Smart Auto Insurance Blog

Many question whether or not gap insurance, offered by most auto insurance companies, is worth the money.  If you need it, it will come in extremely handy.  According to the article “Car Gap Insurance: Is it Right For You?” by Russ Heaps on bankrate.com defines gap insurance as the coverage difference between the actual value of your new car and what the value was when you drove off the lot.

This can be a huge benefit if you are in an accident with your new car because the average new car loses 30% of its value the first year after it is purchased.  By the 3rd year that loss in value will be closer to 50% according to the senior consumer advice editor at Edmonds.com, the auto data provider.  If you are protected with gap insurance your insurance company will pay the difference in this high cost, rather than you.

You are a good candidate for gap insurance if you lease a car, finance it for 60 months or more, put down less than 20%, roll negative equity from a previous loan into a new car loan, driver over 15,000 miles a year or buy a new car with a history of high depreciation rates.  Check with your auto insurance company to see if this gap coverage is offered.  Get a quote with Dairyland Insurance to see if their benefits suit your needs.

According to the article “Driver Distractions Behind Auto Insurance Rate Hikes” by Danny Workman on examiner.com, 80% of crashes and 60% of near crashes are the result of driver distractions such as spilled coffee, hot soup, tacos and hamburgers.

Many of these accidents occur when the lead automobile is stopped and is rear ended by a driver who is distracted.  Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Virgina Tech Transportation Institute find that these crashes and near crashes happen within 3 seconds of a driver being distracted.

Some other distractions that are causing auto insurance rates to increase are talking on the phone, text messaging, tuning the car radio, reading a map, lighting a cigarette and applying makeup or shaving.  While it may seem obviously dangerous to do many of these tasks while driving it happens all the time and many of these items are becoming illegal in an attempt to make the roads safer.