What Are Deductibles?

Perhaps you’ve heard people say that one way to reduce your car insurance premiums is to increase your deductibles. But do you know what deductibles are? If not, we’ll explain them here. Needless to say, deductibles are part of the standard auto insurance policy everyone should be familiar with. They play an important role in how much we pay for our policies as well as how much we might potentially have to pay after an accident.

In the simplest terms possible, a deductible is the amount of money the customer is required to contribute in order to pay for repairs to a damaged vehicle. Deductibles apply in the case of collision and comprehensive insurance. So if you have a $500 deductible on your auto policy and you file a $5,000 claim after an accident, your insurance company will only pay $4,500. You will be responsible for the other $500.

It’s important to note that deductibles work on a “first pay” system. In other words, the customer pays the first $500 (or whatever the deductible is) and the insurance company picks up the rest. In some cases a repair shop may require customers to pay their portion before a vehicle will be released; others allow some time for the customer to pay his bill.

Why Deductibles Are Good

Deductibles can be looked at as a good thing for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that they encourage consumers to shop around for repair estimates before choosing a garage; much the same way they shopped around for car insurance quotes before purchasing a policy.

They aren’t shopping around for the best price, mind you; they’re shopping around for the best quality. As long as it’s going to cost them $500 out of pocket they want a garage that will do the repair the right way. Even though it might cost more the insurance company a little bit more, there’s less of a risk that the consumer will come back with another claim because the first repair wasn’t done correctly.

Deductibles are also good in the sense that they encourage drivers to be more careful behind the wheel. With a significant deductible hanging over their heads they are more likely to drive safely and avoid accidents. That’s good for the individual driver, his car insurance company, and for everyone else on the road.

Why Deductibles Are Bad

Deductibles can be looked at as a bad thing from the perspective of insurance fraud. Unfortunately, garage owners and operators have figured out they can make customers happy by inflating repair estimates to cover their deductibles. In cases where an insurance company makes payments to the customer rather than the repair shop, this type of fraud is very easy to perpetrate. In cases where the insurance company pays the repair shop, it requires a little bit more cooperation between the shop and the customer.

It must be said that the vast majority of repair shops are going to be honest when it comes to estimates and deductibles. But the consumer needs to be aware of the possibility of fraud and make sure he’s not a participant or contributor. Insurance fraud accounts for millions of dollars in car insurance company payouts every year. Drivers who participate are only raising the rates for everyone.

Now that you know a little bit about deductibles you are better prepared to compare car insurance quotes. You can get lower rates if you’re willing to accept higher deductibles in exchange. On the other hand, you might be willing to pay a little more to avoid them.

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