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Think you know your car insurance coverage inside and out? You're probably fooling yourself. According to a recent survey by Insurance.com, consumers who said they had an "excellent" understanding of their policy actually scored the lowest when quizzed about their car coverage with an average score of 26 percent.

Not that the less-confident among us are doing that much better.

When divided into subgroups by age, gender, geographical region, or self-described expertise, no group scored higher than 39 percent on the Insurance.com quiz. Across all test takers, the average score of 32 percent earned the equivalent of an "F" for everyone.

Those weren't essay questions they had to answer, either: We're talking about 10 multiple-choice questions here.

Slicing and Dicing the Results

There were 500 drivers who answered the 10 multiple-choice questions.

So who scored the best on the quiz overall? It certainly wasn't those who said they read their entire policy. They actually scored a quite low 28 percent, on average.

The people who nailed the quiz -- relatively speaking, with a still unimpressive average of 35 percent -- were those who said they had never read their policy at all.

Here's how results shook out based on gender, age and geography:

    The average score for women was 35 percent, compared to an average of 27 percent for men.
    Drivers ages 40 to 70 scored the highest, at an average of 39 percent, compared to young drivers age 18 to 29, who only got 24 percent of the answers correct.
    Drivers in the South scored highest with an average of 34 percent. Drivers in the Northeast scored the lowest with an average of 29 percent, while those in the West scored 32 percent and drivers in the Midwest averaged 31 percent.



Test Yourself

Just two percent of test-takers got this one right:

"What does comprehensive coverage pay for?" (Select all that apply)

    Damage to my car if I crash it
    Damage to my car if an object falls on it, like a tree
    Damage to my car if I hit an animal, like a deer
    Damage to my car from a flood
    Property damage to others if I cause a crash
    Injuries to passengers in my own car
    Theft of my car


About half of those who took the quiz (55 percent) got this one:
"If your car is totaled, what does gap insurance pay for?" (Select One)

    The difference between the "actual cash value" of the vehicle and the amount owed on a car loan
    The difference between the "actual cash value" of the vehicle and the amount you paid for the car
    The difference between the amount owed on a car loan and the amount your paid for the car


More people (71 percent) knew the answer to:
"If a friend borrows your car and crashes it, whose insurance pays?" (Select One)

    Your friend's insurance
    Your own insurance

Curious to see how you'd fare? Take the test yourself here to see how your score compares.

Worried about what will happen to your car insurance premiums after you get caught committing a minor traffic violation? If you aren't getting traffic tickets frequently, then the results of a new study by InsuranceQuotes.com -- owned by Bankrate.com (RATE) -- may ease your mind.

According to the study, in which drivers answered questions about their histories and premiums, most drivers, regardless of age, aren't paying more for car insurance after getting a traffic ticket.

    Only 31 percent of Americans who received a traffic ticket in the past five years saw their rates go up as a direct result. Of those 31 percent, most paid less than $100 more a year.
    Younger drivers, ages 18 to 29, were more likely to have a higher increase after a ticket, and 41 percent said they paid more as a result of a violation.
    32 percent of 30-to-49-year-olds and 15 percent of drivers over the age of 50 also paid a slight increase.

However, drivers with a history of repeated violations, or significant violations -- including driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, and reckless driving -- almost always were charged higher premiums.

The nonprofit Insurance Information Institute says increases in insurance premiums will depend on the type of moving violation.

For example, going fewer than five miles an hour over the speed limit is considered a minor violation, and could result in a 5 percent to 10 percent premium increase. Going more than 30 miles an hour over the limit, or committing reckless driving offenses like passing illegally, failing to stop, and tailgating can lead to premium increases of up to 15 percent. Just how much will depend on the state the insurance policy was issued in, the driver's record, and the insurance carrier.



Steer clear of Future Increases

Drivers with one minor moving violation can work to ensure their premiums don't go up by avoiding a second ticket, attending traffic safety courses, and keeping all registrations and inspections up to date.

Also, some states have forgiveness rules. In New Jersey, for instance, carriers aren't allowed to raise rates for the first two-point speeding ticket (in most cases). And some insurers will forgive a minor violation for drivers with an otherwise clean driving history. Allied Insurance forgives one minor violation every three years without a rate increase, for instance. Nationwide offers an optional Minor Violation Forgiveness policy. Liberty Mutual and Progressive also offer customers similar options.

The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation offers a guide to accident forgiveness that can be useful for drivers nationwide.

All drivers, regardless of the number of accidents they've been in, can save money on car insurance by bundling policies, comparing rates regularly, and asking their existing provider for loyalty discounts and other price reductions they might qualify for.

Motley Fool contributor Molly McCluskey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our newsletter services free for 30 days. You can follow Molly on Twitter @MollyEMcCluskey.

Claims adjusters are checking your Facebook and Twitter, looking for reasons to deny your claim

 

 

What you Tweet can and will be used against you in a court of law.

That's what insurance attorneys are saying when it comes to social networking and car accidents: By no means should you be Facebooking, Instagramming, Pinteresting, LinkedIn-ing or otherwise socially broadcasting details at the scene of the accident.

"Checking social media accounts has become one of the first things an insurance company or adjuster will do when you file a claim," Frank Darras, an insurance attorney in Ontario, Calif., told the automotive information and pricing provider Edmunds.com in an interview published last week.

Darras and other lawyers who represent people fighting insurance companies who deny claims say that in recent years it has become an industry standard for claims adjustors to sift through publicly available content of their customers, seeking out any information that might build a case for them to deny claims or lower payouts.

In some cases the claims adjustors find outright fraud based on Facebook or Twitter posts that contradict details given on claims reports. For example, someone might file a hit-and-run with the insurer but then post contradictory details on Facebook admitting fault.

But insurers go even further. They scour claimants' social networks for clues to driving habits. Post a ton of drifting videos on your profile? It could hint that you're a fan of reckless driving. Post on Foursquare a photo of yourself in a bar parking lot, it could suggest a penchant for drinking and driving. Even bad reviews on eBay could provide hints about the type of person you are.

While a lot of this content doesn't necessarily provide definitive proof of insurance fraud, the material can be used in court in the event of a legal battle, especially in cases involving personal injury.

Jaclyn S. Millner, an attorney at Fitch, Johnson, Larson & Held, P.A., and Gregory M. Duhl, associate professor of law at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., pointed out to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in a report last year that investigating social networking content that's not protected with privacy settings is not considered an ethical breach.

Furthermore, while ethical codes prevent attorneys and their investigators from clandestine "friending" of targets in order to access content protected by privacy settings , these ethical codes do not extend to investigators not hired by attorneys or by insurance companies themselves. As long as attorneys representing insurance companies do not instruct non-attorney investigators to try to access private content by successfully initiating contact with the target, then any content behind privacy settings may be used in any legal proceedings.

Because of employers' increased scrutiny of social networks, people have started managing their public profiles more carefully. Now that insurance claims adjustors are making it standard operating procedure to scour the Web for reasons to deny claims, people have more reason to be more discreet with the content they share.