Question: I am seventeen and someone rear ended me on my way to school. Although the insurance company is fixing my car, it will take about a week before I get it back. Do they let seventeen year old’s drive rental cars in Texas?

Answer: Generally any licensed driver of any age can drive a rental car. However, a person that is under the age of 18 cannot make an enforceable contract, therefore cannot rent a car of his/her own volition. They must rely on an adult/parent(s), to make the contract and then authorize the use of the vehicle to the minor.

However, it will also depend on the rental car company policies.  They may not aloud a minor to drive the vehicle. In fact many rental car companies will not aloud drivers with less then three year driving record rent their vehicles and or drive their vehicles. Which means even if your parent(s) rented out a car they may have to sign a waver stating that you are not driving the vehicle.   In this case it not about whether or not you can drive a rental car,  but whether or not you can find a rental car company that willing let a seventeen year old drive their vehicles.

Question: I sold my car about a month ago and the buyer is sending me messages asking for a copy of my insurance. She says she needs it because her insurance company is asking for it. This seems suspicious because they normally do not ask for this. The car had insurance and I already let them know I sold it so they took it off. Is this something I should provide or are they trying to scam me?

Answer:  It sounds fishy. You might call your insurance company and ask them if they every heard of this.  The buyer of a vehicle has no legitimate reason to ask for a copy of your insurance policy.

One day car insurance is an affordable insurance coverage that protects a person effectively for a short term against any loss incurred in cases such as being involved in car accidents. This type of car insurance coverage is often taken by those who drive a car while traveling.

Finding the best car insurance has never been considered a fun activity. However, if one wishes to obtain any form of car insurance, including one day auto insurance, it is essential to do the research and find a good policy. This, as always, can be easily done by comparing quotes online.

Why do people obtain one day insurance?

There are many situations where people feel they do not need to possess any car insurance. Primarily this happens when they simply do not use their car often, as is the case in many large cities (such as New York).

That being said, when using a car even for short periods of time, it is essential that the driver be protected by a type of insurance. This can save him or her the painful realization that they have incurred huge expenses if they are involved in a car accident.

There are two scenarios when one may wish to get one day car insurance.

The first case involves people who do not possess cars and only use one infrequently. This can be when renting a car, or when borrowing a friend’s car. In this case, getting one day auto insurance would be very appropriate.

The second case involves people who wish to save money by not enrolling in an auto insurance plan. This could be the case when they do not use their car often (i.e. live in a place where a car is not necessary, such as New York City), or when they have a second car which is not used frequently.

In both cases, it might be wise ” financially speaking ” to enroll in a one day car insurance whenever the car is required rather than pay a yearly premium. However, if a car is used frequently then this is certainly not the best alternative, and another type of auto insurance would undoubtedly be more appropriate.

Some Auto insurance companies provide discounts for paying your policy in full annually compared to making monthly payments.  There for when shopping out auto insurance if you can afford to pay the plan in full annually you may want to do so in order to save some money.

Question: My parents will be driving my vehicle and making the monthly payments on it. However since their credit is not good enough to transfer the loan outright I am still the registered owner of the vehicle. Do I have to have insurance on the vehicle, in my name or can my parents buy the insurance since they are the ones that will really have the vehicle now.

Answer: If the vehicle is in your name, you are responsible for it. That means the auto insurance policy has to be in your name and then your parents are listed drivers of the vehicle, until one or your parents are the registered owner of the vehicle.  However whom pays for the insurance plan is up to you and your parents as the insurance company does not care who is making the insurance payments.

Question: When taking the driving test, do you use your car?

Reply: You can use your vehicle for the drivers test only if you can show proof that the vehicle has current auto insurance on it.  If you are going to a driving school some, schools will let you test in one of their vehicle. The DMV (examiner/testing location) does not provide vehicles for you to take the driving test in.

The next 50 years will witness enormous developments in car technology. You can compare the seismic evolution about to hit the roads with the first introductions of the diesel engines into the vehicle back in the 1930’s. Whilst the development of the diesel engine still continues to this day, you can be sure that the evolution of connected and even driverless car technology will be driven forward at even greater speed.

