Should I add mechanical breakdown coverage to my Chicago IL automobile insurance policy?

Luke

Thanks for asking, Luke.

There was a time a year or so ago when I would have killed to have mechanical breakdown coverage on my Chicago IL automobile insurance policy. I worked about an hour away from home and had a terrible car that was always breaking down on me. I can’t count the times that I was stranded without a cell phone and quarters to call on a pay phone until someone noted my absence.

I think I would only recommend mechanical breakdown to be added to your Chicago IL automobile insurance policy if you’re in a situation kind of like that. For example, if you have a car that has a high risk of breaking down, and you’re far away from home very often or you live out in the middle of nowhere, and maybe you don’t have a cell phone or your city doesn’t have many taxis or public transportation. Otherwise, it might not be very necessary.

Mechanical breakdown coverage also covers a lot of things that your warranty already covers. However, if you have a car that is constantly breaking down, it might be a good idea. The only catch is that Chicago IL automobile insurance companies that offer mechanical breakdown coverage don’t offer it for wear and tear, which is where most people are going to be breaking down. Take out wear and tear and you’re losing a whole lot of coverage right there.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

How do I get my IL auto insurance and quote and save?

Jorge

Thank you for asking, Jorge.

There is a way that you can get your IL auto insurance and quote and without having to do anything other than what you’ve already done. Sound too easy? I can see your concern. You hardly ever see a company selling IL auto insurance and quote and making it simple. It’s usually the opposite. However, it does happen.

The particular discount that I am talking about is a discount that many car insurance companies are offering for people based on their occupation. This way, you can get your IL auto insurance and quote and not have to anything other than call up your car insurance company with proof that you work in a certain field or hold a certain degree. There are two types of people who fall under this discount.

• Teachers.

Teachers can get their IL auto insurance and quote and save on a discount through their teacher’s union. Normally, the costs of the union will be about the same as the savings that they get from the discount. However, since you get so many benefits from being a member of a teacher’s union it’s kind of like getting free membership.

• Engineers/mathematicians/etc.

Car insurance companies like people who have degrees in engineering and other math and science related fields. The reason that they give these majors a chance to get their IL auto insurance and quote and save is because studies show that people in these fields are more likely to pay close attention to their surroundings and file fewer claims. This makes them low risk, and a target for savings.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I’ve made a claim with my Bloomington IL auto insurance company, and it’s taking forever. Is there anything I can do? I need to move on!

Lily

Excellent question, Lily.

Your Bloomington IL auto insurance company is really messing things up here, as it should know what its obligations are in regards to paying you quickly and to your needs. There are actually laws mandating that your Bloomington IL auto insurance company pay you promptly. However, you should take a couple of steps before you start trying to get those laws enforced. Whatever the outcome, you might want to look into changing to another Bloomington IL auto insurance company.

First of all, call your Bloomington IL auto insurance company and ask them what is going on. If you can’t get an answer, then ask to speak to someone who is higher up. There could be a real reason for why you have yet to have had your Bloomington IL auto insurance claim settled. They should have contacted you whatever the case, but there still might be a reason.

If they cannot give you an explanation for the delay, then ask when it is you should expect your claim payment. It is possible that you could catch them at their inefficiency and they can fix things for you right away. Give them a chance to wrap things up first, and then take the next step.

If your Bloomington IL auto insurance company fails to act, then it is time for you to act yourself. You can go to the Illinois Department of Insurance website, and there you can read about how to make a complaint about your Bloomington IL auto insurance company. Normally, if you make a complaint then they will request that you follow it up with documentation. You submit this, and if they see it is a reasonable complaint, then they will take it up with the Bloomington IL auto insurance company.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

If I get into an accident one time, will my IL auto insurance rate go up?

Megan

Great question, Megan.

Well, what kind of car insurance company are you with? It would also hinge on what kind of accident it was and what your previous record is. Let’s say that you got into an accident, but it wasn’t your fault, so you make a claim. You’re making this claim with the other car insurance company, so your own company isn’t paying out anything. The only interaction you have with them is that you had an accident so that they can put it on your CLUE report. This shouldn’t raise your IL auto insurance rate, and it doesn’t. It would be against the law for them to raise it when it’s not your fault.

