Call us at 513-662-7000, or you can request an online Cincinnati car insurance quote by clicking here.

How to Avoid Taking a Ride on The Insurance Merry-Go-Round™.

When individuals or families are looking for automobile insurance in Cincinnati they may be induced to call a certain company based on a catchy advertisement they see on television. 

Insurance advertising is big business for ad firms, and insurance companies spend billions each year on their tailor made insurance advertisements to make their phones ring with potential new clients eager to save money on their insurance.

Here is a question you may want to consider when shopping for car insurance:

How long will the premiums remain this low?

The real truth about insurance is that insurance premiums never stay the same with any company.

No matter if you are shopping for insurance in Florida or you want auto insurance in Columbus Ohio you may obtain a good rate for a while, but over time that rate will increase.

The Insurance Merry-Go-Round? ™ is a pricing model used by every insurance company.

Let’s Review An Example Of The Insurance Merry-Go-Round™. 

Act 1 Scene 1: Your 21 year old son causes an at fault accident and 6 months later you receive a $700 rate increase on your car insurance and you decide to call a certain insurance company after watching a television commercial.

This company happens to be, The ABC Insurance Company, and they advertise extensively on television and you decide to give them a call.

Their television advertisement proved to be true as they are able to offer you a price $200 less than your current insurance company so you decide to take advantage of that $200 car insurance savings from The ABC Insurance Company and switch your insurance.

Act 2 Scene 1: Eighteen months later you get a new insurance bill from The ABC insurance Company and you notice that your rate has increased $247, so you decide to call your former company, The XYZ Insurance Company.

The XYZ Insurance Company congratulates you because you now qualify for a new insurance program that will save you $412, so you switch back to your former company.

Act 3 Scene 1:  You open your new bill after only six months of returning to The XYZ Insurance Company and you notice that they did it to you again and they raised your car insurance premiums by $217.

Because things are tight financially after your wife lost her job due to corporate downsizing, you decide to call a different company called, The Online Insurance Group. 

The Online Insurance Group claims they keep prices low by only selling insurance over the Internet. The Online Insurance Group finds you an even better deal and they save you $167 compared to what The XYZ Insurance Company was about to charge you in their latest bill.  You switch.

Act 4 Scene 1:  12 months later The Online Insurance Group increases your price by $419 citing increase claims for the reason for the rate increase and you decide to call a fourth company.

Round and round you go and where it stops no one knows, hence The Insurance Merry-Go-Round! ™

How Can You Keep Your Premiums Low for Life?

Purchase your insurance from an independent agency like Pathway Insurance! 

We represent more than 20 different insurance carriers so when you receive a rate increase we can shop among the carriers we represent.

Call 513-662-7000 to speak with one of our licensed agents today!

The post What is the Insurance Merry-Go-Round? ™ first appeared on Pathway Insurance.]]> https://www.pathwayinsurance.net/why-choose-our-cincinnati-insurance-agency/what-is-the-insurance-merry-go-round-%e2%84%a2/feed/ 2 https://www.pathwayinsurance.net/automobile-insurance-2/automobile-insurance-in-cincinnati-what-are-the-minimum-limits/ Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:33:59 +0000 http://www.pathwayinsurance.net/?p=2405 State Minimum Automobile Liability Limits in Ohio. Are you looking for the state minimum liability limits in Cincinnati?  The best place to buy your state minimum liability limits is through an independent insurance agency. Call 513-662-7000 to receive a quote over the telephone,or click: Ohio state minimum liability limits to receive great prices on state minimum liability limits online. Read more..

If you are looking for auto insurance in Cincinnati please Call 513-662-7000 for brand new or updated quotes, or use our convenient online quote system by clicking here on Best Auto Quotes Cincinnati

Insurance Is Far More Complicated Than the Price You Pay for It. ™

The personal automobile insurance policy is a complicated financial contract that many rely upon in the event of accidents or claims yet few people really understand the inner workings of this complex legal document. 

If you purchase a new policy for a lower price do not assume your coverage is identical with the company you just replaced.  There could be significant differences in coverage.  Let the buyer beware!

Notice how one insurance policy spells out the policyholder’s responsibility: 

Your Personal Auto insurance policy is a legal contract between you and your insurance company.

