, especially if the vehicle is your only source of transportation and vital to maintaining your way of life. After assessing your insurance needs, see which insurers offer the type of car insurance that would benefit you most.

Strengths And Weaknesses of Insurer
When needs have been met, look into the strengths and weaknesses of different insurers. Four things to look at within each insurer is their price, how they handle their customer service, claims paying history and their financial stability. Each of these aspects will tell a driver how the company runs and whether or not they want to be part of it as a client. Can you afford your ideal policy? How close to full coverage can you purchase without breaking your budget? Each insurer will charge different amounts for the same coverage options. Calling the Steve Bedgood Agency can help any driver locate the coverage they want. All any driver needs to do is give us a call, answer questions about the driver, vehicle, and coverage, and they’ll be given a quote.

Customer service entails a number of things, including how the client is treated on the phone when they contact the insurer, how easy the insurer’s website can be read and looked through, how claims are handled, the convenience of payment, etc. Car insurance can be hard to deal with and understand, and having an insurer whose representatives are patient and knowledgeable take the stress out of most situations. Anyone can find out about an insurer’s customer service reputation by asking around.

Finally, don’t forget about an car insurance company’s financial stability. The stronger their finances are, the more able they are to pay out claims as promised in the policy contract. Wouldn’t it be terrible to be in a situation where you have been in an accident, filed a claim, paid the deductible, but there is no money in site from the insurer? After many calls you finally realize they do not have the money to payout as promised. This situation has happened and can be avoided when the policyholder knows the insurer’s financial strength. There are sites on the Internet that list different insurer’s strength and show whether or not they are vulnerable to failure.

What does your ideal insurer provide?  A smaller, local company providing excellent customer service? Each client knows what will make them satisfied with their insurer, and they should do what they can to research who will be their ideal match.

Please give us a call at the Steve Bedgood Agency. Your journey on the way to a good solid company with a great reputation and local, one-stop service could start and end with us.

We can be reached at www.muskegonautoinsurance.net or by simply calling (231) 744-9099

More to the sticker price than meets the eye!
Buying a new car can be a very exciting and overwhelming experience. Sorting through options, makes, models and features is enough to make your head spin. Not to mention the financing and car insurance costs. However, being prepared before you shop can help make the buying process quicker and easier for you!

Identifying the ideal car for you.
Before heading out to the car dealership, make a list of what you are looking for in a new car. As you are writing the list, think about the same concerns a car insurance company would consider when quoting you a rate, such as:

• How do you use your car?
• How many passengers do you typically carry?
• How often do you drive your car?
• Where do you drive?

These factors will help you pinpoint the best car for you, while also helping to potentially keep your car insurance premium down.

Features to consider before you buy.
Make a list of all the features and options that are important to you, such as head and leg room, transmission type, engine, trunk size, airbags, security system, anti-lock brakes and other safety features. Car insurance companies often give discounts for some of these items; saving you significant money on your overall quote.

Also, check out auto manufacture’s websites. Many have special pages that let you “shop” for your dream car – giving you the opportunity to select the features that are important to you, while also providing you with the true cost of these “extra perks.”

The cost.
Before you buy you should always factor in all costs involved with buying a new car, including sticker price, gas, maintenance, financing rates, taxes and car insurance.

How much you pay for your car has a powerful effect on your car insurance premium. A luxury car with all the latest safety features will typically cost more to insure than a no-frill economy car, due in part, because the higher-priced car may be more expensive to repair or is more likely to be stolen.

Yet some cars do consistently get better deals on car insurance rates than others. For example, a $14,000 Dodge Neon costs about the same amount to insure as a $34,000 Volvo XC70.

Why, you may ask?

The Volvo tends to receive a bigger insurance discount because it inflicts less damage to other cars in an accident, suffers less damage, has a lower theft rate and protects its passengers better in an accident.

According to one national insurance provider, the Dodge Neon does worse than the average car in all three categories, equaling the reason why it costs so much to insure.

Do your research!
Not only do you need to look at what your new car has to offer, you also need to do some background research as well.

Car insurance premiums are based partly on the price of the vehicle, which affects the replacement cost if it is stolen or “totaled” in an accident. How expensive the vehicle is to repair – including parts and labor – can also impact your insurance rate. In addition, surcharges may apply to vehicles that are frequently stolen or involved in accidents.

To find out if that next dream car might be more than you bargained for, visit Highway Loss Data Institute’s website. Here you will find industry-wide information on injury claims, collision repair costs and theft rates by vehicle model.