But what happens when you get into a car accident that IS your fault? Well, now we look at the deal that you have with your car insurance company to see how it will affect your IL auto insurance rate.

First of all, many companies have an accident forgiveness option. They do this in a couple of ways. Sometimes you will get your accident forgiveness option right away, so if you get into an at fault accident the second day of your policy, it will be forgiven. Others let you earn it and you’ll only get it after a couple of years of being part of their company with a good driving record. Still others will actually add money to your IL auto insurance rate, essentially charging you for accident forgiveness. Avoid those companies.

If your company offers you accident forgiveness, then you have nothing to worry about. You’re off the hook until the next collision. However, if it doesn’t then you will see your IL auto insurance rate rise. Also, you will see it rise even more and could possibly have your policy cancelled if you already have something else nasty on your record, like a speeding ticket.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

How come as a man I get a higher IL car insurance quote than a woman?

Jeff

Great question, Jeff.

This is the issue that my husband likes to complain about a lot despite the fact that my IL car insurance quote is higher than his anyway since I’m younger, but to each their own. It is true, though, that in general a woman will have a lower IL car insurance quote than a man, although it is most true when the man and woman are both under the age of twenty five. While there is still a gap going on past that age, it isn’t so wide and with discounts and shopping around, it’s actually very difficult to pinpoint at times.

So why is it that you’re paying more than the girl next door? Well, like anything else concerning an IL car insurance quote, it all boils down to statistics. As a gender, men, especially young men, are more likely to get into car accidents, especially serious ones, and thus file claims, be they collision or liability or whatever. Women, on the other hand, have relatively low rates of wrecking, and as such end up with the lower IL car insurance quote.

In the UK, this has been taken to the extreme to the point where there are car insurance companies that cater only to women. The funny thing is, though, that the rates from these companies are often higher than at the companies that sell policies to both genders. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

Anyhow, take this as a consolation: your IL car insurance quote will probably not be the way it is for long. Guys are actually getting in fewer accidents as the years go by, while women are getting in more. They still haven’t met in the middle, but it’s very possible that it may happen in the future to our detriment and to your gain. All power to you!

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Can you buy IL auto insurance online?

Maggie

Thanks for asking, Maggie.

Honey, you can buy anything online, from IL auto insurance online to a piece of toast with the image of the virgin Mary on it. The internet is your oyster, so just crack it open and dig.

There are a lot of advantages to buying your IL auto insurance online, and my favorite would be that more and more companies are offering discounts to you if you buy your IL auto insurance online. They do this because when the customers go through the websites, they have to pay so much less money when it comes to things such as personnel, buildings, and the like that they are able to pass the savings down to you. The more people that do it, perhaps the more savings they will be able to pass down, right? Normally if you buy your IL auto insurance online you can get as much as a fifteen percent discount.

Another advantage would be that you can get everything that you need to get done in regards to shopping for IL auto insurance online right there on the computer, from beginning to end. You can start by getting your online IL auto insurance quotes, continue by looking up the consumer ratings and financial stability of the company, checking that it’s licensed and has good complaint ratios at the IL department of insuranc website, and getting recommendations and reviews from people who have experience with the different online IL auto insurance companies.

If you didn’t have internet access, all of the above might take forever and might never even get done. You’d probably end up paying more than necessary for your insurance, too. The internet has made access to quality and cheap online IL auto insurance so easy that anyone could save.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I got into an accident and it was the other driver’s fault, so I filed a claim with their Aurora IL auto insurance company. Apparently, now they’re lying and saying it was my fault! What do I do? It was not my fault!

Sammy

Excellent question, Sammy.

I hear your concern. The trouble with much of our high insurance rates among Aurora IL auto insurance companies comes from fraud, and this is a small type of fraud in that this person is claiming that you were at fault for an accident that was not your fault. This puts you into a difficult situation because his Aurora IL auto insurance company is going to be inclined to believe their own customer, and thus the burden of proof is now on you to prove that you were not at fault for this accident.

