Getting Car Insurance on a Vehicle That You Do Not Own

By Ed Sneineh

Can people establish an auto insurance contract on a car that they do not have title to? The answer is always ‘yes they can’. There is absolutely nothing illegal or unlawful (ie in the structure of the law, or in the state laws) that forbids insuring any automobile that you do not have possession to. The proper question, however, is if the policy contract that is insuring a vehicle which is not owned by the named insured is a valid contract- policy. The exact answer in this scenario is ‘it depends.’

One of the key principles in the insurance world is the principle of indemnity, which pronounces exactly that the objective of any insurance contract is to bring back the insured persons to their financial settings prior to the loss, and that these people can never advance monetarily from the insurance contract or claims. From this point comes the notion of insurable interest. There has to be some insurable interest among the owner of the contract and the insured subject. Insurable interest dictates that a person has to incur some financial loss as a result of destruction of a property for him or her to have insurable interest in that property. In the insurance business, insurable interest must exit at the time of the loss for property and casualty (including car insurance.) For life insurance contracts, however, the insurable interest must be existing only at the time of the ratification of the application to get the insurance policy.

The reason why insurable interest must exist at the time of the loss is to prevent insurance fraud. Imagine if someone insures his friend’s vehicle while the fiend also has his own insurance, and then later for both him and his friend collecting money for a theft loss of the vehicle. Also, in life insurance there has to be some sort of blood, business, or marriage relationship between the owner of the life insurance policy and the insured at the time of signing the life insurance application (i.e. not necessarily at the time of loss or death). This is needed to prevent wagering upon human life.

If the car in question is a car that you do not own (possess no title for it), then there seems to be no financial loss for you in the event of a loss to the vehicle, therefore you may insure it, but your insurance contract may not be valid because at the time of the loss the car was not yours. Remember that while car insurance is about insuring a car, it is classified as personal insurance, meaning it has to do with a particular person, and not the car itself.

So how do you deal with situations where a car is given to you, but the title is still in the name of a friend or relative and you are now required to have insurance? The answer is very simply: The insurance must be in the name of the titleholder and you need to be listed as an additional driver. This is the proper way of handling the situation. An exception to that is if the title is in the name of the spouse. In that case the named insured and titleholder can be used interchangeably between husbands and wives. Also, placing insurance under your name for a vehicle that is titled under your child’s name is also acceptable as long as you demonstrate some proof that you will suffer financially as a result of loss to that vehicle and you list the child on the policy as an operator. Perhaps your child lives with you and the child still relies on you financially? That is a good case of proving insurable interest.

When you call your insurance representative to get some car insurance quotes be sure to report this information to your agent. Improper disclosure of the titleholder or Named Insured on the policy is one of the main reasons why insurance companies refuse paying claims later. Certain elder and mature people (over 24 years) insure cars that are titled in the names of other youthful drivers (under age 25) who are normally charged extra by almost all insurers. It is hard to convince the insurance company that a youthful driver who owns a vehicle is not driving it, and since the company issued the policy for the other mature driver without charging the proper premium there is good ground for proving misrepresentation, where in circumstance like that a company may not pay claims. For example, if the automobile was insured full coverage and there was a total loss the insurance company will ask named insured to give up the title of the auto for them to pay you for the auto. In the event that you do not own the vehicle, you cannot legally sign to transfer the title, hence the company may find itself unable to pay you!

About the Author: Ed Sneineh, insurance professional for over 20 years, former college educator of insurance, and founder of Insurance Navy, a leader in providing auto insurance quotes, Chicago. Visit our website and get your car, SR22 insurance quotes in 5 minutes or less. Insurance Navy represents major carriers such as AAA, Travelers, Progressive, Hartford, and more than 20 other carriers.

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Understanding Your Vehicle

By Brenda Williams

Do you know that there are some people who don’t even know how to change their own tire on their vehicle? When you first purchase a car or even before that; when you first have the opportunity to drive a car, you should first make sure that you know how everything on the vehicle works. For example, right before I was scheduled to sign up for driver’s education lessons at my high school, my father took me out to the driveway and walked me through how everything worked on his car (since I was more than likely going to be borrowing his vehicle at some future point).

Today, I am grateful for that impromptu lesson all of those years ago. Even though his tires were completely fine, he still stood there and, in the hot summer sun, made me go through the entire process of changing a tire. This was, perhaps, one of the most important things that I could know about a vehicle because a couple of years later when I had my first car and was away at college during my frehsman year, I somehow got three flats over the course of that first year. I remember having to get on my hands and knees in the cold, 32 degree weather so that I could change my tire, put the spare on and drive my vehicle over to the mechanic so that he could address the flat tire.

There are many people who were surprised that I knew how to change a flat tire and that I had done it more than once during my freshman year of college. Where I had changed a flat, other young women (and some young men) would have called Triple A or someone else to come and help them. I even got a flat tire once when I was renting a rental car while my personal vehicle was in the shop for maintenance! Talk about bad luck with tires! Just a couple of years ago, I had just purchased a brand new Jeep, and one day while I was driving the twenty minutes it took to get to work, I noticed that my car seemed to be acting strangely. I had checked my tires before I left, and the tires had been fine…but still it felt as if I was almost dragging a dead body behind me. When I got to work, I hopped out of my vehicle, and walked around the back to get my police gear out for work. That’s when I noticed that both of my back tires were completely flat.

As a result of all of my tire woes, today I am extremely parnoid about tires. Before I get into my vehicle, I almost always do a quick check of all my tires. I occasionally keep an eye on the tread as well, as tread wear can affect what kind of gas mileage your vehicle gets. The tread in your tires can also be the cause of vehicular accidents as your tires have nothing left to grip the roads with, causing your vehicle to have difficulty when attempting to stop your car.

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When Your Vehicle is Stolen

By Brenda Williams

There have been times lately when I have almost wished that my car would get stolen so that I would have a great excuse for needing another car. However, after toying with this delightful thought, my dreams were soon crushed by the fact that I am pretty sure that having my car stolen wouldn’t mean anything to the car insurance company as I would probably still be responsible for paying some or all of what was previously owed on the vehicle.

Having your car broken into is not a great experience at all. However, having your car stolen is even worse. I say that having your car stolen is worse because, for most people, owning a car is their first major investment. In fact, some people easily spend upwards of $30,000 on a single car! This number doesn’t even begin to include all of the extra money that you would have to factor in for things such as car repairs, oil changes and gasoline expenses. By the time that all is said and done, you have probably paid the equivalent of owning a small house except for the fact that it is on four wheel.s

When I was a police officer, one of the major patterns that I was finding with stolen vehicles was the fact that most often than not, the vehicles were being stolen from a particular area during a particular time and that criminals were targeting a certain type of vehicle. For instance, in one area where there were numerous reports of cars being stolen, criminals were only stealing older model Honda Accords. In another area where cars were being stolen, people were too trusting and friendly (or perhaps forgetful and lazy) because they weren’t locking their car doors. In a couple of cases, people had their cars stolen right out of their garages because they had left their garage doors wide open!

Even if you think that you live in the nicest neighborhood in the world, and even if you in fact live in the nicest neighborhood in the world, crime is immune to that fact. Some things that you can do in order to protect yourself from having your vehicle stolen include making sure that you try to leave your car as empty as possible at all times. For instance, some people (and I have been guilty of this before) will leave valuable such as their wallet or their iPods and GPS systems, etc. in their vehicles…IN PLAIN SIGHT! This is just begging someone to come along and with one glance, see exactly what goodies you are tempting them to take.

Always try to park your vehicle in a well-lit area, and perhaps you should also invest in a car alarm. If you own a house, this may involve installing motion censored lighting on the exterior of your home as a way to deter criminals from entering the perimeter. There are all sorts of things that you can do to safeguard yourself against crime. That being said, what are you doing to prevent your car from being stolen?

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What to Look For When You Are Buying a Used Vehicle

By G Jenkins

If you’re buying a used car, you can never predict whether your bargain is going to be a good or a bad one. Despite the repeated promises made at the time of purchase, there is always a chance that you’re caught in a bad deal. However, like every other purchase, there are always ways to find out if you’re being cheated.

The following are a few things that you’ve got to take note of when you’re buying a used car. Some of the more important things to do include:

• One sure way of knowing whether you’re being handed a bad car is trying to read the mannerisms of the owner. The owner of a bad vehicle will avoid answering your direct questions or will hide certain details regarding the vehicle. On the other hand, if the seller is direct and friendly, it is a sign that the vehicle it a good one. However, going simply by the personality of the person is not enough, because there are some glib talkers who can manage to sell you a bad car by hiding its faults with ease. So you have to take a few more steps to ensure that you’re making a good buy.

