But dad, do I HAVE to add emergency roadside assistance to my auto insurance policy?
Remember when your dad first handed you your car keys, then spent thirty minutes telling you what to do with them so you’d be so late there was no point in leaving anyway? And you always thought your father was a long wind! Regardless, parents have some valuable lessons to pass on to their kids, and one of those lessons is that you should never hit the friendly roads before you’ve added emergency roadside assistance services to your car insurance policy.
Before you pick up the phone and simply cancel your services on principle, sit back and relax. If you have emergency roadside assistance, you’re not only in good company, you’re also making a good decision. You never know when you’re going to find yourself stuck on the side of the interstate in the middle of the night because your starter decided to blow, and the last thing you want is to be dependent on a stranger for a ride. the nearest gas station to call a tow truck.
If emergency roadside assistance is part of your auto insurance policy, you won’t have to worry about it. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call your auto insurance provider and they will send a tow truck for you. And because adding this roadside protection service is often cheaper than, say, getting busted by the police for riding 80 on a 55, you can enjoy that peace of mind without your bank account paying the price.
Of course you knew that. Your dad gave you that spiel the day he sent you off to college. What you probably didn’t know is that your auto insurance provider’s emergency roadside assistance service could be redundant. You may already be paying for emergency services and not even know it!
How is that possible?
1) Many organizations offer the option of an emergency roadside assistance service as a standard part of their membership plans.
2) Some companies, like AT&T, offer emergency roadside assistance as part of their general service packages, and the amount they charge can be so small that without a quick glance you wouldn’t even notice it.
3) There are a number of companies, such as AAA, that specialize in emergency roadside assistance services, and many drivers purchase this decision for themselves (and their children) as soon as they start driving.
Why does that matter? For starters, you don’t want to have to pay for dual roadside assistance services. That just takes a bite out of a budget that has undoubtedly already been stretched further than you’d like it to be. Not to mention the fact that removing this service from your insurance plan puts you on the fast track to cheap car insurance; It may not cost much to buy emergency services from your insurance provider, but when you’re trying to cut the fat off your policy, every little bit helps.
So the next time you decide to shop around for car insurance quotes, take what your dad told you into account and find out if emergency roadside assistance services are part of your insurance provider’s standard operating package.