How to file a car insurance claim

Getting involved in an accident can be truly frustrating and then having to deal with the insurance company is never an easy task. Filing your car insurance claim would be a lot easier if you are aware of the right procedure. So, to speed up the process of filing a claim, it is best to be prepared.

Steps to filing your car insurance claim

The following are the 5 important steps that you should follow if you get involved in an accident and want to file a car insurance claim for the same:

1. Analyze your coverage  – It is important to analyze your policy coverage even before you think of filing a claim. At times it is advisable not to file a car insurance claim and keep your insurance record clean. If you can afford to pay for the damages, it is better to stay away from filing a claim. If the damages are too minor, you might end up paying a greater deductible.
2. Survey the situation – It is important to survey the accident scene. Make proper note of the damages caused to the car and decide whether or not to call the police to file a report.
3. Share information – It is very important to share all the necessary information with the other driver.  You need to exchange the information of car insurance company and phone number, insurance policy number, make and model of the cars and your and other driver’s phone number and name. This information will be neccessary to file a car insurace claim.
4. Contact your insurance company – It is important to contact your insurance company as soon as possible. You may call the insurance company right from the scene itself. Regardless of who is at fault, it is always better to file a claim with your own insurance company as you’ll have a greater chance of getting the services readily.
5. Negotiate with the company – There is no need for you to hurry. Take your time and negotiate with the company till you are fully satisfied with the compensation you will receive for your car insurance claim.

If you follow the steps mentioned above, filing a car insurance claim will get easier than ever.

Car Finance for Bad Credit

There are various car finance options available that allow people with bad credit to obtain car financing. However despite the growing number of car finance for bad credit loans it is vitally important that a prospective car buyer with bad credit performs some due diligence before going out into the market and visiting car dealers.

Credit Report

If you have reason to believe that your credit score is bad then the first thing to do is get a copy of your credit report and read through it to underlining any negative information. It is a little known fact that anyone can negotiate on their own behalf with the credit agencies and possibly improve their credit score to a point where they will not be forced into a car finance for bad credit scenario.

When you have identified any negative information the next thing to do is to clarify if the negative information on your credit report is factual and if it is true is there some way you can have it removed.

• You are perfectly within your legal rights to challenging negative entries on your credit report. If the vendor who submitted this information cannot prove its legitimacy then it should be removed.
• There also may be judgements on your credit report for small sums like unpaid utility bills or cell phone bills that you could arrange to pay off and have remove from your credit report.

Having negative information removed from your credit report could  result  in your credit score improving to an extent that it is not longer considered bad credit. This will result in you being able to obtain car finance at better interest rates resulting in much lower monthly car loan repayments and also the down payment requirements from your car finance company may be reduced.

Bad Credit Car Loans

If you are looking to buy a car it is interesting to know that car finance for bad credit is available in various forms. Here is a list of the most popular bad credit car finance plans:

• Guaranteed Car Finance: Guaranteed car finance is a car finance option where the buyer pays a down payment and documentation fee and monthly payments similar to a conventional car purchase loan. Guaranteed car finance differs in that the title to the car remains in the name of the car finance company until the the loan has been paid in full. After the term of the loan has been successfully completed the title of the car is transferred to the car buyer who now holds title free and clear.
• Buy Here Pay Here: Some used car dealerships offer a strategy called buy here pay here. This type of bad credit car dealer will arrange finance through a lender who will front the money to the dealer for car purchases by people with bad credit. The car buyer will pay the monthly car payments directly to the dealer who in most cases will hold the title.
• Co Signer: Another strategy available to a car buyer with bad credit is to ask a friend or family member with good credit to go as co signer on their car finance loan. This usually will result in a better interest rate resulting in lower monthly car finance repayments and also a smaller down payment.

Remember that regardless of your credit situation the only reason car dealers exist is to sell cars. If you don’t buy they don’t eat. Because of this simple fact it is only logical that there will always be car finance for bad credit available.

Car Financing

There are so many car financing options ranging from simply paying cash to leasing, from car purchase loan to guaranteed car finance. Which option for car financing suits you best can be found out by comparing your present financial position with the available options for car financing in your area.

Car Finance Loan

Conventional car purchase loans are usually for terms of 36 months to 60 months. Car financing using a conventional car loan option usually require a down payment but depending on the strength of the buyers credit score zero down car financing may be available.

Depending on dealer inventory and time of month there may be available incentives like zero percent interest for 36 months or even cash back offers, which make car financing an even easier matter.

Co Signer for Car Finance

A person with bad credit wishing to buy a car and not be penalized with high interest rates resulting in inflated monthly car loan repayments and the need to make a large down payment might consider using a friend or family member with a good credit score as a co signer to assist in their car financing.

Using a co signer usually enables a person with bad credit to get car financing at desirable interest rates and low down payment requirements.

However it is necessary for the person with bad credit using a co signer to remember that if the payment schedule is not met that the co signer’s credit score will be hurt.

Leasing

Car leasing is an option where you agree to pay a certain amount each month for the use of a car. Most leases are for new cars and the term of the lease can be anything up to 3 years. The average lease will be for 21 to 36 months. The beauty of a car lease is that the car buyer only pays for the time for which they have the use of the car and when the lease term is over the car is simply give the car back to the car leasing company.

Because you are only paying for the time for which you have the use of the car the monthly lease payments tend to be roughly half of the cost of buying a similar car under a conventional car loan.

Secured Car Loan

A secured car loan is where you give the lender collateral equal to or greater than the value of the car you are buying. This makes your loan less risky thereby securing a good interest rate and longer loan term drastically reducing your monthly car loan repayment for your car financing deal.

