Most policyholders did not read the contract in detail your car insurance before signing the policy. The document length discourages the user and overly technical language difficult to understand and generates misleading.
Although there have been some changes in the wording of contracts of car insurance for policyholders in recent years, especially after a Supreme Court decision of 2010 that prohibited companies use certain unfair terms, there are still certain terms and clauses that may limit consumer rights.
Therefore, before signing a policy of automobile insurance it is critical to understand and agree with all the aspects covered by the contract, once signed will be much more complex claim that we consider unfair practices.
The fine print of contracts disappears
Although conditioned car insurance -Mutua Madrileña, Hotline, Allianz, Generali, Zurich and Genesis, all over 30 pages, are written with a very technical language, its content is not incomprehensible and we have not found in small print them known, a “trick” that before many insurers resorted to complicate the reading of certain clauses and that after the judgment of 2010, is no longer used.
The Insurance Brokers Association (ADECOSE) states that the contracts no longer include fine print, but there are certain “conflict” terms, as the market value or the value of new vehicle, which can lead to mistakes.
It also maintains that there is no intention to “hide any exclusion, since exclusion of contracts are clear and what is left out of coverage is driver negligence. Companies are hard because there are a lot of fraud. ”
However, there are still clauses that may limit the rights of the insured, as well as a series of complex terms, especially those relating to the value of the vehicle, the insured should know if you want to choose the car insurance that best suits your interests .
Although the law provides that the terms of an insurance shall not be valid if conditions “clearly detrimental” to the consumer, even though it has signed the contract, you should review the coverage contracted as a court will decide if it violates the right customer, sometimes complex process that does not always give the right to the user.
Remember that the insurance contract is accession, that is, is the company that writes and enforces the policy clauses while the insured firm only, with no option to make any modifications.
Penalty transparent systems
Another aspect objects complaints are the few explanations offered by insurance conditional on the system used by insurers to set bonuses and penalties to policyholders, known bonus / malus system.
Basically, bonuses are discounts on the price of the policy that most companies apply different percentage to their older insured or giving fewer parts, that is, adjust the payment to the insured risk.
Good to know if the company applies these bonuses to all types of insurance or only to all risk, if the bonus rebate if we switched to third parties or which affects the bonus coverage, because you may not apply to all.
Regarding penalties, it must be informed about what is the penalty for each part, that is, how much will increase the insurance premium in case of accident.
This is very important when you consider that the insurance premium can be increased up to 60% after a disaster. We must also know if our insurance will penalize us for each party demos, including moons, or only for damage to third parties.
In most cases, insurers are not transparent when providing this information and it is not possible to know how accidents affect insurance rates.
Confusing terminology: the value of the vehicle
Confusing terminology in the contract car insurance sometimes generates disagreements with the company for the amount of compensation and this is almost always because the insured have not read thoroughly the policy, that is, through ignorance, according to sources ADECOSE.
The terms that cause major problems in interpretation are what define the value of the vehicle, that is, how the insured will receive compensation in the event of theft, fire or total loss is established.
Companies set a different amount depending on the age of the vehicle, so it is important to understand and agree with the amount we perceive as our car go complying years. – car insurances
The terms that define this compensation is the market value of the vehicle, the replacement value or the value again.
-The New car value is the value of a new car with the same characteristics as ours, including tax, but not the cost that vehicle at the time of the accident, but what we paid for it when we bought it. – car insurances
-The Market value refers to the cost of the car just before the accident, a figure that can be obtained for orientation in Ganvam Guide, the National Association of Motor Vehicle Seller, Repair and Spare Parts, which specifies the value of the vehicles according to their characteristics and their age.
-The Market value or replacement of the market value also includes the transfer costs, the benefit you might get a dealership for the sale, etc.
Major exclusions from car insurance contracts
For very complete as a policy, there are some cases that no company will cover, called exclusions:
-Accidents in which the driver at fault of the accident led under the influence of alcohol, drugs or without a license.
-Accidents where the car involved failed the Vehicle Inspection (ITV).
-Siniestros Occurred during races or circuits, since there is a special insurance for this and, of course, illegal racing.
-Accidents occurring outside the road network, for example, on a dirt track, as there are special insurance policies for SUVs in these cases.
If someone under 25 has an accident with a car and his name is not in the policy, few companies will be responsible for the damages caused to third parties, nor for any damages that may occur to the vehicle.
-Damage Caused by flood, earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, terrorism, demonstrations or strikes, etc. The Consortium of Insurance will cover the costs in these cases. – car insurances
–Siniestros In which the company suspected of possible fraud, as those parts where the opposite driver is a familiar, since it could be a fictitious accident previously agreed between the parties to charge the insurer with the arrangement an old claim. – car insurances
With all this, it is obvious that it is essential to read in detail the conditioning of the car insurance policy before signing the contract.
Good understanding aspects such as the insured receive compensation in case of total loss of the vehicle, limitations or exclusions guarantees is important to avoid future problems with the company.
There are many types of policies as customers, from simple and economical to the most comprehensive and almost cover all eventualities, each insured must find the one that best suits your needs depending on the use made of the vehicle and, especially to what is expected in case of disaster. – car insurances
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