Primary Use
Primary use in auto insurance is nothing but the predominant usage pattern of a particular vehicle. What do you mainly use your car for? Is it the place where you spend more time than your home? Do you use it just for weekend road trips? Is the usage restricted to traveling down the street to pick up groceries? How is the car most often used? This is a standard question that the auto insurance company will require you to answer before they give out the insurance quotes. Motor insurance companies, in general, categorize primary usage into pleasure or commercial/official use or regular commuting when working out auto insurance quotes online. Secondary use, in auto insurance jargon, is when the vehicle is occasionally driven or simply used as a backup car.
Using your vehicle for pleasure implies that you predominately take off in it for fun with no regular commitment to traveling in it to and from work/school or for business calls. Commuting is when the vehicle is chiefly used for purposes of traveling to and from work or school. Business use states that the vehicle is bring majorly used for commercial purposes like sales calls, service delivery or any other business-related trips.
The lines between all three categories can be thin and hence slightly confusing. If for instance you drive to work twice a week, your usage pattern does not make you a regular commuter. Similarly, if you travel to and from work daily and also use your car for pleasure over the weekend; your primary use is that of a commuter.
There are more classes of usage apart from the common ones mentioned above and even within primary business use there are different levels of usage. The other classes can include cover for cab drivers or use on a garage court.
Generally, individuals who drive more miles are required to pay higher auto insurance premiums. This is because of a compelling logical argument that the more time you time in the car the higher are your chances of being involved in an accident and subsequently filing for a claim. Premiums are calculated by insurance companies on basis of perceived risks. A business user, for instance, is likely to spend more hours at the wheel on unfamiliar routes and peak traffic and is therefore at a greater risk than a person whose primary use is purely domestic. Hence the insurance premium is directly proportionate to your vehicle's primary use.
When requesting a car insurance quote online, it is crucial that individuals mention the right primary and secondary use of their vehicle. If you give out a wrong usage, chances are that your insurance company may not entertain a claim.