Elephant Insurance - Listen to the Blog

There’s a lot of information out there about car insurance as it pertains to tickets and traffic violations. Some of it’s true; some of it is an exaggeration or pure misinformation. However, whether you get your information from a friend or family member, or an online search engine, it’s best to double-check your sources. At Elephant Insurance, we’ve done the homework for you.

To help dispel any misconceptions or myths about tickets and violations, we’ve compiled the truth about common violations—and outlined quick facts about each. We’re also answering several popular questions we hear about driving records and insurance premiums as they relate to said violations. We hope you learn a thing or two and walk away as a confident, safe driver.

• Types of Tickets and Violations
• Will I see an impact on my insurance premium?
• How long will a traffic violation stay on my insurance record?
• How to improve your rate if you received a ticket

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10 safe driving scholarship options to apply to

Nothing is more important than being a safe driver on the road. Distracted driving and drunk driving have enormous consequences not only for you as a driver, but for your family and other people on the road. Because it impacts thousands of Americans every year, particularly teens who account for almost 10 percent of distracted drivers in fatal car crashes, many organizations offer scholarships to help raise awareness of distracted driving and ways to prevent it. If you are a student preparing for college, already in college, or even a family member with a college student, consider checking out a national safe driving scholarship that aims to reduce or prevent distracted driving. We’ve compiled 10 below.

• 1. Project Yellow Light
• 2. Look Twice, Save a Life
• 3. The Safe Driving Scholarship
• 4. Create Real Impact Contest
• 5. Getting Real About Distracted Driving
• 6. Digital Responsibility’s Don’t Text and Drive Scholarship
• 7. In the Driver’s Seat
• 8. Safe Driver Scholarship
• 9. Drunk Driving Prevention Scholarship
• 10. Stand Up to Distracted Driving Scholarship

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Uh-oh…your car is totaled. Or is it? “Totaled” is a word that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to car accidents, but the term actually has a very specific definition. It is only used in insurance when the damage to the car falls under a particular set of circumstances set by your insurance.

It’s not the driver’s responsibility to determine if the car is totaled. That falls onto the driver’s insurance adjuster and the car insurance company. Being more informed about total losses and how insurance companies handle them can help drivers feel more prepared if their car ever suffers severe damage.

What does “totaled” mean?

So what does it actually mean, and when is a car considered “totaled?” Insurance companies typically designate vehicles as a total loss when the cost to fix the damage is more than the car’s value or if the car can’t be repaired at all for some reason or another.

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When it comes to driving, we’ve all heard myths gathered over the years from relatives, friends, and beliefs in the public sphere. Whether it’s myths about car safety, maintenance, or trivial matters, such as whether it’s legal to drive barefoot or keep the light on in your car, you may have some misconceptions about your car and how you drive it. Let’s take a look at some of the most common driving myths and why they aren’t true.

General myths

Red cars are more likely to be pulled over

You’ve no doubt heard this myth before, that the very bold color of a red car means you’re more likely to be pulled over by the police. The reality is that your driving habits get you noticed by law enforcement, not the color of your car. There’s really no evidence to support the claim that red cars are more likely to be stopped by police.

You can only be pulled over for speeding if you go over 10 miles an hour

The truth of the matter on speeding is that any amount of speed over the posted limit is subject to ticketing. Police officers often operate at their own discretion on this issue, but there’s no acceptable number of miles over a speed limit to which you are immune from receiving a ticket.

Common driving myths debunked

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Getting into a car accident is always a stressful situation. You’re worried about injuries, damage to your vehicle, and of course, money. How do you know if paying for repairs out of pocket will help you in the long run or make things more complicated? We’ve got you covered. Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering paying out of pocket after a car accident.

Who else was involved in the accident?

Single-vehicle accidents

Car accidents don’t always involve other motorists; lousy weather conditions, distracted driving, or vehicle malfunction can lead to single-vehicle accidents. If you hit an inanimate object and your car is damaged, the first thing you should do is check your deductible. For example, if you back into your mailbox and dent your fender, it may make more sense to pay for the repairs yourself and not file a claim with your insurance company. This is an easy case where paying out of pocket makes sense.

