Finding fun activities within your local community can be a great way to spend time with your family this summer. However, summer travel and getaways can be a great way to give your family new and unique experiences; road trips can be a fantastic bonding experience, while at the same time educational. Some tend to avoid road trips with their families because of tales of the intolerable stress they cause; road trips, though, don’t have to be stressful!
When you begin looking for a new insurance plan, it can become quite overwhelming with the masses of insurance companies as well as each of their unique websites and the online insurance quotes they offer. Many of these services willgive you an insurance quote quickly, and on the surface they seem to offer a cheap quote for different types of coverages. If you are young, single, and not paying a mortgage, then getting insurance online on something small such as your car may be a great option. However, purchasing insurance via the internet which can seem like a cheap solution can often lead to more hassle than it is worth. We suggest using these online quotes as a means of understanding insurance rates and using what you learn about pricing to use as a reference when calling your local agent to get their expert opinion and direction moving forward. The online quote you find can be your guide when discussing what you do and do not need covered in your plan. For instance, last month I was searching for new car insurance, so I did what most do and got online to shop around for the best rates. After gathering quotes and a detailed list of what is covered, I took these reports to my local insurance agent. Small, local agencies like Dickey McCay provide not only excellent insurance support based on their expert knowledge of the insurance industry, but they are also able to sit down with you one-on-one to discuss insurance rates, what is covered in what instances, and the best policies for you and your family.
These days, companies and online platforms market to potential customers as an opportunity to shop for the “cheapest ” car insurance or purchase insurance at perhaps a cheaper rate than what the customer is currently receiving. While we are all looking for the best rates on different types of insurance, it is important to understand the value of talking with a local insurance professional who specializes in listening to the customer’s insurance needs, sharing their understanding and then researching the best insurance policy and price for them. For example, when I was looking for car insurance, the quote I found online had a low deductible for collision insurance making my premium higher. After speaking with my local agent, she suggested that I did not need a lot of collision insurance as I have an older vehicle; however, my father has a new car, so his collision coverage needs to be able to cover the cost of any fixes his car may need, thus a lower deductible. Often these rates depend on your age, assets, etc. which is why an insurance agent can help guide you towards the perfect plan for you.
As you attain more assets, you will also benefit from having someone in the business who has experience handling multiple insurance policies and/or umbrella coverage. When you are looking for an affordable rate, you may get what you ask for from an online insurance tool in finding a cheap insurance rate, but what you may not get is the the best policy for you to protect your insurance assets – you, family, healthcare, auto insurance, life insurance, etc. Online quotes are simply a starting point when shopping around.
Finding quotes online through automated search platforms can be helpful, but the local agencies with trained insurance professionals you know bring added value to ensure you get the best deal (value) for the money you are investing each month. Then when the time comes to get a claim paid, the same agent you have been working with all along will then assist in ensuring you get what you are owed. At a small, local
agency like Dickey McCay, you will have an agent who answers the phone and goes to work for you so that you are covered when needed. Smaller, experienced, hard-working local insurance agencies like Dickey McCay Insurance will fight for you and aid in helping you create the best policy for you and your family. These are a few of the important benefits you should consider when searching for the best quote. Sure, there will be some pricing online that will look tempting and even push you hard to hit the enter button to complete the transaction, but one needs to think and weight out personal touch, pricing, experience, community support (giving back) and background of insurance company, etc.
At Dickey McCay, you will sit with a trained professional insurance agent (person) and be able to call him/her as needed. You are not just a number in a huge corporate insurance agency but a personal name with a face who needs insurance support.
What Dickey McCay Insurance wants is what is best for you. They value and support the communities they serve, and as your local insurance agency, they can guide you to secure the best insurance policy for you at the most affordable price based on the highest quality of the insurance company when it comes to purchasing an insurance policy and supporting a future claim. It’s all about treating people like you want to be treated – fair, honest and caring.
