NBA Insurance Agency, Inc.

Can you believe *this* is a Toyota Camry?

Do you drive a new car? Do  you drive a new-ish car? More than likely, you have a car loan/lease on any vehicle only a few years old.

Imagine you paid $30,000 for a new Toyota Camry in 2009. No miles. Perfect- no. SPECTACULAR condition.

Let’s say you average 15,000 miles per year (about the standard amount a person who works full-time with a moderately-sized social life drives in a calendar year).

Fast forward two years. You reach the present-day, the year 2011. You have approximately 30,000 miles on that 2009 Camry. What was once a new car is still fairly new, but not perfect. 2 years old. And oh wait, you signed a loan. Which means you might still have the interest to pay on that initial $30,000. Ew.

And then – WORSE – you get into a car accident. You’re physically totally fine in this hypothetical, but your car – eh, not so much. It’s totaled. Lucky, for you, you have full collision/comprehensive on your policy and can get money back.

But then there’s the loan.

Perhaps you have a good deal on your loan left to pay. After two years, if your payments were $400/month and you put $0 down, then you have about $20,000 left on the loan (more or less depending on your interest rate. Please also note I was an English major, not a mathematician).

The insurance company will pay you the Actual Cash Value for your loss after the deductible* (if you are subject to one). But what if your car’s value is less than the amount still left on the loan? You pay it out-of-pocket, even after the deductible.

SAY WHAT!

That’s why we offer Loan-Lease coverage! It’s pretty fancy. *See below some words from the policy page. If you’d like a quote adding this to your policy, drop us a line!

In the event of a covered total loss to an auto shown in the Coverage Selections Page for which a premium charge indicates that Auto/Loan Lease Coverage applies, we will pay any unpaid amount due on the lease or loan for that vehicle less:

1. The amount paid under Collision (Part 7) or Comprehensive (Part 9) of the policy;
2. The applicable deductible; and
3 . Any:
a. Overdue lease/loan payments, penalties, taxes, interest or charges resulting from overdue payments or lease termination fees at the time of the loss;
b. Financial penalties imposed under a lease for excessive use, abnormal wear and tear or high mileage;
c. Security deposits not refunded by a lessor;
d. Costs for extended warranties, Credit Life insurance, Health, Accident or Disability insurance or any other insurance purchased with the loan or lease;
e. Carry-over balances from previous loans or leases or increases to your loan balance occurring after the date of purchase; and
f. Amount by which your original loan balance exceeded the overall purchase price of your covered auto.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 15th, 2011 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Auto, Financial Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.