This bodes the question of what the ramifications are for car insurance. Not just in the UK but across the globe. As motorists many of us will be thinking that we currently pay over the odds for our current motor premiums. One would think that with the added safety and security that connected technology can deliver our motor premiums will go down sharply.

So what is the technology behind the connected car? Well a good definition would be:  ’A connected car is a car that is equipped with internet access, and usually also with a wireless local area network. This allows the car to share internet access to other devices both inside as outside the vehicle’.

However, in addition to the Internet and wireless LAN connection the connected vehicle should offer many benefits to the driver and passengers associated with increased safety. We can assume that as the car becomes more aware of it’s surroundings then the likelihood of crashes, bumps and scrapes previously claimed on your car insurance policy will reduce in number.

This scenario should lead to a reducing in car insurance premiums across the board. One would hope and expect the motor insurance companies will pass on the savings made through fewer claims to the motorist in the form of cheaper policies with the same levels of cover.

Vehicle Insurance Deductible: The deductible is the portion of a covered loss for which you are responsible, as opposed to the portion your insurance company pays. Generally higher deductibles allow your insurance company to offer you lower premiums, as you assume responsibility for a larger amount of loss.

Auto Insurance Claim: A claim is what you file when you suffer a loss that is covered by your insurance, such as an automobile accident, you submit a request to your auto insurance company to pay or reimburse you for expenses, damages and other financial obligations.

Most of us assume that our car insurance policy is for 12 months. This makes sense as the cover lasts for 12 months. Right? Well in some instances,  wrong! Some policies are for car insurance” ‘continuous cover’, unless they are cancelled by the policyholder they simply rollover to the next year.

If you are in the position of having been covered for 9-10 months and are nearing the end of the 12 months cover, then it would be extremely wise to take another look at your policy terms and conditions. Stories are emerging of payments being taken from customers bank accounts after 11 months cover as payment for next year – even though you may not have ‘renewed’ your car insurance policy!

Comprehensive coverage is coverage that pays for damages to your vehicle resulting from a covered loss other than a collision, such as fire, theft, vandalism or contact with persons, animals, birds or falling objects.

Covered Loss: A covered loss is any damage to yourself, your vehicle, or other people or property that is covered under your insurance policy.

Children should receive sealants on permanent molars as soon as they erupt (about ages 6 and 12 years).  Children with unmet dental needs suffer the daily distraction of chronic toothaches, the acute and searing pain of dental abscesses, disfigured smile, dysfunctional speech, and difficulty eating.  Children with dental decay who lack access to dental care are often not brought to seek care until decay is severe.

Children are not stigmatized by being singled out during the screening and sealing process.  Children need dental sealants applied again when new molars emerge, usually around twelve years of age.  Children should get sealants on their permanent molars as soon as the teeth come in  before decay attacks the teeth.  Children who would benefit most from sealants include those with existing pits and fissures that may develop cavities or those with risk factors for cavities.  Children with sealants still should: Brush twice a day with a pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste.

Generally speaking people think the purpose of car insurance is to reimburse you if your car gets damaged. If your car sustains $1,500 worth of damage from a hail storm you expect to be paid that amount minus your comprehensive deductible.   However,  what if the damage is a door ding in a parking lot or a cracked windshield where the damage barely exceeds your deductible?  In that case should you file a claim to have the damage repaired?

Using this example:  Your windshield gets cracked by a rock driving down the highway. The cost to replace your windshield is $325 and your deductible is $250.  If you file a claim with your insurance company, you will be required to pay the first $250 of the repair bill and the insurance company will pay the remaining $75.

When your insurance renewal comes in you notice your premiums for all your vehicles has taken a jump from the last policy term.  That’s because on your new policy renewal, you probably a claims free discount, which could be up to 10% of the policy total. If you insure several vehicles with full coverage and have a teenage driver or two, that discount could amount to several hundred dollars every year.

Years ago, the only way to buy insurance was through a local insurance agent. Even small towns had multiple agencies that often competed directly across the street from each other. There was no internet, no online quotes and no way to contact many companies except through an agent.

Today you can not only get free online quotes from almost every insurance carrier, but you can usually call a toll-free number if you need to talk to a licensed representative. Are the days of the local insurance agent numbered?