While traveling around the country the one blight to be seen in almost all regions is the ever growing collection of abandoned cars that having lived out their usefulness. Driving across Unusual Mexico, the empty hulks sit off to the corner of many lots. With no foliage around to hide them from view they sit with hoods open, windows busted out, simmering in the sun forever more.
Throughout the heartland of the country farmers line up their derelict vehicles. Arranged like trophies on the mantle, this formation of junked and obsolete cars, trucks and farm equipment is left as if in hard times they may be called back into service.
In many rural regions it can be hard to bag a practical way to deal with this unsightly collection. Fortunately in Duluth MN and most metropolitan areas properly disposing of unwanted vehicles is as simple as making a phone call.
In my case I found myself with one too many cars. The old Geo Tracker, though still a semi-reliable mode of transportation was dissolving before my eyes. Rust had already removed a good portion of the body and with small mechanical issues accumulating on a daily basis it just became time to put the trusty steed to rest.
I considered trying to sell the vehicle out lawful. Knowing it was worth maybe $500 on a good day. Though not very pretty it still could get someone to and from work through the worst winter had to offer. The engine didn’t use oil, the four wheel drive worked pleasing, and she started faithfully through the coldest weather. At 30 mpg in the summer it seemed a shame to let her go.
Donating the vehicle crossed my mind as well, it could serve someone less fortunate then myself continuing on indefinitely.
Unfortunately in our litigatious world one needs to be concerned with personal liability. Admittedly one front brake wasn’t completely up to snuff as a cheap repair left things less then perfect. With a short high ground clearance vehicle handling on the highway and in ice conditions was a little tricky.
The final issue of concern was even though in Minnesota all that is required to sell a car is for the owner to sign the title and hand it to the buyer. The buyer is then required to take it to the Motor Vehicle Registration Office and transfer the title.
As happens all too often today, especially when cheap older cars are involved, the buyer doesn’t have the money to properly process the transaction. Without the required auto insurance he will simple just drive the car on the existing registration putting off or just plain ignoring the need to transfer title.
Down the road he has an accident, or collects some traffic tickets and if your lucky the car gets impounded. Guess who the authorities come after for damages, fines, and storage fees. You, the unruffled legally registered owner of the car. You may have sold it a year ago, but if the title was never transferred your still liable.
I’ve had it happen to me, and seen it happen to family and friends time and again. After many phone calls and a bit of a legal hassle the problem has been resolved, but you sure don’t want to go through that.
This time the better way is to simply recycle the vehicle. I placed a call to Chesney’s Auto Salvage. They offered me $100 for my rolling collection of still usable parts. Though they are closed on weekends I can tumble off the car in their lot at my convenience and they will promptly mail me a check.
With this method of disposal the car is immediately and forever taken off the road. Usable parts will be stripped, stored, and cataloged then offered for sale at a considerable discount from new parts. At the point the remaining hulk has nothing to offer all fluids will be drained and sold, the body will be crushed and off to the steel mills it goes to return as a shiny recent car on some dealers lot.
A nice clean operation removing all liability issues the moment you hand over the keys. Your old dead automobile has become a useful resource helping to conserve our finite quantity of natural resources.
Most salvage operations also offer the option of having them near and tow away your vehicle if your unable to deliver it to them. What could be easier, pick up the phone and with one call your eyesores are gone. You’ve made a little money and your legal responsibilities have been addressed. To top it off you’ve done a “Green Living” act of kindness to the environment.
Filed under State Farm Auto Insurance by on Feb 21st, 2011. Comment. 
In a statement released Monday, Public Justice, a national public interest law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., and the California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), said they are requesting a New Orleans federal court to keep public key documents relating to a lawsuit stemming from Hurricane Katrina. The lawsuit is being brought against Allstate Insurance Company on the grounds of “bad faith”, the failure to pay a legitimate claim on inauthentic grounds of denial.
Allstate has asked the court to hold the documents sealed.
This is not the first time that Allstate has had itself targeted for lawsuits because of a failure to pay claims. A federal court is still waiting for that insurance company to turn over and make public over 12,000 PowerPoint slides made for it by a management consulting firm that started working with the insurer in the early 1990s. The court order was given to Allstate in 2004, and it is amazing that a large corporation is not complying with that order; non-compliance like that is rare.
The company says that it is enchanting in “civil disobedience” by denying the order, refusing to let its proprietary secrets and management techniques be stolen by competitors.
But the reason for the court order centers on the claim made by one lawyer in a well-researched book that the management consultant was brought in to note Allstate how to re-structure its claims paying policies and deny its claims adjusters in such a way as to be able to avoid paying on a lot of claims by its policy holders.
Allstate also attempted to block the publication of that lawyer’s book, which was released in 2006. The insurer says that it was using the management training to be able to better protect itself against insurance fraud.
This journalist had Allstate auto insurance in the later 1990s for one year. Although I had a perfect driving record when I bought the insurance, I was the victim of a four-car accident on a fast-moving New Jersey highway that. No one was injured and I was the only one of the four drivers found faultless.
While Allstate paid my claim expediently, I was summarily dropped by the insurer months later for unstated grounds. The company informed me that it had chosen to exercise its “two percent rule” option, under which it is permitted by law to drop two percent of its policy holders in any given year for any reason the company finds to be a good one.
My settlement amount for the accident exceeded the amount of premiums that I paid to Allstate in that year’s time.
“It appears that Allstate devised its claims-handling process to avoid paying claims to homeowners and did so at the very same time homeowners were, quite literally, stranded and desperate due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. These records shed light on Allstate’s behavior after Hurricane Katrina and Allstate is horrified of the public scrutiny,” said Michael Lucas, a Public Justice attorney.
Filed under State Farm Auto Insurance by on Feb 19th, 2011. Comment.
In Wisconsin, many people own auto insurance, even though it is not required by state law to carry it. While many people hold auto insurance policies, there are many who do not know what their policy provides coverage for. The following guide will be a basic overview of coverages available on an auto insurance policy and I will also provide some recommendations on what limits of insurance to carry.
Limits of Liability: Each auto insurance policy carries limits of liability. I like to describe liability insurance as “coverage for the other guy.” This fragment of your auto insurance policy provides monetary limits that will be paid out in the event of an accident that you are legally deemed responsible for. In most cases, these limits are broken down into three categories: Bodily Injury per person, Bodily Injury per occurrence, and Property Damage. Generally, your policy will list three numbers that represent how many thousands of dollars your policy offers under each category.
For example, if your liability limits are listed as 100/300/100, this translates as $100,000 is the maximum amount your policy will pay out for bodily injury damages sustained by any one person in any single occurrence. $300,000 would be the maximum paid out for bodily injury damages sustained by all people in any single occurrence. Lastly, $100,000 would be the maximum paid out for any injure you do to someone else’s property in any single occurrence.
Recommendation on choosing your liability limits.When choosing your liability limits on your auto insurance policy, there are a couple things to keep in mind; the rising cost of health care and the “sue-happy” society in which we live. The state of Wisconsin requires that you carry limits of at least 25/50/25, however, this is NOT adequate coverage. If there are injuries resulting from an accident in which you are legally liable, $25,000 will not last long in a hospital these days. Also, if there is a law suit brought against you for the accident, $25,000 will be gone very quick as well. My recommendation is to carry liability limits of at least 250/500/100 and possibly supplement your auto insurance policy with a Personal Liability Umbrella policy which would give an extra $1,000,000 of liability protection.
Medical Expense: This coverage is optional. It provides a limit for medical payments if you or anyone in your vehicle is injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault. The limit that you choose will be provided on a per person basis.
Recommendation on choosing your medical expense limit.Even though this coverage is optional, I would recommend taking it, as it is very inexpensive. Even if you have health insurance and feel you have no need for this coverage, you never know if your passengers carry health insurance or not. Also, even if you have health insurance, many times you need to meet a deductible before anything will be paid out. Medical Expense coverage has no deductible. I recommend choosing a limit of $10,000 or higher. If your policy has a limit of less than $10,000, your policy will pay medical expenses for up to a year. However, if your policy limit is more than $10,000, your policy will pay medical expenses for three years. For a few extra dollars, you get two years of extra coverage.
Uninsured Motorist: Every auto insurance policy includes this coverage. This limit in your policy provides coverage for bodily injury for you and your passengers if you are hurt in an accident with an uninsured driver, as long as they are at fault. Similar to liability limits, this coverage is displayed on your policy in two categories: Bodily Injury per person and Bodily Injury per occurrence.
