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The Promise of a Vanishing Deductible
Car insurance companies are always coming up with ways to attract new customers. One rather recent interesting development, which is actually something that was used in the past, is the promise of a vanishing deductible. It can help you save money and possibly avoid paying any deductible in an accident.
What is a Vanishing Deductible?
The vanishing deductible is a deductible amount that slowly reduces over a specified number of years for accident-free driving. When you apply, if you already meet the conditions, you may also receive a reduced deductible. Each year it will be reduced by, say $50 or $100 per year that you do not have any accidents. Eventually, depending on the terms, you will not have to pay any deductible when you do have an accident. The deductible has totally vanished.
Are There Other Conditions for Vanishing Deductible Policies?
As you might expect, it may not be all that easy to take advantage of the benefits of a vanishing deductible. Not only do they expect you to be accident free in order to receive the discount, but you also need to avoid getting any moving violations. In addition, you will need to buy the $500 deductible plan; or they ultimately may reduce your deductible by only $500.
Some auto insurance companies will only begin to reduce the deductible if you have been accident-free for three years and had no moving violations. They may take into account accident-free years from another car insurance company.
Is There a Cost for the Disappearing or Vanishing Deductible Benefit?
Some of the ads from the car insurance companies about disappearing or vanishing deductibles may make it sound like it is a free option. No, it’s not. There is a cost to opt-in to this benefit, and you will also have to ask them about it. This raises the cost of your car insurance premiums and you will pay more for each car that is to be included on the policy.
Being in the program does give you the opportunity to get the vanishing deductible, but it does not guarantee that you will ever receive it. Some auto insurance companies will give you an automatic $100 off the deductible amount immediately, and it will most likely stay effective, even if you get in an accident. Other ones will make you start over to meet the three year accident-free and moving violation requirement from scratch, which means that you may be paying for it but not actually receiving any immediate benefit. It also may not matter whether you are at fault or not in the accident.
The Possible Benefits
The obvious benefit is that you will not have to pay a deductible of up to $500 if you are ever in an auto accident. It allows you to not have to save up the deductible amount, just in case. Of course, if you have a higher deductible, then anything above the $500 will be up to you to pay.
The vanishing deductible option on a car insurance policy is not for everybody. For one thing, even though it will mean not paying the $500 deductible if you are in an accident, it has also raised the cost of your coverage. Also, depending on the amount of time you go accident free and how long you hold on to the option, you may have paid the $500 in insurance premiums for the benefit. Of course, if you should be unfortunate enough to get in an accident within the first couple of years of having the vanishing deductible option on your policy, then you will have benefited and saved money.
Compare Vanishing Deductible Auto Insurance Quotes
The best way to determine the cost of a vanishing deductible is to get a quote. Better yet, use the free auto insurance quote tool on this site to get a vanishing deductible auto insurance quote from up to eight auto insurance companies. These are nationally known auto insurance companies such as Geico, Nationwide, Progressive, Liberty Mutual and more. The more quotes you compare, the more money you’ll save.
CALL US NOW (Mon-Fri, 8am – 5pm PST) for a FREE QUOTE or fill out this form: