California Auto Insurance Lemon Law
California auto insurance law has a few things to say about lemons, which will without a doubt get you both higher rates for car insurance and a higher amount of repairs while you own the so called vehicle. But what is a lemon, anyway, at least according to California auto insurance law?
- A lemon is…
The word lemon, when referring to a product, typically means that it has defects which make it to where it cannot complete its usage. It goes for any type of product, but is most often used as a name for vehicles which consistently have break downs and other mechanical problems over a short period of time. I had a lemon once, and believe me, it is not fun to constantly be broke because you have to pay for a huge car repair once a month or more.
These lemons are such a huge problem, that a subsection had to be created in California auto insurance law to make way for the lemon laws. The lemon laws define what a lemon is, allowing the owners of the lemons to sue the sellers if their vehicle fits the description. It also makes sure that the companies are protected by only allowing lawsuits over cars that do indeed fit the definition in the lemon laws.
According to California auto insurance law, a lemon is when a car continues with the same problem after three attempts at fixing it, or has continued with the same problem after an attempt at fixing it and as a result has been broken down for at least twenty days (which do not need to follow one after the other)
In order for you to be able to file a lawsuit under the lemon provision of the California auto insurance law, though, the lemon has to:
- have racked up at least 18,000 miles when you first informed the manufacturer about it
- either the manufacturer or the dealer has to try to fix the car, not just some guy you know who knows about cars
- has to be big enough to get in the way of the use or value of the vehicle
Filiing an Auto Insurance Claim in California?
Making a claim for auto insurance in California often involves the big fish in claims terms of injuries related to the car accident. When you receive an injury as the result of an auto accident, it is in your best interest to contact a car accident lawyer. Injury claims are very high stakes and complicated, and while I can give you an idea of them so that you don’t go into your claim for auto insurance in California completely ignorant, you would do better if you had an attorney to help you on the issue.
These attorneys are good for a variety of things. Not only are they able to aid you in getting the health care that you deserve and need after your accident, but they can also make sure that you have the right documentation for all of your bills and other damages. Doing this, they are better able to prove to the company for auto insurance in California that you indeed do have the right to money for your injuries.
You cannot simply choose any lawyer for auto insurance in California, though. First of all, you need an attorney who is experienced on the matters. Hiring a general attorney at law who also dabbles in car accident claims will not cut it. It is best to either get an attorney who only works for victims of car accidents, or one who has does significant work in the area. When choosing a lawyer to help you with your claim for auto insurance in California, consider also what percentage of his cases he has one and how high the damages paid were for each of those cases.
Whenever you get into a car accident, it is possible that your company for auto insurance in California owes you money for several things, from lost wages to any kind of permanent physical therapy that you might need as a result, to something as unquantifiable as pain and suffering. To make sure that you get this, hire a car insurance accident lawyer.
Should You File Car Insurance Claim In California?
The California car insurance claims process is a difficult one to wade through, at least when you’re the at fault driver. Unlike the more easy filing for when you are not at fault, you are required to do more and deal with the same problems. It’s a good idea to read your car insurance policy ahead of time so that you know what the steps recommended by your CA car insurance company are, and here are a few steps that you can follow as well.
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Should you, or shouldn’t you?
The first thing to do is determine whether or not to file a car insurance claim at all. Anytime you decide to file a claim on your insurance policy, it will become part of your CLUE report. In the future, other companies who you buy insurance with will see this report, and you will have to pay more for your insurance with them, so you have to be careful.
If the damages are fewer than your deductible and no one else is involved, then there’s obviously no point in calling the insurance company. If you only get into a fender bender and feel you can take care of it alone, then there is no need.
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Follow the steps.
Make sure you take the correct steps after your car insurance accident to make sure that you have the events properly documented. This way, should there be any controversy down the line as to who is at fault for the collision, you will be able to show real proof supporting your position.
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Get it done.