READ YOUR POLICY CAREFULLY. This cover sheet provides only a brief outline of some of the important features of your policy. This is not the insurance contract and only the actual policy provisions will control. The policy itself sets forth, in detail, the rights and obligations of both you and your insurance company. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ YOUR POLICY.

In reality very few people read their insurance policy contract, and very few understand the insurance lingo built within the fine print of the contract that is better known as legalese. That is a mistake that could cost you your life savings!

You must take measured steps to understand your insurance policy. 

Automobile Insurance in Cincinnati  – The Basics!

Over a series of different articles we are going to discuss the automobile insurance policy and break it down in layman’s terms.  If you have questions about any subject that we discuss and you are policyholder please feel free to call 513-662-7000.

If you are not a client, but would like insurance quotes you can also request online quotes from top rated companies by clicking on: Cincinnati Online Insurance Quote to start the process or simply give us a ring!

Coverage Parts of the Personal Automobile Policy 

Liability Coverage

Medical Payments Coverage

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Damage to Your Auto Coverage (Full coverage)

No Fault Insurance

Additionally insurance companies spell out exclusions, your specific duties after a loss, and general coverage provisions, and potential amendments and endorsements to the personal auto policy. 

In our next article we will discuss what is liability insurance in Cincinnati?

Looking for Auto Insurance in Cincinnati? Contact Our Top-Rated Independent Insurance Agency at 513-662-7000. 

Or feel free to review a personal message from one of the agency owners of Pathway Insurance by clicking on our new web site by clicking on:

http://www.autoinsurancecincinnati.net/

Medical Payments Insurance Coverage, How Does It Benefit You?

Medical Payments Coverage pays for reasonable expenses incurred for necessary medical expenses and or funeral services due to bodily injury related to a covered accident. Please note how one company defines whom this coverage applies to and in what situations:

Under this Coverage we will pay all reasonable expenses actually incurred by an insured within one year from the date of accident for necessary medical, surgical, x-ray, dental services, prosthetic devices, ambulance, hospital, professional nursing and funeral services. The one year limit does not apply to funeral services. In addition, these expenses shall be submitted for payment within two years from the date of the accident.

This coverage applies to: 

1-You and each relative who sustains bodily injury caused by accident:

a)    While occupying the owned auto; or While occupying a non-owned auto if you or your relative reasonably believe you have the owner’s permission to use the auto and the use is within the scope of that permission; or When struck as a pedestrian by an auto or trailer.

 2- Any other person who sustains bodily injury caused by accident while occupying the owned auto while being used by you, a resident of your household, or other persons with your permission. 

Car Accident Medical Payments Coverage Example:

You and your friend Stephanie are traveling over the Memorial Day weekend to your cousin’s condominium in Cleveland Ohio when you fall asleep and drive off the road in a single car accident. Fortunately there were no serious injuries but you break your collarbone and Stephanie breaks her left arm.  You are transported by ambulance to the local hospital. Neither you nor Stephanie carries health insurance. 

What Happens Next?

Fortunately you did purchase medical payments coverage in the amount of $10,000 for each person. Your bill amounts to $6100 including the ambulance transportation, and Stephanie’s medical bill amounts to $3251.

Your medical bills are paid in full by your medical payments coverage on your automobile insurance policy.

When You Buy Automobile Insurance in Cincinnati Make Sure You Get Enough Medical Payments Coverage!

Buy as much medical payments coverage as you possibly can afford.  Any amount of money not paid by your insurance company would need to be paid by the person responsible for the car accident.

When Shopping for Automobile Insurance in Cincinnati Call 513-662-7000 to obtain up to 20 insurance quotes from top rated companies in your area.

Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage, How Does It Benefit You?

Uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage are very important coverage parts on the Cincinnati automobile insurance policy. 

The reason why it is an important coverage is because it can provide insurance benefits to you, to those who are listed as drivers on your insurance policy, and also to those who are passengers in your vehicle at the time of the accident by an uninsured motorist, or by a person who only has a minimum amount of liability coverage that does not fully compensate you for your injuries. (Hence underinsured motorist coverage.)

