Medicare Supplement – Insurance Quotes

If you live in an urban area, owning a vehicle is usually both expensive as well as a headache. Getting a parking spot may rival finding Osama Bin Laden in its difficulty. Paying for car parking can leave a major hole in your wallet. Due to the sheer quantity of drivers on the highway, auto insurance charges are usually larger in big cities. Fuel economy suffers during city driving because of the relatively slow speeds and frequent stops. As a result, many city dwellers are saying no thank you to car ownership and counting on other options. Mass transit continues to be a vital choice, however a relatively new concept is taking over in some U.S. metropolitan areas: car sharing.

According to CarSharing.net, at the beginning of 2010 there were 27 vehicle sharing programs in the U.S., helping 388,000 members and sharing 7,500 automobiles. They go by names such as Zipcar, Car2go, City CarShare, and Community Car. The programs impose a yearly membership fee and may charge an application fee; Zipcar, for example charges a $50 annual fee and a $25 application fee in the Washington, D.C. area. Another charge applies for every use of an automobile (for example, $30 for a four-hour reservation), which covers fuel, insurance, and a given number of miles.

The types of individuals likely to utilize a car sharing program include:

* Those who usually make use of public transportation but who need their own vehicle on occasion

* Those who own one car and from time to time require a second

* People who own cars but occasionally require a bigger automobile

* People who do not want to purchase an automobile but could spend the money for membership fees

* Individuals who want to steer clear of the annoying aspects of car ownership, such as maintenance, costs, as well as storage costs

* Naturalists concerned about the air pollution that goes along with vehicle ownership

A person using a vehicle sharing service takes risks similar to those she would take while driving a rental car. She may have legal liability for injuring someone or harming another’s property while using the car. She may suffer injuries in an accident, leading to medical expenses as well as forfeited income. She may wreck the vehicle and become responsible for repair costs. The car sharing service offers liability insurance coverage, however the borrower has no assurance that the amount of insurance will be enough to pay all the damages. Also, that insurance coverage may not apply if she allows an unauthorized individual to drive, such as a “designated driver” during a night around town. If she does not own a vehicle, she should buy a named nonowner auto insurance policy, that’ll cover liability, medical, and uninsured or underinsured motorist losses in addition to what the vehicle sharing service’s plan provides. Additionally, some umbrella policies may cover damage to a borrowed car if the vehicle sharing service’s policy won’t pay. A professional broker can identify insurance companies that provide these types of insurance coverages as well as make clear the differences in coverage as well as cost associated with the different policies.

For individuals living in areas where it’s available, vehicle sharing can be a really sensible substitute for owning a car. Like any special service, it carries particular risks. However, by making some simple arrangements in advance, drivers can benefit from these types of services and be reassured that they’ve constrained their financial risks.

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