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 BUYER
BEWARE
By Michelle Ellis
WORTH CASUALTY COMPANY
These days you can’t watch TV, use the internet, or even drive down the road without seeing or hearing an advertisement for auto insurance. We are bombarded with regular advertisements and incentives which make it difficult to avoid ‘checking out’ the competition.
One thing to keep in mind if you choose to shop, is being aware of what you have and what you are getting. With deregulation of auto insurance in 2005, Texas began to experience a whole new spectrum of competition; the likes we’ve never seen before. Previously, you could shop for a new insurance company by just knowing the different coverages and limits that you carried. In today’s market, you must know the actual policy itself inside and out. No longer does a particular coverage on one policy, with one company, give you the same benefits and coverage on another policy with another company.
For example, the coverage you always knew to protect you for animal damage may not be the applicable coverage on a different policy. The applicable coverage could subject you to a higher deductible, or worse, no coverage at all. You could also easily run into a situation of being without coverage entirely because under your previous insurance policy you were accustomed to having 30 days to report the purchase of a new vehicle; however, your new policy may only give you 14 days, or as little as four to report the purchase. These are only a couple of examples of minor differences; the possibilities are endless. If you do not educate yourself; you could be caught in a very difficult and expensive situation.
If the endless effort encouraging you to ‘shop around’ is more than you can resist, be sure to shop wisely. Don’t forget… what may appear to be a bargain, may actually be trouble waiting to happen.
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