If you’re going to file a insurance claim, then you need to file it now. While claims are open and you are able to file it a couple of weeks down the line, the longer you wait, the more likely you are of having your claim denied. It is also possible that if you the at fault driver and there is another person involved, they will call the car insurance company first, and you will be in trouble.
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Be prepared.
It’s possible that if another driver is involved in the accident, their own insurance company will give you a call. They will do this to get your side of the story. When they call, be sure to keep track of what goes on in the conversation and to write down the name of the person you’re speaking to.
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Repairs.
Once your claim has been given the go ahead, you will be able to have an adjuster look at your car and the damages. Then you will be able to have your car repaired, and the end of your insurance claim is in sight.
Auto Insurance Claims – The Other Party Does Not Accept Blame?
Reader question:
When the owner of an auto insurance policy in California who crashed into your car doesn’t want to take the blame, what do you do?
Mark
Thanks for asking, Mark.
Sometimes a person will be completely apologetic at the scene of the car accident, but when it comes time to file a claim with their auto insurance policy in CA, you find that they’ve told a whole other story to their car insurance company. The company that sells his auto insurance policy is going to go with his story unless forced to believe otherwise, because they want to pay the least money and stick by their policy holder. If it’s your fault, then they don’t have to pay anything.
Normally this happens when an accident hasn’t had a police report filed for it. There’s a good reason for calling the cops every time right there. However, sometimes even when a police officer comes, they don’t file a report. Why is that? It’s because if the police officer believes the damages of the accident to be $500 or less, then it isn’t necessary to file one. However, what might seem like only a little bit of damage at the time could be worth several thousand dollars at the mechanic.
While you might try to convince the police officer to follow a report, it’s not something that you can reasonably do. Instead, do things yourself. Ask witnesses and get their statements about the accident, get the other driver’s statement about the accident, and make sure you take your vehicle to a repair shop as soon as possible so that the damages can be checked out and no one can say that they didn’t come from that accident.
Make sure you get names and numbers of the witnesses, as well as the name, number, and policy number of the other driver. Take pictures of the vehicles, and if there is a police report filed, you can get a copy.
If the auto insurance policy still gets you a no to your claim, you can get more serious. Go to small claims court with the other driver, or even get an attorney. Make sure that they can’t push you around.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Auto Insurance Claim Filing in California – What To Do Next?
If you’ve gone and decided to make a claim for auto insurance in California, then you should be ready for the consequences. The second you call to report a car insurance accident, even if you do not end up filing a claim for it, that information goes straight to your file, and from your file it will go onto your CLUE report. This report, or something like it, is ordered by any company for auto insurance in California that you are considering getting a policy with, and the information will be used to determine whether or not they want to insure you, and how much they will charge if they decide that they will.
According to State Farm, all the companies for auto insurance in California are doing is trying to fulfill their obligation to you. You pay them every month, or every six months, or every year, or whatever it is, and so they are obligated to pay for your damages if you get into an accident. With their company, getting into an accident, even an at fault one, does not guarantee you an instant raise in your premium for auto insurance premium. Some people will have an accident forgiveness waiver, and others are looked at individually before a premium raise is given for the circumstances.
If you’ve been a good, long time customer, you might not see your rates raise even if you don’t have an accident forgiveness waiver, which are usually only for the first accident. Some things that State Farm and other companies for auto insurance in California consider are whether or not anyone was hurt, or if the damages were significant enough to warrant a huge payout.
My Auto Insurance Was Just Canceled – What to Do?
Reader question:
Is it easy to get auto insurance in California after you’ve had your policy canceled?
Margeret
Thank you for asking, Margeret.
Actually, it can be pretty hard to get California auto insurance if you have something on your record like a previous cancellation by a car insurance company. This is why it is so important to take care with all of your automobile insurance dealings because if you don’t, then you will have to pay the price. And that price can be as much as a ten percent increase, and that’s only if you can find a company for auto insurance that wants to give you coverage at all.
