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One of the reasons people think insurance is expensive because they don't always understand their coverage. This ignorance leads to double coverage, which is expensive. Here are a few tips on how you can avoid double insurance in different situations:

Rental Car Insurance

When renting a car within the country, the rental company is likely to offer you its insurance package as well. However, you should first confirm if you really need it because, in many cases, you don't. For example, if you have regular car insurance, then it's possible that the coverage extends to your rental car. Apart from your regular insurer, your credit card company may also have some coverage for you.

Even if you do need the insurance, like if you don't own a car or need additional coverage, it might not be wise to buy it from a rental company. This is because rental companies are not competing with other insurers (their main business is renting cars), which means their insurance premiums tend to be high.

Towing Coverage

Some professional associations offer towing coverage for their members. As long as you are registered member of such an association, it doesn't make sense to purchase towing coverage from our regular car insurer. The towing benefit offered by the association benefit may see "free," but that isn't exactly the case if you are paying membership fees.

Gap Coverage

Gap insurance is meant to cover the difference between what you owe your car financier and the cars actual value. If you don't have it and your car is totaled in an accident, then you only get money worth the value of the car when it crashed, which may be less than what you owe on it.

Gap insurance is offered by different financial companies such as credit unions, as well as insurers. Therefore, you need to confirm whether your lender included it in your loan package before buying it from your insurance company.

Medical Insurance

Duplicate insurance isn't unique to the auto insurance industry. If you have been paying for private medical insurance, then you should check that you are not paying for double insurance if your employment status changes. Many employers also offer good insurance coverage for their employees that render basic insurance unnecessary. For example, the government covers the same risks that your basic insurance covers if you join the military.

Another example is that of studying abroad; your new college may require you to purchase coverage in your host country. In that case, it doesn't make sense to keep paying for insurance back at home.

When trying to eliminate double insurance, take care not to leave yourself exposed. There are always terms and conditions that you should read and familiarize yourself with before deciding that you don't need coverage because you are already covered. These are things that you can learn about by consulting an experienced insurance agent.  For more information, contact a company like CDS Insurance Services.