Guaranteed Car Finance

Guaranteed car finance is a car purchase option where the car is owned by the lender until the loan is paid off in full. After the loan has been paid in full the ownership is transferred to the buyer and he/she will own the vehicle free and clear. Guaranteed car financing is similar to a lease purchase or rent to own contract.

Car Loan Calculator

• Know what you can afford before you ever visit a car dealer.
• When you are looking at cars stick to the price range that you have established in advance using your car loan calculator.
• Don’t be talked into something that is above your preset price range by a sharp car salesman, keep in mind that he won’t be making the monthly car payments, you will.

The perfect plan for buying a car and at the same time ensuring that you keep your finances straight is:

• Decide on how much money you can reasonably afford to set aside for a monthly car loan repayment.
• Use a car loan calculator to come up with a price range for a car purchase.
• Call dealers in your area to find out what the car loan interest rates are. Getting a lower interest rate will allow you to get a more expensive car without increasing your monthly car loan repayment.

The car loan calculator below will help you to get a firm idea of what price range car you should be shopping for. Simply by putting in an interest rate, a loan term and a car price it will give you the monthly payments.

Remember that you will also have to put aside money each month for insurance, taxes and fuel which will nt be reflected in calculations supplied by a car loan calculator.

Buying a Car

Before you consider buying a car using a car finance company there are some things you should do first:

Check Your Credit

The difference a good credit score makes to your monthly car loan repayment can be very significant. So with this in mind it is imperative that before you consider buying a car using a car finance company that you check out your credit score.

By getting your credit report you can see the items that are bringing your score down and in some cases these items can be very easily fixed or even removed completely from your credit history. Having bad or negative items repaired or removed from your credit report can vastly improve your credit score thereby ensuring that you get a favourable interest rate on any car loan which you use when buying a car which in turn will mean that you get a much lower monthly car loan payments.

There may be items on your credit history that are there erroneously and can be removed merely by writing a claim letter to the credit agency asking them to remove this item.

There may be items like judgements or outstanding balances for very insubstantial amounts of cash which you could pay off with ease thereby removing the negative entry form your credit history and again ensuring that you get a favourable car loan interest rate.

Personal Finances

Most people go to school for years and are bombarded with so much useful yet useless information . It is really surprising how many seemingly competent adults have absolutely no comprehension of the basis of finance. When you are buying a car you really need to put your financial apples in a row

There are two aspects to finance which hold for every business and for every individual. They are assets and liabilities.

Assets are anything that increases your financial worth. Assets include things like your savings, your job, tools that help you generate money, rental property with a positive cash flow.

Liabilities which are anything which decreases your financial worth. Liabilities include debts like credit card balances, car payments, mortgage payments.

Sometimes what appears to be an asset is actually a liability. The home that you and your family lives in on which you make a monthly mortgage payment is a liability. True in the long term it may transfer over into the asset column but while it is taking from your monthly earnings to service its debt repayment it is a liability.

A car which is financed is a liability with the exception of a vehicle used to produce income like a taxi or work van or truck . In some instance a personal car can be deemed an asset if it is vital to getting to and home from your place of employment. In all other instances a car is a liability. When you are buying a car you should consider this.

If you need a car to date your girlfriend or go for weekends away in the country then you are making monthly payments for a vehicle that is producing no return but is only a drain on your finances.

Personal Finance Examination.

Before you set out on your buying a car quest it is important that you examine your personal finances to ensure that the beautiful shinny dream car doesn’t turn into a nightmare in a very short period of time.

• How secure is your job.
• Are you depending on overtime or a bonus to make the payments.
• Are there any upcoming financial burdens in your future like a wedding, large tax payment or school payment.

Do the Numbers:

(A) Total up all your present monthly commitments, this should include all present debt service and other regular monthly expenses like eating out and socializing.

(B) Total up all your present dependable income sources (leave out anything that you cannot guarantee)

Subtract (B) from (A) and the balance is the maximum you can afford to consider for a monthly car expenses. Keep in mind that your car expenses should include but not be limited to:

• Monthly car loan payment.
• Insurance divided by 12
• Taxes divided by 12.
• Estimated monthly running costs.
• An amount set by for repairs in the case of a used car.

Owning a car can be as rewarding and exciting as buying a car if you take the time to ensure that you buy the right car for your financial position.

Car Finance Companies

Before you set out on your mission to buy a new car there are somethings about car financing  and car finance companies that you need to understand. The first is that car dealers do not lend money. Car dealers are private businesses who sell cars for cash. To ensure that you the buyer can obtain the necessary financing to purchase a car from them the dealer is associated with a network of car finance companies who will lend you the money to buy the car from the car dealer.

Car Finance Companies

Some people mistakenly believe that it is better to go shopping for a car with cash as this makes the deal easier for the dealer and because of this the buyer will get a better deal. The reality is that the dealer gets a commission from the car finance companies in return for sending them your business. Taking this commission which the dealer gets from the car financing company into account there is more money on the table with a financed car purchase than with a straight cash purchase and because of this the dealer has more room to negotiate on the purchase price of the car with you.

Car Financing

As previously mentioned car dealers are not in the lending business. They do not lend any money to car buyers rather they have a list of car finance companies that they work with to provide car finance to their customers. Most new car dealers will use the car finance arm of the manufacturer whose cars they are selling. Remember that you don not have to use the car finance companies recommended by the car dealer. You are free to find financing yourself and to shop rates and terms.

Car Dealers

Remember that the car dealer will not lend you money and will not approve or decline the car finance application you make to the car finance companies they use to help sell their cars. The dealer will however screen your application, pull your credit and send your financial details and application to the lender that they feel will most likely approve your car finance application. Remember that if your application is declined not only will you not get your car but the dealer will not make a sale and the salesman will not get a commission. Everyone at the car dealer including the car finance companies they use wants your application to be approved just as much as you do.