How to Avoid Gaps in Auto Insurance Coverage

14 March 2017
 Categories: Insurance, Blog


Car insurance companies don't like to see gaps in coverage. A gap in coverage is treated with suspicion because the insurer can't be sure whether you defaulted on your payments or just decided to drive without insurance cover. Both of those things are dangerous, and insurers don't like drivers with dangerous tendencies. Therefore, take these three measures to ensure you are never without auto coverage, even for a brief period:

Set Up Automatic Payments

Some people find it difficult to believe that they can forget to pay their insurance premiums, but it is possible. Unfortunately, it might not matter much whether you didn't have the money or you just forgot to remit the money; the insurance companies will treat every late payment the same way.

Setting up a payment method that doesn't involve you remembering to execute the payments anything will help you avoid such a headache. For example, you can set up automatic payments so that your bank automatically sends your premiums to the insurer at a specified date every month.

Dissociate Car Insurance from Car Ownership

Many people only think of car insurance when they acquire cars, but this is dangerous. Everybody who drives a car needs insurance coverage whether the car is theirs or not. Therefore, buy coverage if you are planning to drive anytime soon or if you aren't sure you won't be driving. Therefore, don't ignore coverage because you are going to study abroad for one semester or because you sold your car and hadn't bought a replacement.

It's better to trim your coverage to the barest minimum or even have someone add you to their policy than to have no coverage at all.

Be Careful When Switching Coverage

Lastly, you should also be careful when switching coverage because it is easy to experience a gap in coverage during that time. This may happen, for example, if you have moved to a new place and want to use a different insurer or want to bundle your auto coverage with your home insurance policy. Even driving uninsured for a couple of days between your old and new coverage is dangerous. You need to make sure that your new coverage has taken effect before canceling the old one.

Talk to your insurance agent any time you feel like you don't really need your coverage. A good example is if you are deploying for military service overseas. The agent can help you acquire cheap coverage that satisfies both your needs and the insurance companies' need for continuous coverage. To get the process started, visit resources like http://www.unitedsecurityagency.com.


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