Auto Insurance

Liability coverage on your auto insurance is the most critical portion of your policy. It is the coverage that pays out if you hurt someone in an accident, or if you cause any damage to property that doesn’t belong to you.

When you consider the cost of medical bills, or the cost of cars on the road today, it’s no wonder why your liability insurance is the one portion of your auto insurance that you do not want to skimp on.

Amazingly enough, your liability coverage is often times the cheapest part of your policy. The cost to double, triple, or quadrupedal your auto liability coverage is nominal. For the same cost as a few Starbucks coffees for you and your friends, you can add ten times the amount of liability coverage to your policy.

When shopping for your auto insurance, be wary of any proposal or quote that offers the state minimum coverage for liability.

California minimum limits are 15/30/5

What this means, is if you are involved in an accident that is your fault, and the other vehicle has three passengers who all have various levels of injuries, you r auto insurance will only pay out $15,000 per person, as a maximum, however the policy will not pay anymore than $30,000 for the entire occurrence.

The number five in this scenario represents the amount of coverage for property damage that you are responsible for causing. With the average cost of a new car above $36,000, it’s is our professional recommendation to carry higher limits of property damage.

Any payout or settlement beyond those numbers will need to come from you personally. These decisions are often made in a court setting when the other party has decided to sue you.

With the high amount of fraud that takes place, it is a scary proposition to gamble with lower limits of coverage.

Because of the low costs, and our belief that you deserve more, at ThriveSure Insurance, we will never offer an auto insurance proposal with inadequate, or state minimums for liability and property damage coverage. – Get a quote for better liability insurance here.

What If I Don’t Have Anything To Sue For?

If you do not have enough liability coverage to cover the loss, then you can and more than likely will be sued.

If you do not have the financial means to settle, then depending on the state you live in, you can have your wages garnished, and/or have judgments placed on you for future earnings.

When it comes to your auto liability insurance, the old saying holds true;

“You don’t have to be a millionaire to be sued like one.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, this was the last number recorded in 2015. Years later, we fear that number may be higher.

We’ll never try to assume why their are so many uninsured drivers on the road, all we can do is stress that as a smart, responsible driver, you carry coverage on your auto insurance that protects you from those driving without insurance.

It is a common practice of many direct, online insurance companies to write auto insurance policies that do not have this critical coverage.

As a result, if you are involved in a car accident with an uninsured driver, than you would be responsible for your own damages.

Of course you can try to go the legal route and sue the individual, however, that can take a lot of time to complete and you will have needed to come out of pocket to cover your expenses to your car.

The better, cheaper, and time saving option is to include uninsured motorist coverage on your policy.

Another benefit of having uninsured motorists coverage, is that if you are hit by an uninsured driver, your insurance company will waive your collision deductible.

It is for these obvious reasons that we at ThriveSure Insurance will never offer an auto insurance policy to anyone without having this crucial coverage piece on the policy. -Get a quote on auto insurance here 

Many people assume that “full coverage” is just a policy package that includes all of the fancy bells and whistles.

People falsely assume that all “full coverage” is the same. It’s not.

“Full coverage” usually means “comprehensive” and “collision” coverage. This means that if you are at fault in an auto accident and you want to repair your car, the insurance policy that you pay for will do so after you’ve paid your deductible. This protection falls under your “collision” coverage.

If your car is stolen, vandalized, has a rock fly into and break your windshield, this would also be covered under your “comprehensive” coverage after your deductible is paid.

Deductibles are your out of pocket expenses. An average deductible for auto insurance is $500.

If the damage to your car total’s $4,000, you would pay $500, while the insurance company pays out $3,500 to repair or replace your car.

The higher your deductibles are, the more “risk” you assume. The insurance company will reward you by offering a lower premium.

Where “full coverage” becomes confusing for many, is people assume that it also always includes ancillary coverage’s such as:

*Roadside service

*Original manufacture parts

*$0 glass deductible

*Rental car reimbursement

*Loan gap coverage

The facts are, sometimes policies do come with these coverage’s. However, most times they are always optional. In fact, there are certain coverage’s that some carriers do not even offer, yet, people incorrectly assume they are on their insurance policies.

It is not the fault of the consumer to know these differences. In fact, the responsibility to educate, instruct, and provide options is with the insurance agent.

It is for this reason why we always strongly suggest people buy their insurance from people. Technology is a great tool, and at ThriveSure we do everything in our power to give you smart insurance using a simple process. However, we still believe that at the end of the day, you need to work with a trusted professional. – Get a quote for auto insurance here

Many auto insurance companies will offer roadside service as an add on to your auto policy.

Some companies offer this as a reimbursement program which means you would pay out of pocket at the scene, then get reimbursed by the insurance company.

Some companies offer to pay for the entire service as you pay an extra premium on your policy.

These plans often times will provide service for a certain mile amount ex. 5 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles, etc. They will also provide other services besides towing.

Services such as lockout assistance, or gas to get to a nearby service station are typical services provided underneath the coverage.

The way the service works, is the insurance company will contract with local towing vendors so that no matter where you are located, there is a local tow company that works with your insurance carrier to provide service.

The insurance company has no control on the level of service or availability of the roadside company.

A frustration many people feel is when they need to use the roadside service, and the service company in that area is busy or delayed in getting to the scene.

Our recommendation is to always include the roadside when available on the auto insurance and to use it in times of need.

However, if you find that the service provider is delayed or unavailable, we suggest you find alternate means of roadside service. Any out of pocket expense can and will be refunded to you by the insurance company.

It’s important to note, that just because you have “full coverage”, it does not always mean you also have roadside service.

Make sure to speak with one of our dedicated agents to make sure your new auto insurance quote includes this coverage.

Flip the script and start seeing insurance companies in the same light as we see them. We often shop for the best rates and compare companies and coverage’s. Insurance companies do the same things with consumers.

An insurance carrier will have a very well defined customer appetite. They know exactly where their ideal customer lives, what they drive, who drives the cars, and the homes they live in.

As a result, they offer their best rates to those that fit that appetite the best. As another result, they make the policy more expensive for those that fall out of their desired appetite.

It is not uncommon for our agents to speak with someone who mentions what insurance costs for someone else who drives a car that is like their car.

What people fail to understand is there are many variables that go into an insurance company determining the rates. While there may be some similarities between two scenarios, the facts are there are likely many other factors that people are not accounting for.

As an example, certain carriers offer different discounts to those who work a particular profession. Some carriers do better for those with a four year college degree. Some offer better rates to those who drive a certain set of miles, or who allow the insurance company to track their driving behavior.

Most companies offer better rates when you insure more items (home, life, business) with the same company.

Shopping for insurance on your own can be difficult. Sure there are many online tools available that will spit out a number, however, without knowing how insurance works, what coverage’s mean, and what other options might be available to you, shopping for insurance can prove to have devastating consequences when not done right.

This is why ThriveSure Insurance exists. To offer you smart insurance in a simple manner. Our team of dedicated independent agents will consult with you to make sure we tailor the right policy for your needs allw hile staying within your budget.

Experience the difference of working with a dedicated agent who can help you find the right policy.

Get a quote for auto insurance by clicking here