Common Car Insurance Myths & The Truth
by Lina Martinez
Car insurance isn’t the easiest thing on the planet to understand, and with all of the legal jargon in car insurance policies, it’s no wonder that a myth or two have been perpetuated over the years. Unfortunately, this means that it’s often hard to figure out what is and isn’t the truth when insuring your car. This could mean that you could end up buying the wrong type of car insurance for you, which could end up costing you a lot of money in the long run. Rules can change from country to country too, so if you're driving abroad, say in the UAE, you'll need to check sites like insurancemarket.ae to check exactly what's needed and what's covered. If you want to be a bit more clear about what is and isn’t the truth when it comes to car insurance policies, and ensure that you have the cover you need, then keep reading.
Property Inside The Car Is Covered
It’s commonly believed that if your personal property inside your car is damaged in an accident or is stolen, then it’s covered by your car insurance. Unfortunately, this isn’t actually the truth. While your brand new laptop or expensive sports equipment might have been damaged while inside the car or might have been stolen from it, they don’t actually have anything to do with your car, and so your car insurance doesn’t cover it. If you wanted to file a claim for this personal property, you would have to do so with your homeowner’s insurance, not your car insurance.
Red Cars Cost More
If you’ve never heard the myth before, then it probably sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it is commonly believed that it costs more to insure red cars than it does other colors. For this reason, a lot of new drivers tend to avoid purchasing red cars to avoid the extra cost. However, if you are a fan of crimson or maroon, then you’re in luck because the color of your car has absolutely no effect on your premium prices. When you insure your car, the cost is actually determined by many things, like the make and model, your age and driving record, but the color doesn’t matter at all.
Credit Ratings Don’t Matter
While we’re talking about things that determine the cost of your insurance, it is important to mention your credit rating. Most drivers think that their car insurance provider can’t view their credit score, and so it can’t be used as a means to determine premiums. Unfortunately, this isn’t actually true, as most states allow companies to view your score and then use this to determine your rate. While it might not seem to have much of a connection, most companies believe that you’re less likely to get into an accident if you have a good credit score, so you’re more likely to pay less. For this reason, and many others, it is incredibly important to try to maintain a good credit score.
Policies Can Be Cancelled At Any Time
For some reason, it’s commonly believed that insurance providers can cancel their policy with you at any time, and are often known to do so. If you are one of the many that think this, then don’t worry, as car insurers can’t just cancel policies whenever they feel like it. In fact, they need a really good reason to do so, such as fraud. Because of this, it’s highly likely that this myth has come about because of people not wanting to admit what they did to get their insurance cancelled.
Aging Results In Rising Premiums
While it’s not very fair to the elderly, many young-uns believe that your premiums rise as you get older, as insurance providers believe that older folks get into more car accidents because of their slower reflexes and weaker eyesight. Ironically, the opposite is more often the truth. Most drivers over the age of 55 actually qualify for reduced insurance rates, as long as they complete a safe driving course, whereas under 25s are generally deemed “high-risk”, as they usually have to pay a lot more.
Car insurance policies aren’t the simplest of things to understand, so it makes sense that there are so many myths and misconceptions flying about. If you’re a driver, it’s essential that you can distinguish between these misconceptions and the truth, or you could risk taking out the wrong type of insurance and costing yourself a lot of money. To do this, you must always read the fine print of your policies and ask providers questions if necessary. Hopefully, reading the information above will also help you out and help you to avoid making any mistakes later on.