Auto Insurance Archives - Massachusetts Auto Insurance

Frozen Pipes

Yes, MassAutoQuote.com is a website for Massachusetts auto insurance. In Massachusetts it has been very cold lately and, even though we’re an auto insurance quote website, many auto insurers also own homes!

With that, let’s talk about the dreaded: Frozen Pipes!

Frozen Pipes

Frozen water in pipes can cause water pressure buildup, which eventually will lead to pipes bursting at their weakest point, causing water damage to your home or business.

To keep water in pipes from freezing, take the following precautions:

Keep the temperature in your home or business above 65 degrees at all times.
Seal cracks and holes in outside walls and foundations near water pipes with caulking.
Keep cabinet doors open during cold spells to allow warm air to circulate around pipes, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom.

MA Auto Insurance: Student Away at School Discount

Most auto insurance carriers consider you eligible for a student-driver away discount if your child attends boarding school or college at least 100 miles from home and does not have regular access to a vehicle. Some may also require the student to be under 23 years of age …

Student-Driver Away Discount – Do You Qualify?

Student-Driver Away Discounts help you save while they learn

Your child is away at school for the year and not using the family car regularly, so you may think it’s time to drop them from your auto insurance policy. That is certainly an option when your child leaves home, but the student-driver away discounts can be a better fit for your family than taking your child off the plan entirely.

Let’s see if you qualify for student-driver away discounts, why the discount is worth it and how much you’ll save.

Who Is a Student-Driver Away Discount For?

Why You Should Get a Student-Driver Away Discount

While it sounds tempting to remove your child from your auto insurance plan while they are at school, there are significant reasons to consider the student-driver away discount instead:

Driving During Breaks: Your child will likely come home from school to visit, and while they’re back, they might borrow the family car. Having your child on your policy means they are automatically covered in the unlikely event of a car accident.
Financial Responsibility: If you still declare your child as a dependent, then you assume financial responsibility for them. This means that, legally, you are their financial provider, no matter how much pocket money they have on the side. This is important because if your uninsured child drives a vehicle and gets into an accident, you are financially responsible for that accident, even though you weren’t involved. Medical and legal costs can be substantially more than paying for a student-driver away discount.
Better Future Rates: Auto insurance companies often give discounts to new clients who were previously dependents on their parents’ policy. Other carriers sometimes charge new clients a higher fee for joining as a young driver without that experience. Keeping your student on your auto insurance plan now can give them a foot up later.

How Can You Validate Your Child for a Student-Driver Away Discount?

Most auto insurance carriers will require verification that your child is at school. Providing your carrier with the correct validation for a student-driver away discount can be very easy. Here are some common ways to prove eligibility:

School Address: Providing the address of your child’s boarding school or college to your insurance agent is usually enough verification for some carriers.
Current Class Schedule: Providing your child’s class schedule shows that your student is currently enrolled in school.

How Much Money Will You Save?

Student-driver away discount rates can depend on which carrier you have. In most cases, you will save between 10 percent and 30 percent on your auto insurance. Though it might seem like a hassle to keep your child on your policy when they do not drive frequently, it may be smart over the long run.

Secure Your Student-Driver Away Discount Today

With a student-driver away discount, you won’t break the bank, and you’ll help your child start on the path to their own insurance policy one day. As your independent auto insurance agent, we take it upon ourselves to make sure that you and your family can drive safely with the peace of mind that you’re getting the best rates possible. Contact us today to find out if you qualify for a student-driver away discount, as well as other auto insurance discounts.

RMV telling MA consumers: Go Online!

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is encouraging consumers to go online.

We recommend you go online too, then go running rather than to the RMV.

According to a news release on the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles website (MassRMV.com), Registrar Celia Blue is encouraging MA consumers to go online to renew licenses and registrations.

The article quotes Blue: “MassRMV.com is designed to help our customers save time and to allow our branch employees to focus on more complex transactions. By making MassRMV.com their first stop, customers will find they are able to renew in a matter of minutes or discover they need in-person attention at one of our branches.”