Comparison shop before you buy.
Before you make your final decision, visit www.SteveBedgoodAgency.com we’ll  find you the best car insurance rate we offer. There, you’ll be able to learn more about us before giving us a call at (231) 744-9099.

www.muskegonautoinsurance.net

Drivers who are satisfied with their automobile insurance company will often assume they have “the best” company in the business. They are happy with the price they are paying and feel their coverage is adequate. However, many car owners stop there and don’t look further into their provider to find out whether or not they truly do have “the best” car insurer out there. They omit checking to see what other companies are offering to their customers, such as more coverage for a lower overall price. Past the final cost of the premium, drivers should look for other things about their car insurance company before declaring them as the best choice.

How are their finances?
Have you checked into the finances of the car insurance provider for your vehicle? It’s no secret that the current economy isn’t allowing for many companies to do well. Even some of the more popular companies throughout all sectors are barely hanging on. Now is as good of a time as ever to look into the finances of the insurer who claims they will insure your vehicle, especially before the time comes where you may need to file a claim. There have been instances where drivers get in an accident and file a claim with their auto insurer, only to discover their insurer does not have the money to pay up as once promised. This leaves the driver angry and looking for another way to pay for those damages immediately, particularly the medical bills. Had those drivers known about their car insurance company’s financial strength, they could have switched to a stronger provider before they needed to file a claim to avoid this mishap.

Checking out the financial strength of an auto insurance provider is relatively simple and doesn’t take much of the driver’s time. If you think you will need to contact the insurer to get this information, think again. There are third party companies who go in and evaluate car  insurance companies to determine how strong they are financially. Each company has their own ranking system and gladly shares their findings with the public. The companies who are providing the rankings are trusted companies who have been performing these evaluations for some time.

There are three known companies we’ll discuss today that will give out their findings of which insurance companies are strong and which ones should be avoided. The first is AM Best. They are adamant about sharing who is “Secure” and who is “Vulnerable” in their finances. This is determined by their giving each company a letter grade, much like in school. Any company receiving a letter grade of B or lower is deemed as vulnerable to financial failure, but this does not indicate that AM Best knows the insurance company is going to fail. It implies that based on the car insurance company’s current finances and the way they are handling them they are susceptible to a possible failure. Companies who receive a letter grade of B+ or higher are secure, meaning they are likely to remain financially strong for the next while according to their current finances.

A second company that will evaluate the financial status of car insurance companies is Weiss Ratings. Each quarter, Weiss Ratings evaluates other companies and then will post their findings. Weiss explicitly states they do not accept any money from the companies they evaluate, which makes their findings 100% unbiased. They give out letter grades to the companies they rank, ranging from an A to an E. Receiving an A will indicate the insurer is “Excellent” while an E ranking will deem that company as “Very Weak.”

The third company is Standard and Poor’s. They have been assessing financial strength since 1971 and they also distribute letter grades, beginning with the highest markings of AAA. They offer an interactive guide for their readers to help them understand how to properly read their findings and use them for their benefit.

All ratings from these companies are their opinions based on what they have found in their evaluations. They are not guarantees, only suggestions.

How will they treat you?
The top car  insurance companies will go out of their way to help their customers feel like they are the top priority. Speaking with other trusted drivers about how their interactions have been with their insurer can help a driver figure out which company is best, but this can lead to a small group of opinions and make it a harder choice. JD Power is a third party company that evaluates not the financial status of a company like the previously mentioned companies, but they evaluate the customer satisfaction of an insurer. Not only do they assess the way customers are treated by the representatives, but also the way a customer can pay their bill and the overall experience. JD Power will list their top find each year.

What is their cost compared to others?
Price is a huge factor when choosing an insurance provider for your vehicle. It’s almost the top reason why people will switch insurers. However, as seemingly important as this may be, most drivers don’t bother to see what other insurance companies are offering for the same coverage.  Farm Bureau Insurance will need to know information about the driver, vehicle, and coverage wanted, which is exactly what would be asked by other insurers if you were to call around and get quotes. We do this face-to-face  so we can get to know you and your needs,when the answers have been submitted, we will know we’ve met your needs.

The best auto insurance company is the one that has a strong financial status, great customer service, and low prices. While some companies may only offer two out of the three, Farm Bureau does quite well at all three. Occasionally the financial status and customer service may be top notch, but the price is a little higher than other companies. Some drivers may find this to be okay since they’ll be paying a little more for a better quality company, but only they can make that decision. Know what you want before you purchase a policy for better chances of being happy with the company.

At the Steve Bedgood Agency we strive for excellent service while offering an excellent product at a fair price. Check us out at www.muskegonautoinsurance.net.