Auto Insurance Law

Someone at some place during some point in time started a rumor that owning a red car means you will get more speeding tickets and have higher insurance rates. The reason I have heard most often is due to red standing out more from other cars and therefore the police officers eye sees the red car and pulls it over even though other say, black cars driving near the red car are speeding as well. This reasoning seems somewhat logical, but what about for car insurance rates? Does owning a certain color of car affect your prices?

Perhaps the primary reason for the continued presence of this alleged myth is the psychology behind how a certain person chooses their car color of choice. Studies on this matter have determined a theory that people who purchase a red vehicle like to drive fast or feel as if they need to speed through everything in life. That statistic provides a direct correlation between the “more speeding tickets” portion of the myth, so maybe there really is something to this.

Not to ruin the article, but the short answer to ‘Does the color of your car affect your auto insurance rates?’ is no, it does not. The only time this may be possible is if the insurance agent that sees your car when you pull into their parking lot or as they take pictures of your vehicle for their records does not like the color of your car and takes it out personally on your policy. If you feel this is being done, it’s probably best to move on from that company anyway, but that’s another story.

Sometimes the suggestion has been made that the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN has a certain code to notify the color of the car, but this is not the case. The VIN does not store details on car color in its code.

Car insurance companies look at several other factors though, such as the year, make and model, how big your engine is, and also your previous driving record and where you live. Where you live is usually determined by zip code. So, if your favorite color is candy apple red, go ahead and buy that car or paint your current car without worry of being pulled over more or getting robbed with high insurance rates.

By: Tod F.

If you live in Phoenix and want to save on car insurance there are a few things you can do. Here are some tips.

Car insurance rates for Phoenix drivers, and other drivers in Arizona may be a little higher than other parts of the country but are still competitive. The key to saving is to take some time and get some comparison quotes. This is because rates can vary from one company to the next. An easy way to do this is online.

First, gather some information about your desired coverages and deductibles. You want to provide the same information for each quote in order to get an apples-to-apples comparison. One way to do this is to get your existing Arizona auto insurance policy out. Or, write down on a piece of paper the limits of coverage, deductibles, car make and model information and drivers license numbers.

Also, keep in mind the minimum requirements for coverage by Arizona law:

Bodily Injury. Minimum of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.

Property Damage. Minimum of $10,000 per accident.

These are the minimums and you may want to increase those for added peace of mind. Unfortunately, there are also quite a few underinsured and uninsured drivers in Phoenix so you might want to add those coverages.

Then go online and either visit individual insurance company Web sites and request quotes, or go to an insurance quote comparison Web site. These sites gather quotes from several different insurance agents or companies so you only have to enter your information once.

You can also save money by raising your deductibles. This can lower your premium quite a bit. And take advantage of discounts. For example, if you insure your home and auto with the same company you typically get a discount on your premium — up to five percent sometimes. If you a have a teen driver or college student driver, you may qualify for a good student discount. Senior drivers in Arizona may qualify for a senior driver discount with some companies. Make sure to check all the discounts available when you get your quotes.

By: Justin Scott

In the United States auto insurance fraud is becoming one of the biggest fraud problems this country is faced with. In this article we’re going to discuss some of the more common auto insurance fraud scams and what somebody can do to prevent them.

Today one of the most popular insurance fraud scams involves auto insurance and auto accidents. More specifically, staged auto accidents. These have actually become quite complex to the point where they involve multiple participants. There are many variations of these. We’ll cover the main ones here.

First there is what is called the swoop and squat. This scam involves three vehicles. Two are driven by the criminals and the third is driven by the victim. The driver of the “squat” vehicle positions himself in front of the victim. The person driving the “swoop” vehicle pulls ahead of the squat vehicle and intentionally cuts the vehicle off. This causes the driver of the squat vehicle to slam on his brakes and stop short. Usually, the victim can’t react quickly enough and rams into the squat vehicle. In the meantime, the swoop vehicle that caused the accident takes off and is never seen again. The victim tells police that the swoop vehicle caused the accident, but because that vehicle can’t be located the victim ends up having to pay for the damage and any personal injury claims.

Then there is what is known as the side swipe. This type of accident usually happens at busy intersections with dual left hand turn lanes. The criminal positions his vehicle in the outer left turn lane. When the victim’s vehicle drifts into the outer turn lane the criminal side swipes him. To make sure the scheme works the criminal does preliminary surveillance to make sure that the intersection is busy enough where drifting will occur because of the amount of traffic.

Another common auto accident scam is what is known as the Panic Stop. In this scheme the criminal drives a late model car filled with a lot of passengers. The criminal will then position himself in front of the victim and have one of the passengers look out the back window watching to see for any signs of distraction such as answering a cell phone call or changing a station on the radio. Any sign that the victim is taking his eyes off the road. Once this happens the passenger signals the driver who then slams on the brakes thus causing an accident. The victim will claim that the criminal stopped short for no apparent reason but usually to no avail. In the meantime the victim has to pay for all damages and injuries reported.

Unfortunately there is only one way to avoid these type of accidents and that is to be observant at all times and keep a safe distance from any vehicle ahead of you. The sad truth is, if all motorists would just obey the speed and distance laws and rules, accidents like these would never happen. But people drive too fast and too close and thus these type of frauds will always be pulled off. Drive safe and smart and your chances of being the victim of auto insurance fraud will be greatly diminished.

By: Michael Russell