Students Of Success

There are three main types of car insurance available, starting with the cheapest and least common:

Third Party

This is the minimum level of insurance required by law - all drivers must take out at least this kind of policy. It covers damage caused to someone else’s car, or injury to them, in the event of an accident that is your fault. With this kind of insurance you won’t be able to claim for any injuries or losses sustained by yourself for any reason.

Third Party, Fire and Theft

This is a step above basic third party cover. If your car is stolen and not recovered, or destroyed by fire, you’ll be able to make a claim. You’ll still be insured against damage or injury to someone else in an accident blamed on you.

Comprehensive

With comprehensive insurance, you can claim for damage to your car even if the damage was caused in an incident that was your responsibility. This kind of insurance also covers the same things as third party, fire, and theft. Comprehensive cover usually allows you to drive someone else’s vehicle with their permission under 3rd party cover, though you should check your policy specifically for this.

Extra Features

So those are the basic kinds of insurance, but policies from different insurers can offer different extra features that you can take into account when choosing who to insure with. This is especially true of comprehensive policies, which can have quite a few added extras. When comparing policies you should bear in mind that nothing is ‘free’, no matter what the advertisments say. If you don’t need a specific feature, you might be able to get a lower price by getting a policy that doesn’t offer unnecessary frills.

No Claims Bonus

If your insurance cover includes a No Claims Bonus or No Claims Discount, then for every insured year that you don’t make a claim, your premiums will be reduced by a percentage, to reflect the fact that you’re showing you’re not a big risk to your insurance company. The discount will grow year by year until you hit the upper limit available, which is generally 60-70% depending on your insurer. If you make a claim, your bonus will usually be reduced, either back to it’s previous level or even cancelled completely.
Some policies offer a ‘no claims bonus for life’ option which locks your bonus at its current level, even if you make a claim. This can be a good option if you’ve already reached a maximum discount as this will be protected no matter what happens in the future. Finally on this topic, many insurers will allow you to transfer over your discount level built up on a policy from a different company. You’d obviously be less likely to switch insurance companies if it meant losing your discount, so this will be an option in almost all cases.

Named Drivers

You can also add named drivers onto your policy, so that they will be covered when driving your car. This is popular with parents, who often add their children who have just passed their driving test to their policies. Quite often this is the only economical way to get a new driver insured in today’s insurance market.

Courtesy Car

If your car needs repairing after an accident and is off the road, with this feature you’ll get free use of a hire car to keep you mobile until you get your own car back.

Windscreen Replacement

Broken windscreens will usually be replaced for free under a roadside assistance scheme, but if you don’t have that kind of cover or windscreens aren’t included, make sure you can get a free replacement from your insurance.

Audio equipment

If you plan to install expensive in-car audio equipment, check that the policy will cover replacing it if it’s stolen from your car. Some policies have limits on the value of audio equipment they are prepared to cover.

Roadside Assistance

Some policies come with an element of breakdown and recovery cover included, or will offer discounts on such cover. If you already have breakdown cover, you may find this saves you money by letting you cancel your separate policy.

George McGonigal
QuoteMeNow.biz

George is webmaster of an online insurance resource for Northern Ireland motorists and homeowners. We bring under one roof insurers who cover Northern Ireland that can offer online quotations to allow our visitors to compare rates in the comfort of their own homes. Visit Car Insurance Northern Ireland: for competitive insurance quotes online. Fast quotes for Home Insurance Northern Ireland: without obligation. Fast quotes for Motor Insurance Northern Ireland: from a panel of top insurers.

In American Society, people want only what is good for themselves, even if it’s not the best for someone else. Society has changed from the importance of family to the importance of me. Statistics on marriage and divorce show that Americans have gotten lazier and more self-absorbed. This may explain why the U.S. has the highest divorce rate and the highest rate of solo parenting in the Western world. People have the attitude, “If the marriage doesn’t work, I can get a divorce,” because it’s easier to fill out paperwork than to put in the time and effort to make the marriage work.

While there are many different reasons for divorce, a few are common: poor communication, financial issues, lack of commitment, infidelity and a change in priorities. With the exception of financial issues, the reasons point to the selfish attitude of one or more people in the relationship. Communication is only a problem when someone doesn’t want to listen. Commitment to the marriage requires work and compromise, words that are not found in the lazy, egotistical American dictionary. Sneaking out on a spouse to be fulfilled by someone else is not only dishonest, but selfish. People that cheat are looking for a quick fix to make themselves happier all while disregarding the feelings of their partner. Changing priorities is also a quick fix. People who give up on marriage feel that it can’t be changed for the better, so they concentrate on changing something else in their lives, like concentrating on work or a new hobby. Having something else to concentrate their energy on creates temporary happiness and a way to escape the troubles at home.

According to The State of Our Unions, 2005, marriages have declined 50% from 1970, because more people are choosing cohabitation, or living together without a legal commitment, over marriage. Marriage is being replaced by cohabitation because it requires less of a commitment. Cohabitating couples have twice the breakup rate of married couples because there is less reason to work on the relationship. With cohabitation people don’t have to worry about the legal repercussions of divorce and leaving is as easy as packing. Studies have proved that cohabitating before marriage increases the chances of divorce up to 85%, so even if live-in couples eventually marry, it is likely that they will divorce.

Parents don’t take the needs of their children into consideration over their own needs as often as they should. 40% of cohabitating couples bring children into the relationship, creating less stability for the children and teaching them that relationships don’t require commitment. Children from divorce are more likely to develop social problems and their grades are 20% lower than students living with both parents. The U.S. has the lowest number of children who grow up with both biological parents among Western nations, 63%.

Society should value family over the individual. The American attitude needs to be changed because commitment and responsibility are becoming second to personal needs. If people thought of “us” more then “me,” there would be more happy marriages. People need to accept that relationships take time and work, not only for themselves, but for the well-being of their children.

I’m a writing student who is graduating soon. Zephora41230@aol.com