Online Auto Insurance: Fire Damage Report Underscores Value of Comprehensive Coverage
HOUSTON, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fires damaged an estimated 215,500 vehicles nationwide and resulted in about $1.4 billion in economic losses last year, according to a new report that Online Auto Insurance (OAI) says underscores the value of making sure vehicles are properly insured.
Only policies that include comprehensive coverage will financially protect owners of vehicles that are damaged or destroyed by fire, a fact that should be noted by consumers planning to buy car insurance online or through an agent.
According to the report from the National Fire Protection Association, fires involving all types of vehicles accounted for 16 percent of all blazes in 2010, a 1.6 percent decrease from the previous year. The vast majority of those involved cars, trucks and other highway vehicles. Roughly 30,000 blazes impacted ships, trains, airplanes and other types of vehicles.
OAI advises owners of relatively new vehicles to strongly consider paying a little extra for a policy that includes comprehensive insurance coverage, which is optional unless it is required as a condition of an auto loan. Comprehensive coverage protects against fire, flooding and other weather-related damage to the insured car, as well as theft, vandalism and other losses.
Comprehensive usually comes with a deductible of $100 to $500, but consumers may want to choose a higher deductible in order to get lower monthly premiums.
There were an estimated 258,500 highway vehicle fires annually from 2004 to 2006, accounting for about 1 in 6 fires nationwide, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Most of those blazes were started unintentionally, with 62 percent originating in a vehicle's engine or wheel areas. Mechanical failures were the main contributor to those fires.
Source: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v9i1.pdf
To read more about this and other safety and insurance issues, go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/buy/ where you will find informative resource pages and a free-to-use quote-comparison generator that consumers can use to get sample premiums for many vehicle makes and models.
SOURCE Online Auto Insurance
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