• The next precaution you should take before finally buying it is checking whether all the main parts and systems are in great condition. Everything has to be checked, right from the scratches of the body, to the air conditioning system. You must also check the windows, the stereo systems and the gears. Don’t hesitate to conduct a thorough check, you’re buying the car, after all, so you have every right to play the radio or switch on the air conditioning to see if they work.

• A good idea would be to look at the paint of the car carefully to see if it’s been repainted or comes off at places. Sometimes, damaged cars are totally rebuilt after an accident and then resold. A good way to check if this is the case with the car you’re eyeing is by looking at the gas tank. If there are traces of re-coloring or scratches in that area, the car has surely been repainted. It is better not to buy the vehicle because it’s bound to run into problems later.

• Getting a warranty for the car is also another way of ensuring that you’re buying a good vehicle. If you can get a one month warranty, it will give you enough time to test the capabilities of the car. If your car repeats any of its older problems during that period, you can easily take it back and refund the money. This is also a good way of knowing if the car is good. The dealers who will back their cars and give you a warranty are generally selling good cars; whereas, if the dealer refuses a warranty, it may mean that the car is damaged.

You can also get a second check done on the car through another agency to know for sure that it is in perfect condition. This can cost you anything from 20 to 50 bucks, but you will be aware of the true condition of the car. A second testing also means that you will know of any existing problems, and also about the impending ones, if there are any. In the end, you can make a better decision on whether you’re being charged a decent price for the car.

About the Author: For more car care and repair tips, head to the Auto Experts at: http://www.autoexpertscolumbus.com and check out the specials in their free newsletter issues while you’re there!

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A Strange Vehicle Indeed

By Brenda Williams

If you happen to be visiting or live in North Carolina, you may possibly pass a car on the road that resembles the cockpit of an airplane without the airplane. By all means remain calm; you have not passed the remaining wreckage of an airplane. You really haven’t passed a car either. If you by chance glance through the window, you will notice that this unusual vehicle has handlebars like a motorcycle instead of a steering wheel. So it isn’t a car. But it looks like a car so it really can’t be a motorcycle. But what is it? You have just passed a Peraves Ecomobile!

As gas prices sky rocket from high to astronomical and a wavering economy reduces discretionary income the public is searching for ways to save money. This plus pressure from environmentalists to go green is motivating companies to seek alternatives to the gas hogs of the past and present.

And they are trying to do this without sacrificing the speed and power Americans are fond of. The American public wants an automobile that can reach high speeds, go from 0 to 60mph in seconds and still get 20 or more miles to a gallon of gas. So the challenge is to offer low fuel consumption while maintaining speed and acceleration. The Ecomobile is one response to the challenge.

The Ecomobile is manufactured by the Swiss company Peraves. Although it does use fossil fuels it has a low rate of fuel consumption. The Ecomobile is also available in the United States. It is distributed in the United States by a dealership located in North Carolina.

The Ecomobile is a combination automobile/motorcycle, or a modified motorcycle with an automobile body. The wheelbase resembles a large bicycle with training wheels, while the body looks like the cockpit section of an airplane.

The Ecomobile is powered by a rear-mounted liquid cooled in line 4 cylinder BMW K series motorcycle engine that can achieve a top speed in excess of 155 mph. And it can accelerate from 0 to 100 miles per hour in 5.7 seconds. It produces 130 HP @8750 RPM.

The body is made of Composite-Monocoque manufactured from Kevlar and glass-weave bonded by Araldite Epoxy resin. It is reinforced by roll-and crash-protection-bars. The engine mount and steering head are in argon arc-welded aircraft-grade steel. It is equipped with aircraft-grade-steel supporting roll-axles.

The body has a gull wing door with integrated sunroof opening to the left. There is a baggage compartment in the rear.

This unusual vehicle weighs 1,014.1 pounds and is about 12 feet long by almost 4 feet wide. It is approximately 5 feet high.

Instead of a steering wheel, it is operated by motorcycle-type-handlebars with extended functions. The auxiliary brake lever and twist throttle are located on the right handlebar. The brakes are operated by the right pedal.

Interior amenities include two-color car style leather seats equipped with automatic safety belts. It has soundproof velour padding and black noise suppressing carpets. There is a self-locking baggage compartment cover complete with an integrated headrest.

Other comforts feature a heating and ventilation system with a three-stage blower, mirror defogging, seat heating and full air-conditioning. It has a Becker Mexico RDS audio system and GPS is available as an option. A CD player is another option.

Every effort has been made to make the body function and look like an automobile while the vehicle operates like a motorcycle.

About the Author: Car Shipping Jacksonville

Jacksonville Auto Transport

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