Out in the Streets you hear lots of different things about Car Insurance. Today I will try and explain a few of the Myths we hear everyday.

Myth No.1: New cars are what get stolen the most!!

Fact: It’s the other way around. Statistics show thieves actually tend to steal older cars.The reason we see so many older vehicles taken is because they are easier to steal, also, people are keeping their cars longer in the failing economy. This creates a great market for used parts. Most times they are stolen, they don’t make it back on the street as a whole car.

If you have an older vehicle and have dropped comprehensive coverage to save money, you are not covered for theft.

Myth No. 2: My insurance will cover me if my car is stolen, vandalized or damaged by hail or fire.

Fact: Unless you have comprehensive coverage, you are not covered for any of these things. A basic policy in Greece requires only that you buy liability coverage. This pays only for damage you cause to others. You need to purchase both collision and comprehensive coverage in order to fully protect your vehicle from all types of damage.

Comprehensive coverage (Meikti) pays for damage to your car that is not the result of a car accident. That includes theft, vandalism, hail, fires, anything you do to the car yourself and accidents involving animals. Collision coverage (Basiki) pays for damage to your vehicle from a car accident.

Myth No. 3: If my car is completely wrecked, my insurance will pay off what I owe on my loan.

Fact: When your car is totaled, your policy does not promise to pay off what you owe. It will pay you the actual cash value of your car. Actual cash value is the amount your car was worth before the accident, factoring in depreciation. You are still responsible for any amount outstanding on the loan or car lease.

Your insurer will decide whether your car is totaled. Generally, a total loss is declared when the repair costs would exceed a certain threshold of the car’s value, generally 70%. At that point, the insurance company will tow your car to a salvage yard and offer you the actual cash value of the vehicle

Myth No. 4: My insurance company will pay for a rental car if my car is stolen or damaged in an accident.

Fact: Even if you have comprehensive and collision coverage, it may not include a rental car. Rental car reimbursement is not automatically included in most insurance policies, but you can add it at an affordable cost.

Myth No. 5: My vehicle is worth what I paid for it.

Fact: If your car is damaged beyond repair, vandalized or stolen, your insurer will only pay what it costs to replace it with a similar model that is on the market today, not what you paid for it. It doesn’t matter if you spent 3000 euro for it, your insurance only pays for a replacement vehicle, not a new one.

The cost of your car is calculated based on statistics the Insurance Companies have in their databases. Plus you can see what it is worth in the car magazine Auto Triti.

Myth No. 6: Red Cars are the most expensive to insure.

Fact: Red will not cost you more green. Some drivers believe that the color of their car is a factor in determining their insurance rate — especially if the car is red. But the belief that drivers of red cars pay higher car insurance premiums is a myth. Insurance companies will likely not even ask the color of your car when they’re calculating your car insurance quote.

Car insurance companies are interested in the year, make, model, body type, engine size and age of your vehicle. The color may be important to you, but it really doesn’t matter to your insurance comp

Myth No. 7: If a drunk driver runs into me, I do not get any money back.

Fact: According to Greek Law, if a drunk driver runs into you, their Insurance Company pays you what you need and then takes the drunk driver to court to obtain the money given to pay off your damage. Therefore very important Lesson!!!!

DON’T DRINK and DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do you need to Insure your Car in Greece?

We will assume that you have the most important thing in this conversation…a car!!! From there on it is quite a simple procedure. As long as your Insurance agent has brought you some proposals that interest you, all you need to do is submit the following information of this vary simple process.

What is needed?

1) A copy of your Car ownership permit.

2) A copy of your Drivers Licence.

3) The insurance Proposal you have chosen filled out and signed.

4) A copy of your previous Insurance Contract you had .

5) If you have a brand new car you need to submit the car purchase receipts.

With the above information, your Insurance Agent can submit the paperwork required to the Insurance Company, and they can give you the temporary insurance permit until your Insurance contract arrives.

Of course for any explanation or assistance make sure you contact your Insurance Agent, cause this is what he gets paid for and he should be available 24-7-365 to assist you!

So…. you want to get your hands on some of that cold cash from Green energy everyone is talking about here in Greece!!! I don’t blame you!!

But have you done some research on how you do this?

First thing you need to do is get an assessment from a solar panel contractor or solar energy investment consultant.

They will walk you through all the steps in order for ΔΕΗ, the Greek power company, to give you the appropriate permits for whatever size solar project you are interested in.

With all the research and paperwork you have collected,the next step is to go to a variety of banks and see how much of a loan you can get, if that is the route you choose. After they check your documentation and analyze the risk, they offer you the loan. Once the loan is approved they will tell you that in order to get it you need to have a variety of types of insurance that they will gladly provide you.

You have two options

1) Accept what they tell you without question and move on.