Recommendation on choosing your uninsured motorist limit. Many people space their uninsured motorist limit equal to the liability limits they carry. My recommendation would be to choose limits equal to or higher than your policy’s liability limits. The reasoning for this is simply, why take care of someone else better than you take care of yourself and your passengers?
Under Insured Motorist: This coverage is optional. This coverage is very similar to Uninsured Motorist and provides coverage for bodily injury for you and your passengers if you are afflict in an accident with a driver who does not carry enough insurance to shroud your medical bills. This limit is required to match the limit set in your policy for Uninsured Motorist.
Recommendation on choosing your under insured motorist limit. Even though this coverage is option, I would recommend including it in your policy. Generally, the cost is about $2.00 a month, which is a small price to pay for the peace of mind it provides in knowing that you are taken care of even if there are irresponsible drivers on the road.
Comprehensive: This coverage is optional. Many people refer to comprehensive coverage as providing coverage against “acts of nature.” Some examples of covered instances would be windshield cracks, deer hits, hail damage, vandalism, etc. Your policy will list a deductible for this coverage, which means that you will be responsible for a set amount of money if there is a loss, and your insurance company will pay for the remaining reasonable costs to fix or replace the vehicle.
Collision: This coverage is optional. This coverage will shroud repairs or the replacement of your vehicle minus any depreciation, if you are in an accident that is deemed your fault. If you carry this coverage on your policy, similar to comprehensive coverage, you will have a deductible, or set amount of money you will be responsible for before the insurance company will pay for the remaining reasonable costs left over for the repairs or replacement of your vehicle.
Recommendation on choosing whether or not to carry comprehensive and collision coverage: The first step is to ask yourself several questions about your vehicle and your financials. Is your vehicle over ten years customary? Do you have a loan on it? How much would your vehicle be worth as blue book value? Would you be able to afford to pay for damages out of pocket if your vehicle was severely damaged or needed to be replaced? If your vehicle is over ten years old, unless it is in immaculate condition, it may not be worth paying extra for comprehensive or collision coverage. However, if you still have a loan on your vehicle, the bank usually will require you to carry this coverage on your policy, no matter what the value or age. Also, if your vehicle is not worth great anymore due to mileage, condition, or age, it may not be worth paying the premium for these coverages as compared to what you will actually get for the vehicle if something happens to it. A top-notch rule of thumb is that if you can afford to construct small repairs or replace the vehicle out of pocket, you should not carry these coverages, as it will cost you more money in the long run.
Emergency Roadside Service: This coverage is optional and usually varies from company to company. Many times it will include towing costs up to a certain distance or amount of money if your vehicle breaks down. Also, some policies may also cover costs for a locksmith and labor costs when you run out of gas or get a flat tire.
Recommendation on whether or not to carry emergency roadside service coverage: Many people carry this coverage on their auto insurance policies as it is usually the least expensive route when compared to companies who offer towing packages, such as AAA. However, if you have a package through AAA or through the dealership you purchased your car from, it would not be necessary.
Rental Reimbursement: This coverage is optional. If you carry this coverage on your auto policy, you will be allotted a specified amount of money to put towards a rental vehicle if your car is being repaired due to a covered loss. Many times the coverage will be listed in two categories: maximum payout per day and maximum payout per occurrence; for example, 30/750, means you would have $30 to put towards a rental vehicle per day with a maximum of $750 paid out per occurrence.
Recommendation on whether or not to carry rental reimbursement coverage: You should carry this coverage on your policy if you would have no other vehicle to use if yours was being repaired. Again, AAA or similar companies may offer this coverage in their packages, and if you have a package that includes it, it is not necessary to include this coverage in your auto insurance policy.
Overall, each auto insurance policy may be worded a bit differently and each person has a different need for the limit of insurance and which coverages they carry on their policy. The best advise would be to make determined and schedule a yearly insurance review with your agent, as life changes, and your policies should keep up. You agent will make sure your limits are adequate and that your policy includes personalized coverages that fit your particular needs. If you do not have an insurance agent or your agent does not provide these services, it is best you find another company, as you can pay really cheap rates…but chances are your coverage will fall short when you really need it and most people work too hard for a living to take that chance.
Filed under State Farm Auto Insurance by on Dec 14th, 2010. Comment.
