A green car was driving over 70 mph on a stretch of highway that is posted with a speed limit of 60. The driver was passing through from another state where the speed limit is 75. The highway patrolmen pulled him over and because the driver had previous tickets, they decided to arrest him. The driver of the green car had just lost his job and could not afford to post bond. Fortunately, he was a member of an auto club that could post a bond certificate and provide insurance to cover the member's attorney's fees.
The above story had a happy ending. Without the help of the driver's auto club, it could easily have been a disastrous situation. Memberships in auto clubs, prepaid legal plans and other associations can provide valuable, useful services to their members.
There are many different auto clubs, associations and prepaid legal plans to choose from. These organizations are usually affordable to most ordinary people. When choosing an auto club make sure you know and understand exactly what they cover before you subscribe to their services. Do they cover tows for 5 or ten miles? Will they bring you gas? If so, who pays for it? Some auto clubs do not provide bond service if you are ever arrested for a traffic violation.
Prepaid legal plans are considered by some consumers to be a waste of money. Membership costs can range from $12.00 to over $27.00 a month for a prepaid legal plan. If you've ever been arrested, have a custody case in court or need a will prepared then prepaid legal plans are a useful service for you. Carefully compare the costs of coverage and services provided under these plans before you consider purchasing one. The services that are not actually included in the plans themselves are usually covered under their discounted services benefits. All of the plans that I've reviewed have a discounted services benefit.
Identity theft insurance is a growing benefit of many organizations. Auto clubs and prepaid legal plans are beginning to include identity theft coverage in their membership plans.
AARP(Association of Retired Persons), unions, trade organizations and auto clubs all provide the above services as part of their memberships or allow members discounts for these special services.
They can often cost a consumer $300.00 to $400.00 dollars a year. Like insurance, they may never be used or needed. They can also be a lifesaving safety net if you've lost your job, need a tow, need an attorney or have your identity stolen.
To get the best value for your money, should you decide on purchasing these services, investigate companies, unions and trade organizations that you belong to or would like to join and find-out if they provide these services for members ,and if so, how many of them can you include for one low price? Creating a safety net can be costly, but so is insurance for your health or car and they may never be used either.
