Do you know what to do if you are the victim of a hit and run driver in Coppell, Texas. If such an incident occurs while you are in your vehicle, you may be able to get the license plate of the vehicle that just hit you and kept on going. You can use that information when you make a call to the police and inform them of the accident. Your next step is to call your insurance agent and file a claim.

You might think that having comprehensive coverage would take care of the matter, but, you would be wrong. In Texas, and for that matter, in any other state, comprehensive insurance only covers physical damage other than collision. It covers such things as vandalism, a tree falling on your car or damage from hail.

If you have been involved in a hit and run accident such as someone backing into your parked car in a Coppell parking lot, you can still file a claim with your insurance company. Under Texas law, your Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage will pay for the damages up to the value of your car. There is an automatic deductible of $250 and you must report the accident to the police in a timely matter for this coverage to apply. While every insurer must offer Um/UIM, you can reject the coverage by signing a form saying that you elect to forego the coverage.

Your other insurance option is to try to collect the claim under your collision coverage. Collision applies any time one car hits another and causes damage. It can be a little tricky when a hit and run accident caused the damage because an insurance company always wants to identify the other driver so they may have an opportunity to recover any amount they pay out. However, if you report the claim promptly to the police and notify your insurance agent or insurance company, you should be able to collect for the repairs, less any deductible you may have.

No auto insurance company in Coppell, Texas can backdate a client’s auto insurance policy. Backdating an auto insurance policy means that the insurance agent will put a date on the client’s policy that is earlier then the date that the policy actually took effect.

The agent is attesting to the fact the client had insurance when they did not and this is illegal and considered insurance fraud. The reason that auto insurance policies cannot be back dated is because if there was an accident within the period the back dating took effect the company will have to pay. If there were extenuating circumstance the agent and their company could be in serious trouble. It does not matter if the client lives in Coppell, Texas or Timbuktu, back dating vehicle insurance is risky business, and no honest and upright insurance company would practice back dating.

If a driver cannot afford their premium when due, or just forgot to pay their premium, the insurance company can legally reinstate the policy, however the client will now have two payments due. This reinstatement must take place within a 30 day window of time. There cannot be any claims during this time. Many times the insurance company may make the client sign a waiver that there were no accidents during this time without automobile insurance.

If a driver is stopped by the police, and is found to be uninsured there is generally a large fine and it is possible that the person will have to go to jail. Some states have stiffer penalties such as suspension of registration and driver’s license. If one does have a lapse in insurance the driver could get a penalty for the time they drove without insurance.

Occasionally, it may be necessary to exclude someone from your insurance policy. The reasons you may do this are numerous. The main reason you would do this is if you have a family member who has had a large number of crashes, or for whatever reason has a difficult time getting affordable car insurance. Simply by having them able to drive on your policy, you could find that your rates rise, making insurance a burden. Additionally, your insurance company may not want to allow you to have a driver who has a record of DUI’s or at-fault crashes on your policy.

Whatever the reason you have for excluding someone from your policy, it’s important to know the details behind it. When you go about this process, you will likely want to talk to your agent directly, instead of working with an automated system. For instance, if you lived in Coppell, Texas, you may want to go to your agency in town, instead of calling a toll-free number. The insurance process is complex at times and dealing with a real person will make this much easier.

Your agent will likely explain more about how excluding someone works. Basically, you will be providing this person’s name and information and then even if they are driving your car that is insured, it will be as if they were driving without insurance. Because of this, it is important to talk this over with the excluded individual and make sure they understand they are not covered any longer.

It’s unfortunate when it becomes necessary to exclude someone from your policy, but at times it can save you hundreds of dollars or may be the only way that you qualify for insurance at all. If you have further questions about the process, don’t hesitate to ask your local agent in Coppell, or even compare rates with other companies. You may be able to avoid the exclusion process if you find a more compatible insurance program.

You’re surprised to learn that your car insurance rates have risen. You’re not looking forward to paying the higher bill, and you have questions for your insurer. You should know, though, that it’s not unusual for the cost of an auto insurance policy to rise or fall. In fact, there are many reasons car insurance rates to change.

Car insurance rates vary by area. If you’ve moved to a new community in Texas, then, your rates might rise or fall. Even if you move to a new neighborhood in Coppell, the same may happen. That’s because certain zip codes have less crime and fewer auto thefts or break-ins. Insurers charge you less for living in a safer area of Coppell because they have less risk of paying to repair a broken window that your car suffered during an auto break-in.

Your insurance rates will definitely change — rising sometimes dramatically — if you are given a speeding ticket or involved in an auto accident. It is the general policy of insurance companies to reward motorists with clean driving records with lower rates. Drivers with speeding tickets and accidents on their records, though, will pay more because insurance companies view them as riskier drivers more likely to cause them to have make a significant payout in the future.

Then there are family matters to consider. Once your children begin driving on your auto insurance, your rates will jump, often dramatically. As these children age, your rates will slowly fall. And once they leave your insurance and begin paying for their own auto insurance policy, your rates will again take a dip.

Insurance rates, then, are not set in stone. They rise and fall according to a whole host of factors. If you do have questions about your car insurance rates, call your local insurance agent. This professional can provide you with several reasons car insurance rates to change.