Are Accidents More Likely To Occur Closer To Home?
If you are going to be involved in an accident, chances are it will happen close to your home. Progressive Insurance polled 11,000 of its policyholders who experienced accidents in 2001. They found that 52% were involved in accidents within five miles from there home and 69% were involved in accidents within ten miles from their home. Only 17% of those polled experienced accidents beyond twenty miles from his or her home (Strillacci, 2002).
To some people, this is major news and would deter them from driving. I would hope this statistic would not do this to you. I anticipate this article will actually give you confidence in driving short, and long, distances from your home as well as show you the important role insurance plays in our lives.
As I already showed statistically, you are likely to get into an accident within 10 miles from your home. Before this scares you into never driving again take a moment to think about that statistic. It makes sense. For most people, their 'comfort zone' is close to home. People usually grocery shop, go to church and go to work within a few miles of their home. And when you compare that amount of people to the amount of drivers who travel for a living or drive long distances to see relatives or for vacation, you can see how that statistic came about.
Now, knowing that the statistic is skewed, the next question to answer is 'Will it make sense to drive longer distances to go grocery shopping, to go to work, to go to church, etc.?' In order to answer that question, you need to address the needs of time and money. You will also need to address the perils of driving shorter distances versus driving longer distances.
Before you extend your 'comfort zone' of driving, you have to analyze your costs of time and money. If you wish to drive further to meet your needs, you may have to wake up earlier, get home later, go to bed earlier, spend less time with your family, etc. And, if you wish to drive further to go grocery shopping, you will have to consider bringing a cooler to keep your cold food from spoiling until you get home. Other additional costs include adding mileage to your vehicle. This extra mileage lowers your vehicle's re-sale value. It increases the frequency of oil changes and tire changes. It also increases the chances of having other engine problems with your vehicle. Another cost to consider is the ever-increasing cost of gasoline.
Before you extend your normal driving 'zone,' you will also need to evaluate the perils you will face in driving short and longer distances.
Some of the dangers of driving within ten miles of your home include sharing the road with people with short attention spans. These people are running an errand and are only going four blocks from where they live. People may not be wearing safety belts. Again, many may have a false sense of security since they are not traveling a long distance from their home. Another concern that affects some is if it is really rainy out, flash flooding can become an issue.
When you drive longer distances however, you also face hazards. For example, you are sharing the road with people who may be sleep-deprived. You may be sharing the road with people who have become mesmerized from their long trip; and as a result they are in a hypnotic state that causes their senses to become dulled. And as you probably have seen many times you may also be sharing the road with someone going the speed of Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise.
It might not make sense to extend your 'comfort zone' due to time and money restraints. Even if you can extend your 'comfort zone', regardless of the costs of time and money, you still face perils and the possibility of being involved in an accident. What do you do?
Make sure your insured. Insurance is known as 'risk transference.' With insurance, you are transferring the risk of financial loss that comes with an accident to the insurance company. As to which insurance company to use and how much insurance to purchase, that is another article in itself. Just do the necessary research, and purchase as much insurance as you can afford. And, as a result of transferring your risk, you are left with the peace of mind knowing that regardless of the distance you are driving and the perils you are facing, you will be covered for the limits you chose to purchase.
So, the next time you are leaving to go four blocks to run an errand and someone reminds you of the statistic that accidents usually occur within ten miles of your home, smile for two reasons. First, knowing that you are going to face perils on the road regardless of the distance you are driving. And, second, knowing that with your insurance you are transferring the risk to the insurance company for the limits you chose to purchase.
Reference: Strillacci, L. (2004, November). Car Accidents Tend to Occur Close to Home. Retrieved December 22, 2003 from http://info.insure.com/auto/collision/accidentlocation502.html
Visit http://www.carinsurance.com for Auto Insurance Specialist
John Machmiller is a representative of CarInsurance.com. You can visit CarInsurance.com at http://www.carinsurance.com or contact them at 1-877-327-8728.
CarInsurance.com's online insurance marketplace gives an opportunity to consumers and to insurance companies. We offer the ability to shop for car insurance online.
Consumers can receive quotes from many insurance companies, in some states you are able to purchase your insurance instantly, online. You don't have to drive your car to buy car insurance. Buy online... anytime!
|
|
Long Term Care Insurance - Low Cost Alternatives For Budget Conscious Seniors!
With Nursing home Cost's running $4,000 to $6,000 a month and outpacing inflation, it is a small wonder that most seniors cannot afford the Long term Care insurance premiums. Their are low cost Alternatives available for seniors who just can't afford the rising cost of these Premiums.Many Seniors even question if they need Long Term Care Insurance. Take a look at...(related: Insurance)
Finding California Truck Insurance
It's very easy to find California truck insurance on the internet today. No longer does your search require numerous phone calls, faxes, brochures, going to the office and placing calls to (10) or so agents to find a decent California Truck Insurance quote.There is a certain amount of knowledge needed to properly provide accurate quotes and most agents don't develop the commercial insurance knowledge to comfortably work in that market segment.There are also a limited amount of companies that write commercial vehicle coverage so it does take a small additional effor...(related: Insurance)
How Do I Calculate How Much Life Insurance I Need?
Life insurance protects you and your family from economic hardship as a result of death. It is an insurance company's obligation to pay the recipient of your cho...(related: Insurance)
7 Sure-fire Ways Of Reducing Your Home Insurance Premium
Home security improvement:All insurance companies will happily offer you a discount for burglar alarms and smoke detectors. Homes with fire and burglar alarms that communicate with a third party monitoring company receive a higher discount on their insurance premiums.When possible, choose a higher deductible:To reduce your premium, it is best advised to increase the deductible to the extent you can afford. Your home insurance premium will fall by as much as 20% if you increase ...(related: Insurance)
3 Important Moving Insurance Tips
Because of the many problems that can occur when you hire a moving company to transport your goods, the moving companies are required some basic insurance of your goods. Even with this basic insurance, purchasing additional coverage might be neede...(related: Insurance)
Student Health Insurance - Is It Necessary?
As a young, healthy college student, it might be tempting to forgo the expense of health insurance. After all, you're young, you're careful and you're not sick. You don't real...(related: Insurance)
Accident Factoids
Accidents, personal injuries and insurance claims are here to stay. No matter how far into the 21st Century American's elect to drive (unless by the beginning of the 22nd Century we're all zipping around in our own personal space ship) moto...(related: Insurance)
Insurance For All Your Gadgets
Personalisation, Digitalisation, Mobilisation, these 3 words represent your life today. Here in the 21st century our lives have become more and more reliant on mobile items. As we go through our days, keeping a mental log of everything we have and where we have it becomes more and more difficult. It is inevitable that some things get lost. In fact as stated in a recent research "Around 62,000 mobile phones were left in London taxis during the last six months. That's an average three phones per taxi, according to a survey of licensed London cabbies by the Taxi Newspaper and Pointsec Mobile Technologies. Absent minded and drunken tr...(related: Insurance)
How To Get Cheap Whole Life Insurance Quotes
Whole life insurance quotes the most expensive kind of policies that are on the market due the fact of cash value over time. Whole life insurance is permanent life insurance coverage that lasts as long as you live and continue to make ontime premium payments. The reason that whole life insurance quotes are so much more expensive is due to the fact that the policy will have to pay out a death benefit when you die.Whole life insurance quotes are available online from many insurance companies that have ...(related: Insurance)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Insurance | All Rights Reserved. | Insurance