Have you ever considered the possibility of not having auto insurance? Perhaps you want to cancel or risk not paying your monthly premium because you feel you are a good driver. In the United States alone, there are surprisingly 1.5 million people who do just that: they drive their car every day without any type of auto insurance. Given such a high number, you might think that driving without auto insurance could be worth it. Still, every state in the US have minimum auto insurance laws. Most states require at least some sort of liability insurance to protect other drivers on the road, not just you. In other words, in the United States you must legally have auto insurance to drive a car. Even if you are a good driver, there is so much on the road that you cannot control such as other people in your own car and the other drivers on the road.
Driving without auto insurance can put both you and other drivers in financial trouble if and when there is an accident, no matter who (or what) is at fault. Without auto insurance, you are vulnerable to a whole set of problems both financially and legally. If you are involved in an accident and do not have insurance, you have no way to cover medical costs and damages for yourself or anyone else that your vehicle may have harmed in the accident.
One question that new and old drivers tend to ask is if the individual needs to be insured or if the car need to be insured. This, like the minimums for auto insurance coverage, varies state to state. Each state has different laws in regards to if only the car needs to be insured or if both the vehicle and the driver both need to be insured. For example, some states require you to be insured in order to apply for a drivers license or to renew your current driver’s license. Some states not only require the driver to be insured when driving their car, but also other people’s cars as well. In most states, however, in order to get your vehicle properly registered, you must be able to provide proof of insurance.
Since Dickey McCay Insurance operates out of Copperhill, TN, let’s take a look at the auto insurance requirements for the state of Tennessee whether you are traveling to Dollywood’s attractions, Nashville’s broadway streets, or the Chattanooga aquarium. In our beautiful state, Tennessee drivers are required to carry, at minimum, the following auto insurance coverages and limits:
-Bodily Injury Liability: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
-Property Damage Liability: $15,000 per accident
-Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
-Uninsured Motorist Property Damage: $15,000 per accident
Tennessee also has laws to help ensure that young, inexperienced drivers get the practice necessary to become responsible drivers. There are three phases of the Tennessee Graduated Licensing Program which are necessary:
Each of these licenses have different requirements and restrictions that the driver will need to familiarize him/herself with. For any permit, however, you must have auto insurance in order to have a driver’s license in the state of Tennessee.
Another common question we hear from customers is if they can legally and responsibly drive someone else’s car if I he/she does not have insurance but the vehicle’s owner does? If you do not own a vehicle nor carry any kind of auto insurance policy then you will need to make sure that the auto insurance of those that let you borrow their car will cover you when you are driving. For example, if a member of your family has a car that you use, then you will need to be on that family member’s auto insurance policy in order to be covered when driving his or her car.
If you are borrowing a vehicle from someone outside of your family such as a your friend’s car, you will need to check with that person’s insurance provider to make sure that you will be covered when driving their car. The driver should know if another driver is covered, and it is important to know if other drivers are covered under your auto insurance as well. The more you know about your insurance, the less you will worry when you are in a bind or a friend is and you want to help him/her out by loaning him/her your personal vehicle.
So what happens if you do not yet have auto insurance but you get pulled over or in an accident? In this case, there is some type of fine you will have to pay without the minimum requirements. Again, the fine will depend on your state’s laws and how lenient your judge is, two things that are out of your control; having auto insurance, however, is not.
Typically if you are caught, ticketed or in an accident, without some sort of auto insurance, fines range anywhere from $500-$5,000; you don’t want your $75 speeding ticket to turn into a $800 speeding + driving without insurance ticket. Moreover, if you are pulled over without auto insurance and this is not your first offense, you will likely have your license suspended for quite some time, or you can even receive jail time; so take precaution!
Information and experience should be enough to convince you that driving without insurance is not such a good idea; not only is it against the law and can put you at a hefty financial risk when caught, it’s one of those absolutes as car insurance is needed to drive. If you are in the market for auto insurance or have a question regarding your existing auto insurance policy, please get in touch with Dickey McCay Insurance and we will proudly serve you!
