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When will they waive the collision deductible?
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When will the collision deductible be waived? Who is covered while driving the insured car? These are the two questions to ask a car insurance company - before there is a claim.
Car insurance commercials are laughable. All Los Angeles area car insurers do everything that is featured on each different commercial. For example, all insurers reduce premiums for insuring both home and car with them, not just Allstate. There are these two significant differences among all the car insurance policies available in Los Angeles, though. As of this writing they aren't in any of the commercials!
Besides reading the fine print in all the various car insurance policies, the way to discover the best policies is to call an insurer's claims line and ask a liability adjuster the following questions. It might be easier to reach an insurance agent, but agents are paid only to sell insurance. They don't handle claims. Insurance agents often don't know these details on how claims are handled. To make an informed insurance shopping decision, then call the claims lines at the three companies that give the best rate quotes and ask these questions.
1 - Under what circumstances will the collision deductible be waived?
This is the most noticable difference, once there is a claim. Mercury Insurance will waive the collision deductible as soon as they verify the car was damaged by a person who has insurance. Farmers Insurance will only waive the collision deductible if 1) the car insurance policy has a UMPD waiver endorsement and 2) it is verified that the car was damaged by an uninsured motorist. It can be mighty annoying to wait thirty days while Farmers investigates, especially if the collision deductible is more than $500.00.
2 - Who is covered while driving the insured car?
Do not assume that an insured car is covered no matter who is driving. Some Mid Century Insurance policies only cover drivers who are named on the insurance policy, no one else. Farmers Insurance won't cover relatives who live with you unless they are on the insurance policy. Safeco will cover anyone who lives with you, regardless if they are on the insurance policy.
Claims Line phone numbers for most US insurers are posted here. Agent or broker's names will not appear on this list. The actual insurance company name can be verified on the insurance bill. Here is an explanation of 1) why it takes so long to get a collision deductible refunded, and 2) why the collision deductible must be paid, even by a driver who is not at fault for the collision.
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