Car Insurance
Don't Get Taken for a Ride by your Insurer
October 29, 1997

It was my fault. I admit it.

Actually it was my dog's fault. But since I was driving when she tried to hurl her little body out of the driver's side window, I accept full responsibility for rear-ending the car that was in front of us at the time.

And what was I responsible for? A body shop bill for $2,600 that went on for 5 pages.

But I had insurance! I was safe. I had been driving for 20 years with nary a blemish on my record. Surely the god of good drivers would protect me and smooth my path.

Ha! Was I in for a shock. Who was looking out for me again? Not the body shop -- they were too busy salivating. Not the insurance company -- they were too busy trying to force the body shop into using refurbished parts. Not even my roommate -- all she did was to offer to take the dog to the pound.

What I know now, as I finally pick up my car three weeks after the accident, I wish I knew then. But you, lucky reader, get to reap the benefits of my newfound wisdom in this week's Family Fool look at car insurance.

--Take our Foolish Quiz to find out how far you would go to get cheap insurance.

-- Are You Paying Twice for Your Car? Insurance is expensive. Are you paying too much for coverage that you don't even need? Here's how to figure out what you need and what you can do without.

-- Our 10 Foolish Money Savers looks at ways to make your car insurance cheaper without having to move to Peoria.

-- Do you have a teen driver in your family? Play Dough looks at creative ways Family Fool readers have been handling having their kids at the wheel.

-- And finally, this week in Stock-In-Trade we have a perennial favorite, Berkshire Hathaway, owner of GEICO Insurance.

Insurance is there to protect you. Be Foolish and make sure you know how to protect yourself from your insurance company!

--Trudy Hoyden (TMF Hoyden)

(c) Copyright 1997, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool.