Importance of Insurance Winter Snow Crash Ice Storms Car Insurance Illinois Midwest Road Conditions

You can’t always prevent an accident, especially when the roads are icy.

If you habitually run late, chances are, that’s not a seasonal condition. Driving in a hurry is always dangerous but it’s much more so when there is snow and ice present on the road. This may seem obvious…but the evidence is plentiful that even when drivers can see banks of snow and sheets of ice, they don’t always drive with enough caution to prevent an accident. Spinning out of control on a slippery spot of road is a common hazard and the end result may be up to more than nothing more than luck. Are you going to hit a tree? Skid to a stop? Collide with another car? Are you going to lose your vehicle or your life?

The Midwest experienced record snowfall during the 2009 holiday season, and right behind it was an arctic blast of cold temperatures. This has been a hard winter for most of the country. There will be many consequential effects from harsh seasonal weather and one of those will be the rise in car accidents. Here are a few examples of what’s already happened to average drivers this year:

• Betty bought her dream car in the fall: a 95 Mustang, cherry red. She didn’t think it needed snow tires…her previous cars were not built for the easy speed a Mustang has. One curvy, iced road while driving after dark later…and Betty’s car slid down the embankment, hitting a boulder head-on. Fortunately, she wasn’t injured seriously; her car was totaled.
• Jake was driving his Pathfinder to work, 60 miles an hour on a road that seemed clear. Black Ice is dangerous that way: you can’t see it. He spun out of control, hitting a tree. His Pathfinder is barely recognizable: it’s a heap of twisted metal and tires. Jake sustained several bone injuries and lost many weeks of work.
• Steve learned what happens when the wind blows a snow drift into the roadway, over a hill where you can’t see it ahead of time. He hit the drift going about 55mph. His car made several spins before settling hard into the ditch: ejecting him out of his car over 70 feet. He’s had multiple surgeries and is still in a wheelchair.

These were all people going about their normal, ordinary routines until driving in winter weather changed the course of their lives. Fortunately they all survived their accidents; many others did not. Fortunately as well, they all had car insurance. But note the sudden randomness of these accidents: these drivers all lost control of their cars. It would have been a reasonable expectation that they could have just as easily hit another car rather than a tree, ditch, or boulder. When you leave for work in the morning, you have no way of knowing if that is the day you are going to hit an uninsured motorist or total your own car in a single-car accident.

Are you ready?

You first need to decide if you want liability coverage or full coverage, which is mandatory if you owe any money on your car. Additional medical coverage is optional. Liability coverage will pay for any bodily injury to the driver or other party and property damage to their car. It will cover you in the event you are hit and sustain bodily injury by an uninsured motorist. Full coverage will:

• Pay for vehicle damage or loss that is caused by collision with another vehicle or object (Collision), by fire, theft, vandalism, windstorms, hail, ice, snow, falling objects, etc (Comprehensive).
• Pays for repair to your vehicle after you meet your deductible.
• Can cover the cost of a rental car while the vehicle is being repaired (if you opt for Rental coverage in your policy). · Full Coverage can also include reimbursement for towing.

The Bank or Financial Institution who you (the insured) are financing your vehicle through will require to be listed on the physical damage policy. This is so that in the event something happens to your vehicle, and it is considered a total loss, they will get paid for the value of the car, less the deductible. They will apply the check from the insurance company towards your loan balance and any remainder they will give to you.

Having car insurance is the law. Reviewing your policy and making sure you have coverage is not only good preparation for driving in winter conditions; dangerous accidents can occur in warm rain storms as well. If you haven’t reviewed your coverage lately, take a look and see if you have the protection you need in the event of an unexpected emergency. The experts at The Illinois Insurance Center can help customize the best policy for you and get you the best price possible. Contact us for a no-obligation quote, and enjoy our professional services.