Posts Tagged ‘ auto club ’

 
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Roadside assistance is a great thing to have for the fact that it can get you out of a bind when you are traveling. There is nothing more frightening when on the road than breaking down and not having anyone to help you. There are too many instances in which an individual may be traveling and they break down too far away from anyone they know. What happens is they then have to call a towing service to help them and that towing service will charge a lot of money to tow them to a hotel or another destination.

Sure, it is great that towing is available if you need it, but the cost can be so incredibly high. If youre traveling with a limited amount of money, you may find yourself sleeping in your car somewhere because you have to pay the towing fee and you cant afford a hotel. You would be amazed how many people this happens to. Whats said is that this doesnt have to happen at all.

Roadside assistance

If you tend to travel or you are going to be traveling sometime soon, it is important that you look into a good roadside assistance package with towing services. You pay one low fee each month for your roadside assistance. It usually consists of different services, such as tire assistance, battery assistance, lockout service, and someone will bring you gas if you run out of gas. But the towing service can be the best of them all for the fact that there isnt always a fix right there on the side of the road. The car needs to be taken somewhere if it will not run at all.

Instead of you having to call a tow truck and pay them every dime in your pocket, you can call your auto club and tell them what is going on. What they will do is contact a local tow service for you and two you for a certain distance. You have to take a look at your roadside assistance plan to know how far they will tow you. Many of them will tow you up to 50 miles and what is great is you dont have to pay them when they are done. Your roadside assistance service takes care of that for you because youve been paying them monthly anyway. Youve more or less already covered the cost through your membership fee, so you have nothing to worry about when youre on the road.

Should you get it?

If youre still wondering if you should get roadside assistance, you have to ask yourself how you would handle being stranded in a strange place. If you have a wireless phone, you could call information for a towing service, but then you would be stuck with the cost. That is where you ask yourself if you could handle the cost of towing if you had to. You dont want to be one of those individuals who pay large amounts of money to be towed to a hotel lot or a supermarket parking lot so that you can sleep in your car and seek out help the next day. That is simply unacceptable, especially if you dont have to put yourself through that.

So if you dont have a roadside assistance package that includes towing, you need to get one. It is good to be safe than sorry when you are out and about on the road. When it is all said and done, that will be a move that you were glad you made. It is worth the monthly cost to not be stuck somewhere.

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No matter where you are driving in Canada, the law requires that every driver has car insurance. Automobile insurance is mandatory in all provinces and territories. Your vehicle must be covered under an insurance policy with a minimum set coverage, If you are caught driving without insurance you can be fined, have your drivers license suspended, and even have your vehicle towed and impounded. Fines can range from $5000 to $50,000.

If you are in an accident while driving without insurance, you could face a number of consequences that include:

If another person is injured or there is a loss of life and you are at fault, you could be liable for all vehicle damages, medical costs, and other losses You will not be entitled to receive compensation for your own injuries and damage to your vehicle, as well as other losses such as income. You may be prohibited from filing a claim against another driver if they are at fault.

If convicted of driving without insurance, your insurance company could label you as a high risk driver and increase your premiums. They could also cancel your policy.

There are a number of factors that determine the amount you will pay for insurance. They include:

New Driver: New drivers do not have a driving history so companies normally rate them as high risk. Insurance premiums will likely be expensive until you have established a good driving record.

Driving Record: Your driving record will affect your insurance premium. Insurance companies look at how long you have been driving and the number of convictions you have acquired. Convictions can include speeding tickets, car accidents, and traffic violations such as running a red light. If you have a clean driving record, your premiums should be low.

Type of Car: The type of car you drive will affect your premium. Vehicles are rated according to the make (truck, SUV, expensive sports car). Companies look at the risk of theft, vehicle collision history, and injuries associated with the type of car. The age of the car and mileage is also a factor when determining rates

Common insurance discounts include: age discount, multi-vehicle discount, multi-line discount (insuring your home and auto with the same insurer) anti-theft device discount, low mileage discount, and auto club membership discount.

There are a number of features that can be included in an insurance policy. The two most important forms of coverage are:

Collision Coverage: This coverage compensates for damage to your vehicle as a result of a collision with another vehicle or object.

Third-Party Liability: This insurance covers you if you are held legally liable when your vehicle injures someone or damages their property. Liability is mandatory in all provinces and territories in Canada.

In some provinces there are limitations on how much compensation you can receive. For instance, in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, the maximum amount one can claim for pain and suffering is $2,500. This capped amount is separate from what you receive in insurance benefits. Pain and suffering claims are separate from claims of property damage, medical expenses, or loss of employment income.

There are a number of places where you can purchase car insurance. You can buy it from an insurance broker, insurance agent, or direct writer. Insurance brokers sell policies for a variety of insurance companies. Insurance agents represent only one insurance company. Direct writers are insurance companies that sell their own insurance directly to the customer. The insurance company is responsible for providing the coverage that is noted on a drivers Certificate of Automobile Insurance. You are only covered for what is listed on the certificate. Prices vary among companies so make sure you shop around.

Because car insurance is mandatory in Canada, you should always have insurance before you drive. The costs getting caught without it are much greater than the actual cost of acquiring insurance.

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