Month: April 2023

How Is Your Auto Insurance Premium Determined?

Posted on by Sarah White

Unfortunately, prices are going up everywhere, including insurance rates.

Insurance premium is determined by several factors. These factors evaluate the risk the insurance company takes on by insuring you. The company want to reduce their risk of paying out on expensive claims. So, if they consider you more likely to have claims, your premium will increase.

Here are some key factors that may affect your auto insurance premium:

  • Driving record
    • This includes any speeding tickets, driving violations, or anything else that gets a point on your license.
  • At-fault accidents
    • Carriers may consider at-fault accidents as an indicator that you are more likely to incur more accidents in the future.
  • Annual mileage
    • If you drive less, you are simply statistically less likely to get in an accident.
  • The drivers on your policy
    • Newly licensed drivers or drivers with points on their record are considered more “risky”.
  • The condition of your car
    • Newer cars and cars with modern and unique technologies are likely to cost more to repair or replace in the case of an accident.
  • Inflation
    • Inflation impacts everything — including auto parts, labor, rental rates, medical fees, and more. Insurance companies cover those fees in the case of claims, so they have rapidly rising bills as well.

While inflation unfortunately cannot be helped, you can control those other factors!

Additionally, many insurance companies offer useful discounts you can take advantage of. The simplest and most universal is to bundle your home and auto policies together. Many companies offer discounts for safe driving as well. Another convenient discount available for Mapfre policyholders in MA is the Pan-Mass donation discount.

If you’d like to work on lowering your premium, give us a call at 617-965-1830! We’d be happy to collaborate on saving you some money.

How Does Umbrella Insurance Work?

Posted on by admin

Umbrella insurance is an important type of coverage that boosts the coverage that you get from other insurance policies. If you have both an auto policy and a home policy, you should think about getting an umbrella policy to boost them.

This is a less-expensive option than adding coverage directly to the home and auto policies. It can save you a lot of money and leave you much better protected by insurance. When you want an umbrella insurance policy, call us at Smoller Insurance Agency in Boston, MA.

Getting Umbrella Insurance

When you get this type of insurance, it adds to the amount of coverage that you already have through your auto and home policies. The policy adds to the liability coverage that each of those policies has, raising it to a very high maximum payout. Umbrella insurance is known for being highly affordable and for having high payouts. 

Paying the Overages

When you have home and auto insurance without umbrella insurance, there are usually maximums on them that are so low that they don’t cover all of the expenses after an accident. A serious accident could have extremely high expenses for bodily injury liability and for property damage liability. If your home or auto insurance doesn’t have a lot of coverage, it will pay up to its maximum and then leave any overage for you to pay.

That’s why having umbrella insurance is so important. Once the first policy comes in and pays what it can toward the damages, the umbrella insurance policy comes in and pays for the rest. It’s a great way to be well-covered by insurance. 

Get Umbrella Insurance

When you want to be better covered for your liability at home and in your vehicle, you need umbrella insurance. Call us at Smoller Insurance Agency in Boston, MA.