If you have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy you are eligible to recover from the owner or operator of an uninsured motorist vehicle for bodily injury and uninsured motorist property damage. (Please refer to your individual insurance policy for coverage definitions, and who is considered to be an insured for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.)

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Coverage Example:

Claim Scenario-Alex is your 21-year-old son and he is riding as a passenger in his friend Joshua’s car.  Joshua causes an accident where he is found to be at fault and Alex sustains severe injuries. Alex’s injuries including compensatory damages amount to $100,000.

Joshua only carries the state minimum liability limits in Ohio of $12,500 per person and $25,000 per accident. Alex can collect only $12,500 from Joshua’s insurance policy. Because Alex carried $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, Alex can collect an additional $87,500 from his policy under the underinsured portion of his coverage giving him a total of $100,000 in compensatory damages. (Insurance companies offset any collected amount of money and pay the difference from the uninsured or underinsured motors coverage limit.)

Additional Claim Scenario-If we change the accident scenario and assume that Joshua did not have car insurance at the time of the accident.  The full $100,000 would be available to Alex to compensate him for his injuries from his uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist and underinsured insurance motorist coverage is a very important coverage. 

If you are looking for automobile insurance in Cincinnati make sure you add this vital coverage!

Call 513-662-7000 for Automobile Insurance Quotes from up to 20 Top Rated Insurance Carriers!

Damage to Your Auto Coverage (“Full coverage”)

Insurance companies do not use the term “full coverage” in the Cincinnati automobile insurance contract. The likely reason for this is because a misunderstanding could develop on what “full coverage” provides.

Please note the definition for damage to your auto coverage with one insurance carrier:

We will pay for direct and accidental loss to your covered auto or any non-owned auto, including its equipment, minus any applicable deductible shown in the Declarations. We will pay for loss to your covered auto caused by:

1. Other than collision only if the Declarations indicate that Other Than Collision Coverage is provided for that auto.

2. Collision only if the Declarations indicate that Collision Coverage is provided for that auto.

How Does Full Coverage Insurance Benefit You?

Simply put full coverage insurance will help you to repair the damage to your vehicle, or provide a loss settlement to you in the event the vehicle is totaled. Here’s the bad news on loss settlements.

Insurance companies only settle losses based on the actual cash value of the vehicle. In other words what is the vehicle worth? Everyone is aware that depreciation greatly affects the value of your vehicles. When the vehicle is damaged or destroyed your insurance company is only obligated to pay what it is worth, the actual cash value of the vehicle.

There Are Two Separate Coverage Parts on Full Coverage

Comprehensive– (sometimes referred to as Other Than Collision Coverage) Provides protection to that individually listed vehicle for vandalism, theft of the vehicle, glass damage, collision with an animal, (like you running into a deer or some other animal including birds) hail, water, or flood damage, fire, explosions, earthquake, or falling objects.

Collision-Provides protection for the individually listed vehicle for anything that you “collide” with, such as another vehicle, telephone pole, wall, or even debris in the road.

Here’s a Common Misunderstanding about Automobile Insurance in Cincinnati When You Have “Full Coverage.”

• Full coverage does not provide car rental, towing and labor, loan or lease gap coverage, or coverage for personal effects in your automobile if they are damaged.

Car rental, towing and labor, loan or lease gap coverage are optional coverage that you must add by endorsement to the policy.

Looking for the Better Rates on Insurance in Cincinnati? Call 513-662-7000

Shopping for new Car and Home Insurance in Cincinnati?

Call our conveniently located independent insurance agency in Cincinnati @ 513-662-7000 or click here to receive insurance quotes in all 50 states.

Cincinnati Insurance companies advertise nonstop 24 hours per day.  What is their message?

Where is the message… “We always pay our insurance claims no matter what”? 

You will not find that message from any insurance company. 

Why?  Because insurance companies in Cincinnati deny claims on a regular basis for policyholders.

Across the country hundreds of thousands of consumers file complaints against insurance companies each year for claim denials. Would you assume the reason is because insurance companies are greedy profit driven machines who only want to take as much money as possible from their Cincinnati insurance policyholders and payout as little as they can?

That’s not the reason.

