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Good Maintenance Benefits Your Car and Your Insurance

30 September 1999

Good Maintenance Benefits Your Car and Your Insurance

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- One of the best things automobile
owners can do for their cars is maintain them as conscientiously as possible.
Not only will the car perform much better in the long run, but the practice
may help the owner with an insurance claim some day.
    According to the Car Care Council, in 1998, 83 percent of the vehicles
checked needed repairs or maintenance of some kind. This included 32 percent
with inadequate cooling system protection, 28 percent with low or dirty engine
oil, 23 percent with low tire pressure, 21 percent with bad belts and 20
percent with dirty air filters.
    "It's important to follow the owner's manual when it comes to routine
maintenance," said John Zinno, assistant vice president for Government
Employees Insurance Company (GEICO), the nation's sixth-largest private
passenger auto insurer.  "If a policyholder has mechanical breakdown coverage,
it will help when settling a claim if the car owner can provide a service
record of the work done to the car along with repair receipts.
    "Policyholders can perform the work themselves provided it meets the
manufacturers' recommendations," Zinno noted, "or they can pay a professional
to do the work. The most important factor is maintaining the vehicle to the
manufacturer's recommendations."  He added, "Service records may be requested
for review if the cause of a breakdown is believed to be service related."
    Zinno said that maintaining a car's fluids is the most important upkeep
policyholders can perform, but it's not the only thing.  "The owner's manual
will tell you exactly what has to be checked and when it should be done."
    The Car Care Council sponsors National Car Care Month each October, during
which safety and emissions tests are offered free of charge throughout the
country.
    GEICO uses television, radio, print media and direct mail to attract
customers to call its 1-800- 841-3000 number, and keeps its rates low by
dealing directly with the customer. GEICO offers sales and claim services 24
hours a day, seven days a week, and is the largest direct marketer of auto
insurance. It insures more than 3.7 million policyholders and over 6 million
automobiles. For more information go to http://www.geico.com.
    GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) and its affiliates GEICO
General, GEICO Indemnity and GEICO Casualty companies insure private passenger
automobiles and provide homeowner and other types of insurance for qualified
applicants. The companies market collectively under the trademark GEICO
Direct.