As witnessed recently by this local, independent insurance agent (btw: that offers complimentary Registry running services) the Registry of Motor Vehicles can be a zoo, with lines out the door.

The Registry mails postcard reminders letting consumers know if they are eligible to renew online.

A new picture, for licenses, is required every 10 years.

All vanity and trailer plates expire at the end of November. Commercial plates renew at the end of December.

According to the article: “Many commercial renewals require the registrant to visit a branch in person, making the last days of each year some of the busiest for RMV branches.”

Where can you get a MA Auto Insurance Quote?

You can get Massachusetts auto insurance quotes just about anywhere these days.

You can pick up the telephone, you can stop by an office, or you can get on the computer.

The question then becomes: Who do you want to buy insurance from?

You can get Massachusetts auto insurance quotes just about anywhere these days.

You can pick up the telephone, you can stop by an office, or you can get on the computer.

The question then becomes: Who do you want to buy insurance from?

There are three choices:

Buy insurance through a “captive agent.” A captive agent sells insurance for only one company
Buy insurance through a “direct writer,” such as the Geico. Consumers that buy direct do not have an agent to shop, make recommendations, and advocate for them at claim time.
Buy insurance through an “independent agent!”

When you buy insurance through MassAutoQuote, you’re buying through a Massachusetts Independent Insurance Agent.

We are a pro-active independent agency with a sharp pencil. We shop our clients renewals and take advantage of different companies’ discount and insurance programs. Over the years we save our clients a ton of money.

We’ve put together our Top 10 list of why it is important to utilize a Massachusetts independent insurance agent when going through the very important insurance buying process.:

#10. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent will save you money!
#9. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent rates with multiple companies!
#8. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent works on your side when you have a loss!
#7. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent will provide strong referrals from existing customers!
#6. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent has strong local ties and supports your community!
#5. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent will improve your coverage!
#4. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent provides 24 hour a day, 7 days a week auto claim service!
#3. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent provides prompt, courteous service!
#2. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent offers free Registry of Motor Vehicles Service!

#1. Your Independent MA Insurance Agent makes house calls!

Call or click us for your free, no-obligation insurance quote.

You’ll be glad you did!

Added Value

It seems to me that for the past thirty years, or so, Massachusetts insurance consumers and Professional, Massachusetts Independent Agents have been pushed around by the insurance industry. Enjoying “state set” auto insurance rates, Massachusetts bloated to the fourth highest auto insurance rates in the country and whithered to only 19 auto insurance carriers. I believe the handwriting was on the wall a number of years ago, Massachusetts auto insurance rates plummeted 26% over the past three years. As of April 1, 2008 Massachusetts moved to a “managed competition” system. This move has been good for most consumers with a statewide decrease in auto rates of almost 8%. The rate casualties seem to be those with 10 or more points on their license and new drivers.

With all the industry changes and as a small business owner, I have found myself working harder and working longer. My wife and three babies wonder who this tie-wearing, slightly stressed out, stranger is. I continue to ask myself, as an Independent Insurance Agency: “Do we add value?” The emphatic answer: YES.

Unlike the Liberty Mutuals and The Amicas, we write insurance with many different companies. We represent our clients, as opposed to representing the companies that we place business with. We spend the time to find out which companies are the best fit for our clients. Some companies have more of an appetite for new drivers, some more of an appetite for the home and auto “account business.”

We are here for our customers whenever they have a claim problem or a billing question. We also offer free Registry of Motor Vehicles service.

We are Professional Insurance Advisors that have the best interest of our customers in mind. We offer multiple lines of insurance and as our customers lives change we are here to assist with all their insurance needs.

Your Independent Insurance Agent should offer a lifetime of insurance products and services:

Parents put their newly licensed child on their auto policy, the child buys his first car, he moves out of the house and gets an apartment, he opens a business, buys an engagement ring, gets married, buys a home, has a child, buys life insurance, puchases a personal liability umbrella policy, gets rich, buys a vacation property, buys the ’65 Mustang Shelby GT350, and retires.

We are here to help every step of the way.