It’s because of a lack of knowledge about what insurance covers, but more importantly what it doesn’t cover.  Insurance is a big mystery to most people.  It’s misunderstood, it’s misinterpreted, it’s misapplied and then the claim might be denied. ™

The Pathway Protection Letter™ can provide you the educational information that you need to understand your insurance policies better.

It does you absolutely no good to save money on insurance, when later it cost you money because you did not get the proper insurance advice.  You can learn more about the Pathway Protection Letter™ by clicking on our next article.

The Pathway Protection Letter™ is only available through our independent insurance agency in Cincinnati.

To discuss your insurance needs including how the Pathway Protection Letter™ can benefit you please contact:

Pathway Insurance

513-662-7000

(Are you looking for great rates on automobile insurance in Cincinnati?  Call 513-662-7000, or request an online insurance quote by clicking here.)

Is this Truth or Fiction?

It’s true, but what they don’t tell you is that you have to pay extra money for this option.

For instance Allstate Insurance in Cincinnati offers three basic policy levels on their automobile insurance policies:

 Silver + Gold + Platinum

The Silver Package is Allstate insurance basic package this option does not include accident forgiveness.

The Gold Package gives you one immediate accident that they will not surcharge your policy.

The Platinum Package gives you multiple accidents without a surcharge.

How do the various packages compare in price? (Quotes were obtained using Allstate’s online quote system which proved to be somewhat inaccurate. See explanation below.)

The Silver package- $146 per month

The Gold package – $158 per month

The platinum package- $168 per month

If you buy Allstate car insurance in Cincinnati and choose the Gold package with Allstate you are going to pay about 8% premium increase on this option. If you buy the platinum package with Allstate your premium increases over 15%.

Is it worth the extra money, or is it merely a method for the insurance companies to increase their profits?

It’s my opinion that this will increase the insurance companies ‘profit margins more so that it will benefit policyholders and that’s why most major insurance companies are pushing this option.  We also represent insurance companies in our independent agency in Cincinnati that offer accident forgiveness for an additional premium charges.

In our opinion go with the basic package, be a safe driver and practice accident avoidance.

If you are with Allstate Insurance in Cincinnati you might be able to save hundreds of dollars by switching to our Cincinnati independent insurance agency.

The insurance quote example that I used in this comparison with Allstate insurance in Cincinnati is my personal example.   I pay less than $75 per month on my car insurance in Cincinnati compared to $146 per month that Allstate insurance would charge me if I bought a policy directly from them. (This comparison quote was completed on November 23, 2010 using Allstate’s online quote system.)

Contact information for Pathway Insurance

513-662-7000

Jack@pathwayinsurance.net

Click here for online insurance quotes in Cincinnati

*Vehicles quoted were a 2010 Honda Civic, and a 2004 Honda Pilot EXL. Coverage limits were 500/500/500 with matching uninsured and underinsured limits. $100 deductible for comprehensive and $500 deductible for collision Road side assistance plus car rental is included.

There were some potential inaccuracies on the online Allstate insurance quotes that I discovered when a local Allstate insurance agent in Cincinnati called me to discuss the insurance quotes.  The online insurance quotes that I obtained for Allstate did not give you the option for a multi-policy discount, in other words if you package your automobile insurance and your homeowners insurance with the same company there is an added discount. The Allstate agent e-mailed quotes to me but they were not accurate. (I asked the agent to send me 500/500/500 liability quotes and she sent me 250/500/100, so I could not verify the accuracy between the online Allstate quote system and the actual quotes she sent to me. The quotes the Allstate insurance agent sent to me included a multi-policy discount, a future effective date discount, and lower limits for car rental, rental reimbursement and no coverage for loan gap coverage and the liability limits were significantly lower + she did not have business usage added to my policy, the Allstate car insurance quote in Cincinnati with significantly lower limits came in about $98 per month.)

The insurance industry is not unlike other industries when it comes to employee turnover. It happens, some people with the best intentions want to become an insurance agent and find out six to twelve months later this is not what they want to be doing as a career and they quit. (Or they get fired because they could not sell enough insurance policies to survive.)