When you go looking for auto insurance, the company will be able to look at your CLUE report, which aside from containing your claims history, will also have your previous cancellations and nonrenewals. This may influence them to deny your request for coverage, but if they do take you on then they might make you pay your entire yearly premium up front instead of allowing you to do the month by month installment. This can be a good thing for some people, because it is actually slightly more expensive for the installment plan. However, most people don’t have that much money at once.
Another thing that having your auto insurance canceled is that it will affect your credit score. Not all auto insurance companies report to credit agencies, but it is definitely something to think about even if they say you don’t, because most wouldn’t give a straight answer on this. Credit scores are also used hen determining how much you will pay for your auto insurance in California, and if you have a bad credit score, then that price could be pretty high. Even if your driving record is otherwise stellar, it could still hit you hard.
If all else fails, you’ll have to either go to a company for auto insurance in CA that sells policies to customers who are considered high risk. If you do this, you will pay more. And if no one will accept you, then you will have to consider going with the high risk pool for auto insurance which costs even more.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Getting Cheap California Car Insurance Online
You might think you’ve subverted the norm and have gotten a pretty good deal on your California car insurance. Maybe you already have gotten discounts for having more than one type of insurance with a single company, or for owning a safe car, or for some other specific things. But of all the great car insurance discounts out there, there are several that are for simply doing something that you already do everyday anyway.
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Buy your California car insurance online.
I’ve already told you how you can research car insurance online, but did you know that if you buy it online, it is even cheaper than if you had bought it in an office or over the phone? The reason for this is that automating the system enables car insurance companies to save a lot of money and because of this they are able to pass the savings on to their customers.
Companies like Kemper Auto Insurance, a local company, will take fifty dollars off of your car insurance premium if you purchase it from their website. Other companies, like Esurance, say you can save ten percent from their website if you buy your insurance online.
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Get insured, get rewarded.
Most companies will reward with a discount for going a few years without any claims, but Sentry Insurance has taken this concept to a whole new level by offering policy holders cash for being claim free. The savings are amazing here. If you have gone for five years without claims, then every claim free year after the fifth, at the end of the year, you will get half og your yearly premium back.
Affordable Classic Auto Insurance in California
Getting classic auto insurance in California is rather easy. All you have to do is add your new classic vehicle to your regular car insurance policy. But is that the wise thing to do? I would say it isn’t. If you add your classic car to your regular auto insurance in California that would mean that if you total your vehicle, they will give you the same as they give for every other kind of car–what it’s worth after depreciation. For a car that is forty years old or more, that won’t leave you with much, and it doesn’t take into account the classic value of the car.
Getting specialty classic auto insurance in California is slightly more difficult. Normally, there are some qualifications that you must have in order to insure your car with specialty classic auto insurance in California.
- A limited amount of yearly mileage.
- A few years of driving experience.
- Another car that is for regular use.
- No business usage.
- The car must be a certain age or over it.
After you qualify according to these standards, you can buy real classic auto insurance in California. While there are some companies that provide regular auto insurance policies as well as classic, it might be better to go to a specialty company for your classic auto insurance in California. It might cost a little more, but the classic auto insurance company will have the experts.
If you are going to get classic auto insurance in California, it would be advisable to insure your classic car under an agreed value car insurance policy. In order to do this, you have to agree with the car insurance agent on what that value will be, so that if you total your classic car, there will already be a set amount.
Typically, if the problems that your car has as a result of the accident are less than the amount of the agreed value, then the car can be fixed. However, if they are more, than you will be given the agreed value. One thing that you must remember is that after a repair, the car will lose some value.
Is Accident Forgiveness Car Insurance Right For You?
Some California car insurance companies are ready to go in the modern day with new offers, while others are still falling behind. I find that a good way to check if a car insurance company is up to the times and actually cares about its customers, is to ask if it offers accident forgiveness. Most car insurance companies do, but there are different ways that you can go about getting this perk.
