There is little doubt that these are hard economic times. Banks and insurance companies are the highest recipients of federal bail-out money. And the Big Three auto makers aren't far behind. These times make the need to spend wisely and frugally top on the list of most businesses, small and large alike. Things like shopping for affordable business auto insurance is of greater and greater importance.
If a business is of a type that requires a vehicle fleet, it has a business relationship with a car company and a vehicle insurance company. But this year those relationships are going to change for more companies than ever before.
The Internet, with its ability to deliver instant quotes on business auto insurance, will do nothing but make it harder for things to stay the same. As much as some would like things to remain the same - they have changed and will never be the same.
With the recent scandal surrounding AIG, many businesses are wondering about the stability of their own risk management. Are the government bail-out programs going to help the business owner faced with huge bills for maintaining insurance on their fleets? Are vehicle insurance rates going to be affected by the financial and employment turmoil?
What about the small business owner, or the person who is in a job that allows them to take a deduction for their car expenses. What does this turmoil in the American auto industry and in the insurance mean for them? It means that there is opportunity and danger. Are you going to be purchasing or leasing a new vehicle? That only complicates the situation.
The changes being forced upon General Motors and Chrysler by the credit crisis will have the effect of dramatically lowering product loyalty. In consequence, truck and car buyers will, in many cases, be considering models they are unfamiliar with. While this type of action will be gut-wrenchingly disruptive for U.S. auto makers, it will similarly demand a change in process in the auto and truck buying and insurance decision process for business. The stability that product familiarity brings when it comes to business expenditures no longer exists in the area of vehicle replacement decisions.
Word from General Motors is that the company may go into Chapter 11 as of June 1st. Does this mean that you, as a small business owner, are going to have to reconsider your decades long attachment to General Motors automobiles and trucks? Will more expensive hybrid or fuel-saving features factor into the cost of insurance? Whichever decision you come to may boil down to ongoing insurance costs. The Internet is the only way to get the wide range of business auto insurance quotes that you are going to need as you do your due diligence.
