What is Zoomsafer?

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:30:01 +0000

What is Zoomsafer and can it have an effect on my insurance?

You love your gadgets. You have the latest of everything. If it beeps and blinks, you have a new one and are not ashamed to say that you update everything when the newest model comes out. You have your cellphone attached to your head and you would not dream of missing a call. You are addicted to your cellphone.

All of these things are well and good if you are sitting on your front porch enjoying the afternoon and talking on the phone. These things are not good if you are traveling down Interstate 95 at 75 miles per hour on your way to Miami.

Even with a hands-free cellphone, you run the risk of becoming involved in the conversation and your attention will wander from the task of driving to the discussion at hand.

The addiction to cellphones has now reached the third spot in addictions, being just behind coffee and cigarettes. The Betty Ford Center has deemed it a social problem and there are statistics to indicate that over 200 million Americans carry a cellphone with them. Over 293 million subscribers of a wireless service were documented as of June in 2010.

Because of this psychological need to hold the phone and answer it when it rings, some drivers will ignore the chance of getting a ticket for using a cellphone while driving just to feed their need to use their phone.

With over 10 states and over 40 countries, including China, Japan and India, banning the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, the problem of distracted drivers is well known and documented.

While there is no hard data to say how many people were killed or injured in cellphone related crashes, it is estimated by the federal government that over 5,000 people were killed and almost 450,000 injured related to auto accidents involving cellphones.

By use of simulators, researchers have been able to determine that reaction time and travel speeds were compromised by the use of cellphone distractions. In addition, lane swerving and movements of the steering wheel showed signs of distraction.

Addictions are not easy to break and sometimes it takes tough measures to curb the impulses. If you have no control over your cellphone use, it may be in your best interest to look at ZoomSafer as an option for your cellphone addiction.

ZoomSafer is the initial software package developed to take control over cellphones and make driving safer. It has now branched out into other packages, such as, MobilSafer, FleetSafer and TeenSafer. Each of these software packages monitors cellphone usage in conjunction with driving habits to produce a safer driving environment.

ZoomSafer connects to your cellphone by way of GPS tracking and is able to monitor your driving habits, your highway speed and other factors that would cause you to be distracted should your phone ring.

With ZoomSafer installed, an incoming phone call may be directly sent to your voicemail should ZoomSafer determine that you are driving 75 miles per hour on Interstate 95 headed for Miami. You relinquish the right to decide to answer the phone.

If your passenger answers the cellphone, an alert is sent to anyone monitoring the phone activity, such as a parent, to let them know that the car is moving and the phone is being used.

Your car insurance rates may decrease if you add ZoomSafer to your cellphones, allowing for monitoring of your driving habits. If you have teens, this may help to bring down the cost of those high insurance rates that follow them around until they turn 25.

ZoomSafer is an easy way to control your use of the cellphone as well as provide a discount on your car insurance. It also can save a life and that cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

What is GAP Insurance?

admin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:13:48 +0000

Unless you pay cash for your new car or you have put a significant down payment of 50 percent or better, you are going to be upside down at some point or another. The term upside down has been associated with auto loans for a very long time and it simply means that you owe more than the car is worth at any given point in the term of your loan.

Recently the term has been associated with home loans as well. Homes and real estate were never considered depreciable items, but cars always have been considered a depreciating item and not an investment.

When you covered your vehicle with car insurance, your insurance policy was probably written to cover the market value of that vehicle. This means that in the event of an accident where the vehicle has been destroyed, the insurance company will pay you the market value of your vehicle at the time of the crash. That value takes into consideration the mileage, the age and the general overall condition of the vehicle at the time of the wreck. This value is included in your insurance rates and is what your cheap car insurance premium is based upon.

In the case of a new car, that market value begins plunging the minute you turn the key on and drive off the dealer’s lot. Depending on what make and model of new car you purchased, the depreciation can be significant. According to Edmunds.com, a service for car enthusiasts, a new car will depreciate 11 percent upon leaving the lot. By the time year five rolls around, you will have lost over 35 percent of your original price.

If you are involved in an accident and your car is totaled out, you may find yourself with a huge difference between what you owe on the car and what your car insurance company is writing your lien holder a check for.

You can protect yourself by covering that gap between coverage and payoff by purchasing an additional GAP insurance policy. This policy is sometimes automatically included in your lease agreement. In the case of high-end cars, the lender may add this premium automatically into your lease payment.

In the case of auto loans, you may need to purchase an additional policy. Generally, these policies are not expensive and for the protection that you are given, are worth the extra investment. This insurance protection is designed to complement your cheap car insurance policy and not be a replacement for it.

If you decline the coverage that is available from a GAP insurance policy, you are setting yourself up to be sued for the difference should an accident occur and you are left with a deficient balance on your car loan. That money can be collected upon by serving you with collection notices or judgments against you.

Should you be sued for the difference, you not only put yourself in a position where you may be unable to obtain a loan in the future or have blemishes on your credit history, you look to have your insurance rates raised as well. Credit scores are an instrumental portion of the insurance industry’s way of determining your insurance rates and a bad credit score will eventually increase your insurance rates.

Protecting yourself with a GAP insurance policy on your next loan will go a long way to protecting not only your credit, but your future cheap car insurance premiums as well.

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What is Zoomsafer?

What is GAP Insurance?