- Do nothing.
My favorite type of car insurance company is the kind that gives you accident forgiveness with no requirements. There are many companies, such as AllState, who do these, even for brand new customers. They will forgive your first at fault accident, and sometimes your first moving violation as well, so even if you haven’t built up a record with them you won’t see your insurance premium increase after an accident.
- Earn it.
This is another common form of accident forgiveness. Some companies will reward you by letting your first at fault accident or moving violation go without a premium increase if you have been a long time customer with a good history with them and a previously clean driving record.
- Pay for it.
Here you have the kind of accident forgiveness that you want to avoid entirely. There is the occasional car insurance company that will require you to pay a little extra on you car insurance premium if you want to include accident forgiveness on your policy. However, in all of its incarnations I have seen that it only forgives for one accident, just like all the others. If they want you to pay for it, maybe they should offer a little more?
Another thing about this kind is that it is self defeating. You want accident forgiveness so that you don’t have to have your premium increase. If you pay extra for accident forgiveness, it’s as if you never had it and had gotten into an accident right away.
Cheap Student California Car Insurance Rates
Reader question:
I’m a student at UCLA. How do I get the best California car insurance rate?
Gabriela
That is a great question, Gabriela.
Students like us are broke, busy, and braindead from studying half the time, so it certainly helps to know what we can do to lift some of the burden of heavy California car insurance rates. Your California car insurance rate doesn’t have to be high, though. All the same, people take it for a given that just because they are under the age of twenty five, they should resign themselves to paying $200 monthly premiums. Not so. I cut my rates by more than fifty percent in the last year alone, and I’m nowhere near my twenty five year mark. First, I suggest that you skim through some of the other posts on this site and look at the ways to save. Then, I want to introduce you to some other ways for the study burned student to save money on their California car insurance rate.
There are three main ways that you can save money on your California car insurance rate while you’re a student, and one is by sticking to your study plan, another is by sticking with your ‘rents, and the third is by sticking to your bus ticket. None of them sounds particularly fun, but none of it hurts as much as a high California car insurance rate quote, either, so if I were you I would thank my lucky stars that I got a chance to save so much on my California car insurance rate.
Now I’m going to break it down. You may not be able to do all of the suggested things, depending on what part of California car insurance rate is coming from, but you can pick and choose. First:
- Sticking to your study plan.
You shouldn’t need more encouragement to do this, but if you’re in the mood to let your studies slide and just slip through the UCLA books with a C average, think again if you want to save money on your California car insurance rate. That’s right, being a good student can get you as much as a fifteen percent discount from many California car insurance companies.
The requirement tends to be that you have either a B average or a 3.5 grade point average, and you can prove it. If you don’t have this great California car insurance rate discount, ask your insurance company ASAP.
- Sticking with your ‘rents.
Personally, I am not on my parents car insurance policy. The difference, though, between me and a lot of college students is that I’m married. If you’re an unmarried college student, you can save money on your California car insurance rate by staying on your parents policy. Your parents, probably, have better driving history and lower risk for you, so being on the same policy with them will still be costly, but will make you less risky.
You can even get on a car insurance policy with your roomate for a smaller discount. So long as you don’t go it alone.
- Sticking with your bus ticket.
Most people don’t want to ride the bus if they can avoid it, but for some it’s a great way that they can save money on their California car insurance rate. If you go to UCLA, then you should be able to take advantage of the bus system. If you combine this with the last suggestion, you can get a lower California car insurance rate by leaving your car at home with your parents, staying on their policy, and being covered whenever you come home on weekends and vacation. Most car insurance companies offer a lower California car insurance rate to your parents if you leave your car at home and go to school over a hundred miles away.
Another thing, if you have your own policy and have a car, is that you can get the low mileage discount by using the bus whenever you can and thus cutting your mileage. Other car insurance companies give discounts to people who use the bus.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
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