Does Your Insurer Provide Roadside Assistance?

2008-02-06 Word Count: 516 Category: Insurance

We all have weeks when nothing seems to go right, a tire could blow out, you could lock your keys in the car or your car battery could die. If you have added an emergency roadside assistance extension to your insurance policy, you probably feel like you can start to relax. But there are some important things you need to know first.

Adding emergency roadside assistance onto your insurance policy can seem like an inexpensive way to protect yourself against an unexpected breakdown or other embarrassing problem. Many insurers, including Allstate, State Farm, Geico and Progressive, offer customers an add-on to their motor vehicle insurance policy for a lot loss than the cost of independent auto club services. Basic assistance included on a policy can be as cheap as $6 to $20 for an annual policy, compared to $45 to $100 for an annual membership of an motor vehicle club service.

But, maybe you didn't know that motor vehicle insurers keep track of your roadside assistance claims, in some cases you may discover your premium will go up if you make one too many calls for help. Insurers take a whole range of factors into account when giving you a quote for motor vehicle insurance and how many and what kind of roadside assistance claims you've made is one of them.

Many motor vehicle insurers consider roadside assistance claims to be one of the predictors of risk. Most insurers state that a policy holder's premium will not be affected unless there are numerous claims together with several other risky factors. The chance that one or two claims would have an impact on a customer's premium is probably very low.

In some cases, any claims processed under the add-on roadside assistance coverage are reported as a towing and labor claim. These claims are reported to a national database maintained by ChoicePoint, a company that provides insurers with claims information to help them process applications. Car insurers use information from ChoicePoint to confirm your application for insurance to make sure you have been straightforward about your accident and towing claims history.

ChoicePoint does not include claims data from auto club services such as AAA or Allstate Motor Club and has advised insurers not to submit any claims made under auto club type services. However many insurers, do report all claims made from their roadside services as towing claims, including jumpstarts, tire changes and gas delivery.

Insurers won't reject your application for insurance due to towing and labor claims, however these claims, especially if there are a number of them, may influence your premium.

Some insurers don't use roadside assistance to determine premium prices, so it's worth shopping around and asking.

Motor clubs, such as AAA and Allstate Motor Club, may be a little more expensive, but can be less of a headache in the long run as any claims you make will be kept confidential. These clubs also provide a wider range of services than just basic roadside assistance, including discounts on hotels and other travel related services.

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