Most people buying
a new auto insurance policy don’t stop to think about the parts will be
used to repair their cars if they are involved in an accident. Most of us assume that our vehicles will be fixed
and put back on the road, as good as new.
But in North Carolina, the law and the auto insurance policy language
could leave you with some bad feelings after the dust has settled on your claim.
OEM stands for original manufacturer’s equipment. This terminology is used for parts that were manufactured
by the original car company for your car.
In NC, car insurance companies are not obligated to pay for OEM parts
when paying for damages to your wrecked vehicle. Since OEM parts usually cost more than non
OEM replacement parts, most repairs are not done with replacement parts that
were manufactured by the original car manufacturer.
Now these non-OEM replacement parts may or may not be as
good or even better quality than OEM parts.
But that’s not the point. The
point is that most people have expectations that include OEM parts being used
to repair their cars. Let’s face it,
many of us have personal relationships with our cars and don’t want to feel
cheated after an accident and repair work.
There is a simple solution to
this problem but it requires that you take action before your car is
damaged. Most insurance companies doing
business in NC have an OEM parts endorsement that you can add to your auto
policy to make sure that the costs of these parts is covered if you have a loss. Some restrictions apply to the OEM
endorsement on the North Carolina auto insurance policy. For instance, most insurance companies will
require that you add this endorsement within 60 days of the purchase of a new
vehicle. Usually you can only add the
endorsement to a vehicle that you purchased brand new. Also, most companies will drop this coverage
once your car is over 7 years old. One company
that we represent will let you add OEM coverage at any time and will allow you
keep it on the policy until your vehicle is 10 years old, so there are some
exceptions to these rules.
The cost of this protection is usually about 5% additional on
your comprehensive and collision insurance premiums. Now, keep in mind this other issue: Even if you buy OEM coverage for your car, if
you are hit by another person and that person is at fault, then your claim will
be handled by the other person’s insurance company. Letting them settle the claim with you will
mean your OEM protection will not apply.
You can get around this by filing
a collision claim with your insurance company so that you can benefit from the
OEM endorsement on your policy. If you do
it this way, then you will have to pay the collision deductible on this claim
out of your pocket and wait to be reimbursed by the other party’s insurance
company if and when your insurance company files a subrogating claim against
them and collects. This may take some
time or might even never happen, depending on the size and complexity or the claim.
This is just one illustration of how complex North Carolina
auto insurance really is. There are many
things for you to consider when buying your auto insurance policy. From just this one example you can see that
do it yourself car insurance is a bad idea.
Here at Clinard Insurance
Group, we write thousands of auto
insurance policies for our customers located all across the state of North
Carolina. We will take as much time as
you need to make sure that you understand all of your options and that you are
completely comfortable with your choices.
Please give us a call for help with your auto insurance or your
home insurance. You can reach us
toll free, at 877-687-7557.
No comments:
Post a Comment