Auto Maintenance: Benefits of Keeping the Car in Shape

4 Things You Should Know About Your Roadside Assistance Coverage

25 November 2015 by Brent Porter

Most insurance companies provide roadside assistance coverage for their customers. This is a way to help their drivers get out of a messy situation quickly to help prevent further damages. For example, if your vehicle has broken down on the side of the road, your roadside assistance service will arrive quickly to ensure that you towed safely off the side of the road, which can prevent a potential car accident if another driver were not paying attention and crashed into your idle car. Here are four things that you should know about this type of coverage:

1. ​When to Use: Most roadside assistance coverages allow you to use the services at any time of day or night. You can use the services whenever you need towing services, need to change a flat tire, have been locked out of your car, or are stuck in a ditch. Knowing all the services that your roadside assistance covers, you can better understand when you can call the professionals instead of trying to get a friend or family member help you out. 
2. ​The Costs: The costs for having roadside assistance coverage varies depending on your car insurance company. You may also pay more every year for the coverage if you have more drivers included on your insurance policy. However, the cost of this coverage is typically significantly lower than the cost of other additional coverages on your insurance policy. 
3. Towing Distance: With roadside assistance coverage, there are limits on how far you can be towed and receive coverage for it. For example, some insurance companies will cover only up to a certain dollar amount and some will only cover up to a certain number of miles. It's important that you know how much your insurance provider will cover so you can determine what your out-of-pocket expenses will be if you have to be towed further than what is covered. 
4. How it Affects Insurance Rate: Many people worry that by using their roadside assistance coverage, their insurance rates will be affected. However, this is rarely the case. Since using roadside assistance is such a small claim, insurance companies won't often raise your insurance rate for using it. Also, there are usually no limits on how many times you can use the roadside assistance, so you don't have to worry about whether or not you have already used it too much. 

By knowing these four things about roadside assistance, you can better understand how much help you can receive from it without consequence. To learn more, speak with a representative of a company like Ski Country Shell & Towing.

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