But you may be asking yourself, what harm is there in filing a claim when it was a minor accident that wasn’t necessarily my fault? Well, liability is a tricky thing, and sometimes even when you’re not totally at-fault, an accident can cause your insurance rate to go up.

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You’ve saved, researched models and brands, and now you’ve finally taken the plunge and bought a car—congratulations! But before you hit the open road, you need to take care of a few things first, and that means it’s time to buy yourself some car insurance. Since you just dropped a big chunk of change on your car, you might think the smart thing to do is save a few bucks a month by picking the minimum required coverage, right?

Don’t do it, it’s a trap! Okay, so maybe it’s not that dramatic, but going with a minimum coverage plan could end up costing you a lot more than you’d expect. Here are a few things to consider when you’re tempted to pick the cheapest option.

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Your car insurance coverage shouldn’t be a mystery. Knowing what your car insurance does and doesn’t cover is crucial information, and something you’ll want to know before you have to file a claim. Feeling a little foggy about what your insurance plan covers? No worries. Read on for a fuller understanding of your coverage.

What’s covered depends on your coverage

The first thing to do when trying to get a clearer picture of what your insurance policy covers is to identify what type of coverage you have. There are six main types of car insurance:

• Liability: Liability insurance protects you if you’re liable for the damage to another driver’s vehicle in an accident. This type of coverage is required in almost every state.
• Collision: Collision covers the repair or replacement of your vehicle no matter who is at fault in an accident. You’re required to have collision insurance if you lease or finance your vehicle.
• Comprehensive: Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your vehicle that was not caused by an accident. Examples include: rodent damage, fallen limb coverage, and more.
• Personal injury protection: This type of coverage pays for direct and indirect medical bills if you’re involved in an accident.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: Covers vehicle damage and medical bills after an accident with an uninsured/underinsured driver. This type of insurance is required in 20 states.
• Medical payments: This pays for any and all of your medical expenses after an accident.

While this may seem fairly straightforward, your coverage also depends on which car insurance company you choose.

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On the list of major purchases, it doesn’t get much bigger than buying a new house. While there’s a certain charm to getting a place that’s been lived in, there’s also something special about being a home’s initial tenants.

There are a number of differences between an existing home and a new home. Most of them are pretty obvious, like custom features that allow owners to hide unsightly cords for electronic hookups, for instance, or more modern plumbing and heating. It’s these same features that also play a role in how homeowners insurance rates are established for new homeowners.

Homeowners insurance for newer homes vs older homes

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Do you have a reliable way to get around if your vehicle is in the shop for repairs? If you don’t, you aren’t alone. In fact, in a recent poll conducted at Elephant, we found 27% of participants didn’t have an alternate way to get to work if their car was out of commission. That’s where rental reimbursement can help.

Also referred to as “rental car coverage” or “transportation expense coverage,” rental reimbursement helps you pay for transportation expenses while your vehicle is being repaired in a covered insurance claim. It covers the cost of rental cars and/or alternate transportation such as bus fare, cab rides, or ridesharing costs.

So, is it worth adding rental reimbursement to your auto policy? To help illustrate the ins and outs of the add-on, we’ll answer some common questions about rental reimbursement coverage.

Is Rental Reimbursement Coverage Worth It?

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The knights in shining armor of fairy tale fame wouldn’t be so brilliant without their noble steeds. The same can be said for today’s road warriors, whether commuting or vacation-bound.

Motorists are getting the most out of their car-buying dollar, when you consider that the average age of cars on the road today is 11.4 years, according to IHS Automotive. This means that drivers are waiting more than a decade before turning their vehicles in for a new ride.

It’s not just that they’re owning them longer; they’re also accumulating more miles. In fact, according to The New York Times, 200,000 miler vehicles are the new normal, replacing the 100,000 milers that were once considered to be the industry standard for high mileage cars. While today’s lineup of vehicles are built more sturdily, thanks to the advances in manufacturing, cars don’t reach these lofty mileage totals without some elbow grease.

How to Keep Your High-Mileage Vehicle Going Strong

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