Adding emergency roadside assistance onto your insurance policy can appear to be an inexpensive way to protect yourself from an unexpected breakdown or other embarrassing problem. Many insurers, including Allstate, State Farm, Geico and Progressive, offer policy holders an add-on to their auto insurance policy for a lot loss than the cost of independent auto club services. Basic assistance included on a policy can be as cheap as $6 to $20 for an annual policy, compared to $45 to $100 for an annual membership of an independent service.
But, are you aware that auto insurers keep track of your roadside assistance claims, unfortunately in some cases you may discover your premium will go up if you make one too many calls for assistance. Insurers take a whole range of factors into account when giving you a quote for auto insurance and how many and what sort of roadside assistance claims you've made is one of them.
Many auto insurers consider roadside assistance claims to be one of the predictors of risk. Most insurers state that a customer's premium should not be affected unless there are multiple claims together with several other risky factors. The chance that one or two claims would have an impact on a customer's premium is probably very low.
In some cases, any claims made under the add-on roadside assistance coverage are reported as a towing and labor claim. These claims are reported to a national database run by ChoicePoint, a company that provides insurers with claims information to help them process applications. Car insurers use this information to confirm your application for insurance to make sure you have been honest about your accident and towing claims history.
ChoicePoint doesn't include claims data from auto club services such as AAA or Allstate Motor Club and has advised insurers not to submit any claims made under auto club type services. However many insurers, do report all usage of their roadside services as towing claims, including jumpstarts, tire changes and gas delivery.
Insurers won't reject your application for insurance due to towing and labor claims, but these claims, especially if there are a number of them, may influence your premium.
Some insurers don't use roadside assistance to determine premium prices, so it is worth shopping around and asking.
Motor clubs, such as AAA and Allstate Motor Club, may be a little more expensive, but can be less of a headache in the long run as any claims you make will be kept private. These clubs also provide a wider range of services than just basic towing and breakdown assistance, including discounts on accommodation and other travel related services.
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