2) Do a bit of research to see what you can find on your own that may be a better deal for your pocket and peace of mind.

Let’s take the second choice and elaborate on it.
Like any good investment you want to do some thinking before you sign all the papers. When you are sitting at the bank and they are telling you that we will give you the loan, all you got to do is sign on the dotted line, usually we are so excited we do not even read what it is we are putting ink to!!!
Here are some things you need to take under consideration.

If you already have home insurance and life insurance you may not need to get another policy just to cover the solar panels you are installing. The insurance policies you already have may be enough to cover any damages or disaster that may befall your investment and therefore the bank will get the money they gave you and will be happy!! Because this is the true reason they want you to have home, solar panel and life insurance. So they can get their money back in case a disaster strikes. Good for them for covering their ASSETS!!

But you should cover yours as well by making sure you are not spending more than needed!

Now the actual solar panel insurance is a completely different story.

Here you are offered, usually a program that covers all damages to the panels. Sounds nice right?

But what happens to your investment? You did not spend all this money just to make sure it does not get broken!!!

You need to make sure that the time the solar panels do not work, therefore you are not making money, you are compensated!!

Sounds too good to be true? Well it is not!! There are several solar panel insurance policies out there that not only cover damages, but also if due to high wind the trackers on the solar panels lock up, in order to protect the investment by not letting the wind rip it apart, can cover the loss of income that may occur. Perhaps some damage has occurred to the panels from hail or some kid threw rocks at them, whatever the reason ,and the part you need comes from Sweden, but due to the truck strikes( not at all uncommon as you  know these days in Greece) the part will be here in 3 weeks.

So you are thinking, you mean for 3 weeks i will not be producing an income!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously this does not sound good.

So by doing a bit of research with you insurance agent, you can find out all the options that are out there and not just accept what they are telling you in your moment of need! Ask your insurance agent to find you the income protection policies that are out there!!

Now the policies the banks offer you may cover all the topics mentioned above. If so that is great!! How much does it cost? Make sure you make your investment pays YOU not others!!! Do what is best for YOU not others!!!! So ask your insurance agent, make him/her work for their commission and take advantage of the opportunity in making money in the glorious Green Energy Epoch we are living in!!!!

By knowing certain things about homeowner insurance you are able to save money and also protect your assets.

Here are 7 ways you can accomplish this

1)Make the agents work for your money!!

By this I mean contact your Insurance agent and make them find the best deal for you!!! Their Job is to please the client!!!YOU!! so the more companies they look at, the better the deal you will get.

2)Insure your home,car,boat,life etc with the same company.

By doing this you create more Leverage towards better deals. Companies Love to give discounts to faithful clients.Every asset you insure with a company creates these rewards that create cheaper insurance for you.

3)Tell your insurance agent about all the security you have

If you have a security door, an alarm system, security guards, whatever creates the sense of you trying  to keep your home, the asset the company wants to insure, safe this creates more discounts for you depending on the company. the job of your Insurance agent is to make sure you get the best deal you can.

4)Stay with the same insurance company for a length of time

Like I mentioned earlier, Insurance companies Love faithful customers!! The longer you stay with the same Insurance company the better the discounts you will receive for your devotion towards them!! So make sure you show your Love to the RIGHT Insurance company!!

5)Be aware you are not required to buy insurance from the bank giving you the loan to buy the house

Here in Greece like other countries Bank-assurance is catching on. This means that every time you walk into a bank for anything, they will try to do their job at the best of their ability and sell you some type of Bank-assurance product.

This means that when you ask for a loan they will try and convince you that you MUST by life insurance or home insurance from THEM. this is not TRUE. you have the right to buy it from the company that is best for you. They may try and tell you that you will not get the loan you want if you do not do this. But this is not TRUE.

As long as you fulfill their requirements for the loan you may get your life and home insurance that covers the loan from whoever you want!!!

So next time you go into a bank and you hear this relax, and think out your options before you sign anything. You may need the Loan , but THEY NEED YOUR BUSINESS!! So get what you want in the way it BENEFITS YOU!!

6)Do not over insure, know how much your home is worth

Make sure you know the current value of your home. This way the Agent will not under or over insure you.

Very important if something happens and you are not properly covered. Under insured means that when the disaster occurs you get less that what the house is worth.

Over insured means that when the disaster occurs you get what house is trully worth, but all the time you were over paying your insurance premium.

In both instances you loose money for no reason!!

7)Know that buying cheap is not always the best thing for your protection

In a country like Greece one should alway take into consideration earthquakes!! By not insuring for earthquakes you get a very cheap insurance premium.

The likelihood of one occurring is slim, but when it does happen you want to be covered. It is worth the extra money.Home insurance in Greece compared to other countries is very inexpensive. It not worth taking the risk of not making this investment.