A car wreck is often a large, costly inconvenience — even for those with insurance. However, even the smallest vehicle problems could mean time and money lost. No one wants to experience even a flat tire, for example. But, you likely know that car insurance can help even for the small problems a vehicle might experience. In many cases, car insurance policies can provide roadside assistance and other services for clients who file claims. However, your clients might not realize they have this coverage option available. How can you explain it to them?
Many people assume that car insurance will only help them if they have a wreck. However, coverage can come in handy even for such issues as flat tires or empty gas tanks. When quoting a policy, be sure to tell your clients about services like roadside assistance, rental car reimbursements and no-deductible glass coverage options.
Roadside Assistance On Auto Policies
You don't want to become stranded when your car runs out of gas. Or, to wake up one morning to find out that your tire has flattened overnight. Calculate the costs of lost wages and repair costs, and these scenarios could cost a lot of lost money. Car insurance might be able to step in to help you out here.
Many car insurance policies offer a type of coverage called roadside assistance supplements. It is for clients who experience driving inconveniences and need help right away. For example, if someone is on the road one day, and they suddenly run out of gas, a roadside assistance policy might be able to help.
To make use of a roadside assistance policy, the policyholder will contact their insurance provider as if they were filing a claim. The insurer will then dispatch a service provider to the driver. The service might be able to help with:
- Towing the vehicle to a repair shop
- Changing tires
- Delivering a tank of gas
- Jump-starting a dead battery
- Locksmith services
- Extricating the vehicle if it gets stuck
In many cases, car insurance will pay the full costs of driver assistance services. In other cases, the policyholder will only pay a small fee compared to the retail rates of the services. The driver might worry that making this kind of claim on their car insurance will drive rates up. However, you can reassure them that they will often see little or no increase in your policy's premium in the future. These are not the types of accidents that will usually cause risk levels to rise.
Many drivers can benefit from these policies because they create a more financial convenience for those in need. Overall, the driver might pay less than the market rate for roadside assistance services. Not only that, these drivers might also be able to better protect the value and function of their vehicle over time.
Rental Car Services
Following a wreck, a driver's collision auto insurance policy will likely pay for repairs to a vehicle or for a new car. However, while the insurance company investigates and settles the claim, the driver might need a replacement vehicle. Car insurance frequently offers a rental car supplement to help the policyholder rent a vehicle. Therefore, the insurance will have help with this unexpected cost.
In many cases, insurance companies will not cover the full cost of a rental car. However, they will still pay a significant portion of a rental vehicle's cost. For example, the insurer might estimate that repairs to a vehicle will take seven days. They will then pay you a certain amount of money, such as $50, per repair day. So, 7 days x $50 per day = $350 in rental car assistance. While this coverage might not pay 100 percent of a driver's rental car costs, it will help reduce the cost burden.
Zero-Deductible Glass Insurance
You likely know that car insurance will usually require policyholders to pay deductibles. Therefore, you need to help policyholders make a responsible decision on how high a deductible they need.
However, with deductibles, there is a risk that actual damage costs will fall below the deductible value. In these cases, insurance coverage will not pay for a policyholder's losses. However, in some cases, insurers will exclude common small-value claims from deductible requirements. Therefore, if clients must make a qualifying small claim, they won't have to pay a deductible. In many cases, insurers will exclude glass damage from deductible requirements.
Functioning, unbroken auto glass is among the most-critical of vehicle systems, because it aids in visibility. However, simple broken glass or shattered windshield values fall below the value of an insurance damage deductible. Nevertheless, customers can benefit from having insurance expediently cover their claims. Therefore, they might be able to get more convenient assistance from their no-deductible insurance.
In some cases, insurance policies will not place deductibles on any policy elements. The insurer will cover all the costs of claims. Some insurance customers might find these types of policies beneficial. However, they will usually have to pay higher premiums for the coverage. Therefore, you'll need to make sure they feel comfortable accepting the extra premium costs.
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