This is where your documentation should come in, and let’s hope you have it. First of all, at the accident did you call the police and was a police report filed? This will be of great importance in proving that you were not at fault to his Aurora IL auto insurance company because normally the police report will say who was negligent or deliberate in causing the car insurance accident. If you don’t have a police report, then shame. You should always get a police report when a claim is going to be filed, because otherwise you run into problems like these later on. If you want a copy of the police report, you can usually get it from your police department for a few bucks.

Beyond that, were there any witnesses to the accident? You could call on them to make statements to the effect that you were not at fault for the accident. Another thing to consider is whether or not you have photos of the accident, or at least what the cars looked like immediately after. Their positions could be a good indicator as to whom was at fault.

If all else fails to convince the Aurora IL auto insurance company, then you would do well to contact an accident attorney. They can help you make your case stronger so that you can continue to file your claim.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

There’s typically only one answer to this question: your credit.

Wait, wait, wait. What, you might be wondering, does my credit have to do with my IL car insurance rate. I’m buying insurance, not the car itself. Why does that even matter?

It matters for a number of reasons. One simple to explain one would be that if you have a good credit score, then it tells car insurance companies that you are a reliable customer who will probably pay on time and maintain her responsibility with the company. If you have a bad credit score, it doesn’t send that message.

However, the part that really affects your IL car insurance rate is what the car insurance companies call your insurance risk score. This is determined using information from your credit report, usually pertaining to whether or not you pay your bills on time. If you have a bad insurance risk score, then you’re probably going to have a bad IL car insurance rate. The reason for this is that, according to research, policy holders who have bad credit file more claims, so they are considered to be more high risk than others.

If you aren’t sure whether or not you should be put into this category and get a high IL car insurance rate, order a copy of your credit report and check for inaccuracies and fake accounts. You can protect yourself from credit ruin and identity theft and also work toward a good IL car insurance rate.

Does it make any difference to your IL car insurance claims check if you’re still paying off your car?

Susan

Great question, Susan.

It sure does make a difference if you’re still paying off your car, and it adds a twist to the whole third party first party dynamic and makes the whole process a lot longer and more frustrating in most cases. In some cases, you won’t have any hassle. For example, we recently got into a fender bender with another guy and filed a claim with his IL car insurance company. They repaired the car, gave us a rental car, we were in and out in a couple of days and all I had to do was give a call to my car dealership. Very easy, but not always the case.

In many cases what you will have to do is contact the institution that is financing your car, and they might have to send someone from the bank out to inspect it and verify the damages. You’re going to be getting your IL car insurance claims check with both your name and the lien holder’s name, so you really have no options here because you can’t get anything done until they endorse the check. This might take a few weeks.

Most of the time you just take your car up to the lot and have them look at it. Then, later on, you will have to send the bill of services that you received from the mechanic, along with photos of your car now that it is repaired, and the check ready to be signed. If all is well, then they will endorse the check and send it back to you and you can go on your merry little way.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

When should I file a Belvidere IL car insurance claim?

Alyssa

Excellent question, Alyssa.

Your Belvidere IL car insurance policy may say that you have to call them up immediately if your vehicle so much as lightly ticks your mail box, but that doesn’t mean that it’s so. As the coach said in Waterboy, “What mama don’t know won’t hurt her,” and the same philosophy (if you want to call it that) goes for your Belvidere IL car insurance company. In fact, some claims, if they are reported to your Belvidere IL car insurance company, could actually hurt you.

The reason that your Belvidere IL car insurance company wants you to tell them about every little nick, scratch, and bump is because they want to avoid any kinds of fraudulent claims for damages that weren’t incurred in any accident you may later claim. This is understandable, but Belvidere IL car insurance law does not require it, so you can be the judge of your own intentions.

So how do you know when to file a claim and when not to? Well, the standards that I will go by would be:

• If someone is hurt, nothing else matters. You need to call your Belvidere IL car insurance company and file a claim.
• If your damages are under the amount of your deductible, then there is no need to file a claim.

If you file a claim when it is unnecessary, then you could risk some consequences, such as having your Belvidere IL car insurance policy cancelled or not renewed at the end of your policy term. To find out what the requirements are for a company to be able to cancel your claim, call the department of insurance and ask.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.