Why is that bad for you as the insurance buyer in Cincinnati? And more importantly why is it important to choose an insurance professional with years of industry experience to care for your insurance needs?

Because of the constant, nonstop advertising we see from companies like GEICO, Progressive Direct, Safeauto, Esurance, Allstate and Nationwide insurance in Cincinnati.  Insurance shoppers in Cincinnati have been programmed or trained to think that the price you pay for your insurance is the most important factor that you should take into consideration when making a buying decision for your insurance needs.

The price you pay for your insurance should only be one factor in your decision making process.

Insurance policies come in a variety of different features, benefits, and coverage enhancements. Insurance policies are extremely complicated financial contracts that sometimes require interpretation from the judicial system (by means of a lawsuit) for understanding.

For instance, if you choose the wrong coverage amount or options you may cause yourself some serious financial harm if you have a claim.  In addition you could violate a coverage restriction on your policy and find yourself (after the claim happens) having absolutely no coverage for something you thought you were covered for.

An insurance agent who is new to the business is not likely to have the knowledge, understanding, or experience to be able to provide real-world practical advice.  Insurance policies are extremely complicated financial contracts between you and the insurance company.  The insurance company will only pay up to what the contract allows for.  They will not modify the restrictions of coverage if you violate terms of your contract even if you did so innocently.    (Read about the 231 ways your insurance company can legally refuse to pay your car insurance claim)

Probably the most important question you need to ask someone before you buy a policy with them is this:

1. How many years of experience do you have offering insurance in my area?

If you were to purchase insurance from an agent with limited experience how can you be absolutely sure what they are telling you is accurate?  How can you be sure they even know what they are selling you?

Insurance policies are very complicated financial contracts as I mentioned previously so it’s important you choose an agency where knowledge and understanding of policy language is more important than the price you pay for the insurance.  

Would you not feel more comfortable working with an agency that has broad experience in insurance matters, or would you prefer to leave your financial interests with an agent or company who is limited in experience?

While it is true that no agency or individual agent is perfect, we firmly believe here at Pathway Insurance that educating our Cincinnati clients is more important than a cheap insurance price with no advice.™

Why not take the time to consider allowing our local Cincinnati-based insurance agency to care for your insurance needs?  Click Here to start that process. Or feel free to contact me directly by calling 513-662-7000 or sending a quick email to jack@pathwayinsurance.net

Just for clarification, you probably do not want to assume that if you are working with an agent or agency that has many years of experience that they are an expert on insurance matters.  I will discuss that in our next article.

In our last article we discussed how the company car discount can help parents lower car insurance rates in Cincinnati, the next discount we will discuss for Teen Drivers is actually the 2nd largest discount Cincinnati parent can receive for their teen age son or daughter. The good student discount is only available when the student has a “B”, or 3.0 or better grade point average. 

Unfortunately not every insurance company offers this beneficial discount, if your car insurance premiums are sky high for your teenage son or daughter contact our office at 513-662-7000 for an instant rate comparison.

Let’s review an actual example so you can see the difference in price.

Father age 46 *Son age 16- The father is driving a 2007 Ford Crown Victoria, the son is driving a 2001 Honda Civic.

Both cars have full coverage with a $500 deductible and limits of liability, 100/300/100, with medical payments, car rental and T&L.

Six month premium without good student discount = $1,511.00

 Six month premium with the good student discount =$1,247.00

The difference in price is more than $500 for the year, or a discount of 18% for simply having an average of a “B” or better in school.

If the grade point average is maintained from age 16 to 21, parents will save more than $3,000!

That’s a pretty good incentive to keep your grade point average up, don’t you think parents?

How long can you maintain the good student discount if you have a son or daughter attending college?
Many companies will extend that discount to age 25, although 1 particular company we represent will extend it to age 29 depending on the circumstances.

So parents make sure you are getting this valuable discount if you qualify. Click here for an instant rate quote.

In our next issue we will talk about the largest possible discount available for teen drivers on your policy that can decrease premiums 40-70% or more!

If you have a specific question about this topic, please email me at jack@pathwayinsurance.net. There are 2 additional discounts that Cincinnati parents may qualify for that will help to lower your insurance premiums when you have young drivers on your policy.