- Car Accidents
With so many people transitioning to working from home, it’s no wonder that they’re looking for extra ways to save money. Typically work-from-home employees save thousands in any given year because of the decrease in travel. You’re not spending the same as you would on gas or car wear. But, there’s another way to save money as well.
If you haven’t heard, you can call your insurance company and negotiate their rates based on your mileage each year. When you make the change to work-from-home, you can inform them that you travel fewer than ten miles a day, maybe with exceptions on the weekends. Yes, you do have to pay for car insurance as it’s required by the state. However, you could get a lower payment.
The Car Insurance Rates You Pay Can Vary Based on Mileage
If you’re working from home, then you’re probably a “low-mileage” driver. Like many Americans, if you put fewer than 15,000 miles per year, then you probably qualify for a lower rate.
The average rate or quote for car insurance is initially for 12,000 miles per year. Then insurance companies will often add another 3,000 to 5,000 miles for recreational or unexpected travel. It’s not an unrealistic figure and fits in well with most vehicle maintenance routines. However, when you drive less than the average insurance companies start offering lower rates.
Not only are they providing options for people who drive less, but their incentivizing people who drive without purpose. For example, if you’re a work-from-home employee but go to a Starbucks across town to work every day, then you’re missing out on a lower rate.
Getting a Reduced Rate for Reduced Travel
The reduced rate only happens if you ask for it. You need to contact your insurance provider and explain that you’re no longer driving X miles per day. The service representative should help you calculate a mostly accurate estimate on your yearly miles traveled.
They may go through and ask if you’re making daily trips, and if so, how far are they? Sure, you might not be driving to work every day, but now that you’re home, you might start picking up and dropping the kids at school. Or, you might go visit your significant other on their break.
What Happens If You Go Over Your Estimated Miles?
As mentioned above, there’s a lot of financial relief that comes with a low-mileage package. The overarching threat, of course, because they’re insurance providers, is that if you go over your policy, they’ll end coverage. That’s not a common situation. In fact, most don’t even charge by mile afterward, although there’s a huge shift to a pay-as-you-drive coverage model.
Instead, most simply change your rates to reflect the real annual miles traveled. It’s not likely they’ll drop you or make any trouble with your open claims. However, they might initiate a fraud investigation to determine if it was an honest mistake, or if you were trying to scam them for a lower price.
Why Do Some People Pay Less for Car Insurance?
Most of the major insurance providers still use the traditional insurance model. In that model, they look at your age, driving history, what type of vehicle you have, if there’s a lien, and your miles traveled. Then they use that to come up with a magic number that you pay for car insurance each month. But the miles traveled portion is pretty important.
By spending less time on the road, you’re not only reducing the likelihood of you getting into a crash. But, you’re reducing the overall likelihood of an accident in the area. More drivers on the road mean more congestion and more accidents.
Can a Carrolton Car Accident Lawyer Still Help?
If you called and had your miles traveled dropped down to the minimum and then exceeded that, then you are probably out of option. Car accident law firms give aid to the victims of crashes. It’s possible to be the victim and still have insurance coverage complications. If you began working at home recently, then you do have the option to request a reduced rate for your car insurance coverage.
However, you should always be careful that you don’t exceed the miles traveled estimation with your policy. Call them to update the miles traveled often and ensure that there’s not some discrepancy that could leave to them ending your policy. Then after a crash, reach out to John B. Jackson to make sure you get the support necessary for resolving an accident.