car paid off, make difference in insurance claim?

[taurus_sable]

Does it make a difference when the car is owned by the bank(not paid off) or when the car is paid off for insurance claim purpose?

from an insurance company's point of view, does it make a difference?

is insurance company more willing to work through a claim if the car is still owned by the bank?

 

[tightwad]

makes no difference. you own the car. the bank has a security interest in the car. the insurance company will try to get to you regardless.

 

[taurus_sable]

how about when the car is leased? is it easier to file claims when the car is leased because the insurance company may have to make the bank happy?

 

[dishdude]

No difference. If you own the car outright, you can keep the check and not get the car repaired. If you have lienholder, they make the check out to you and the bodyshop, requiring repair.

 

[dparm]

They only care about the repair/replacement cost, which doesn't change based on whether or not the bank owns it.

 

[NHHEMI]

As others have said it make zero difference. They will pay what they will pay regardless.

Also, if you have recently paid off a vehicle that had a lien be sure and notify the insurance company so the lien holder is removed from the policy. Otherwise if you need to make a claim it may delay payment if the company you use sends a check to you and not directly to the body shop. I have seen it where a lien holder is present on the policy and the insurance company will issue the check to the lien holder or you and the lien holder jointly( usually ). That sucks when they do that.

My parents were in a hit and run and had to file a claim to get their Taurus fixed. The insurance paid my Dad directly vs the body shop. When the check came it was to my Dad and the finance company( Ford Credit ). He had to go to the closest local office to get it signed by FC and that was 1.5 hours away one way. Had a similar thing with my Sister once when she was in an accident.

Get the lien holder off if the car is paid ASAP. Most likely they will ask for proof it has been paid off. Like a letter or copy of the title showing no lien.

 

[DuckRyder]

As far as the settlement it doesn't make any difference.

I would suggest that you let your agent know so that they can remove the lien holder from the policy information.

 

[CBR.worm]

I have heard via. Coworker that insurance for leased vehicles is higher. He just got hit with that after leasing a car for the first time.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
I have heard via. Coworker that insurance for leased vehicles is higher. He just got hit with that after leasing a car for the first time.


Not true (necessarily). The leasing company will dictate that you must have a certain amount of coverage and that can only raise your deductibles so much, but the cost of insurance is the same if you pay cash, finance or lease.

No one should be riding around with state minimums.

 

[Zeus33]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
I have heard via. Coworker that insurance for leased vehicles is higher. He just got hit with that after leasing a car for the first time.


Not true (necessarily). The leasing company will dictate that you must have a certain amount of coverage and that can only raise your deductibles so much, but the cost of insurance is the same if you pay cash, finance or lease.

No one should be riding around with state minimums.


Correct, there is no difference in price between leased, owned, etc., but like you said, leasing companies require higher amounts of coverage than most people carry, so yes, in that situation, leased cars "cost more" to insure. I would say 90% of the people I'm around always complain about their insurance going up when they leased, so it is fairly common.

From an article:
Liability Coverage

Car lease companies require you to carry personal liability coverage. The company might be involved in liability issues if someone seated in the leased car is hurt at the time of an accident. To avoid this, the amount of coverage required is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. You are also required to carry minimum liability coverage of $50,000 towards property damage.

The cost of insuring a leased vehicle is at least 4 times higher than the state's minimum requirement. You can compare quotes from different insurance companies, ask for discounts that you may qualify for and adjust your coverage to protect yourself.

 

[Errtt]

They don't care who owns it. They do care that coverage premiums are paid, or there goes their coverage.

 

[Subdued]

I live in a nice neighborhood so I carry high limits. Seriously, the last thing I need is to smack into a range rover with minimum coverage.