Roadside Assistance on your Auto Insurance Policy: Don’t overuse it

I’m going to talk to you about your personal auto insurance policy, your roadside assistance, and how using that service a lot or over utilizing that service can cause your insurance rates to go up. Or it can cause your insurance company to say, “hey we’re not extending that service (roadside assistance) to you anymore”.

So, what is roadside assistance? I think we all know what that is. Roadside assistance is anytime they go out to help you if you’re stuck on the road. Anytime they (your insurance company in this case) gets you off the road and gets you back to where you need to be.

That can be in the form of a battery jump start, helping you with a flat tire, bringing you some of this high as gas out here if you happen to run out. It can mean towing your vehicle to the nearest shop or towing it back to your house. Roadside assistance may include helping you charge a regular battery or a electric battery etc. etc. etc.

If you use that service (roadside assistance) a lot, consistently, maybe over three or four times a year, they (insurance company) may increase your rate when your policy renews. Or they may say to you, “We’re not extending roadside assistance to you anymore”, because they feel like you’re using it a lot, over “overusing/abusing” the service.

There are several reasons why they may do this. One reason is; anytime an insurance company spends money, anytime they cut a check, anytime they pay out any money at all, (no matter how that service is set-up) it is typically considered a loss. Yes, it is considered a loss.

I’m going to be a little bit ghetto here – the reason for that is because the insurance company just “lost” some money, so they consider it a “loss” on your insurance policy. Your insurance company will begin to consider that vehicle, if you keep having tows and stuff like that on the same vehicle, a high risk or unsafe vehicle and that is another reason they will raise your rate on your renewal or say to you, “We are unable to extend roadside assistance to you” either on your policy as a whole or they may choose to no longer extend it to the vehicle that you keep needing roadside assistance for.

What can you do about this? There are two things you can do. You can completely fix that vehicle so that it stops breaking down, maintain your vehicles so that they’re in good shape and I know sometimes that’s not the situation or it’s not feasible. The other thing that you can do is use a roadside assistance service that is not is not a part of or connected to your automobile insurance policy. Something like triple AAA. I am not endorsing AAA. I do not sell AAA. And I’m not going to a get a dime from AAA. But I think it’s a good service and it keeps you from having losses aka claims on your personal auto insurance policy.

extra notes not on video:  Remember, nearly all tow or roadside assistance packages, whether on your insurance policy or through a third party, have limits as to how far they will tow you and what they will provide.  Do not purchase the least expensive package and then get mad when you’re stuck and want to be towed 100 miles away, but you only purchased the 10 mile package.  In other words, know what you are purchasing.  Ask questions and know what is covered.  Many times the upgraded or “platinum” package is worth the cost.