In these times of self-isolating and social-distancing, there are families who are struggling financially.
There is a way for central Albertans to cut down on their car insurance premium.
Darren King, broker with Sims & Associates Insurance Services in central Alberta is advising people who are not working or are working from home to call their insurance company or their broker.
Car insurance premiums depend on various aspects, and one of those aspects include the number of kilometres driven.
“If you’re not using your vehicle, you can reduce the kilometres, which is the usage of your vehicle, because you would still need to have insurance to pick up groceries, but you can limit the usage to bring the premium down,” he explained.
The advice would be especially helpful to people who drive around for their work, say a realtor, said King.
“If you’re not using your vehicle at all, say you have two vehicles, you can do what they call ‘park it’ which means have the basic fire, theft and vandalism coverage,” he explained, adding leave one family car with full coverage to go places like the supermarket.
A third option is to ask your broker about suspension of service for a period of time, say 30, 60 or 90 days. This less known option reduces the coverage except for fire, theft and vandalism.
These options can help families better manage their financial challenges in these difficult times, said King.
“Every little bit helps.”
He noted recent numbers show Canadian families are struggling without jobs or without as many hours. Some six million people have applied for the $2,000-a-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit since middle of March, The Canadian Press reported last week.
The central Alberta broker said the insurance company has been getting calls from clients about deferring payments – but not so much about reducing their premiums altogether amid the ongoing pandemic.
He points to lack of awareness about how auto insurance policy is calculated.
A majority of insurance companies are giving Albertans the option to defer payments. Some of that information can be found online.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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