What Do I Need To Know When Buying Car Insurance

What Do I Need To Know When Buying Car Insurance

Female Car BuyingCar insurance is one of the necessary evils of modern life. You pay a substantial amount of money each month to the insurance company, and if you are like most people, you have not had an accident or made a claim in years. Yet when you do suddenly find yourself involved in a collision, the insurance premiums you’ve been forking over all these years will finally pay off.

The advent of the Internet has raised the level of competition between insurance companies. Because you can now sit at home in your bathrobe and compare rates and coverage between companies, they are under more pressure to offer competitive deals. So why not leverage the Internet’s potential to help you save time, save money, and find the best auto insurance coverage?

First, let’s be clear about the fact that auto insurance is required by law in most states―it’s not optional. If you drive a car, you must have auto insurance. So you need to find out what the law requires in your jurisdiction when it comes to how much auto insurance coverage you need to maintain. Print out your state’s requirements, and save that information for the next step in the process.Car Insurance

Because insurance prices are all based on statistics, the prices each of us pays varies wildly. Things like the driver’s age, years of driving experience, what neighborhood the car is usually parked in overnight, the make and model of the car, what kind of safety features the car has, and whether or not you have antitheft devices installed―all of these variables will factor into the price you’ll pay for the particular level of coverage you choose.

Before you get too far into shopping for insurance, you might want to order a copy of your driving record. In much the same way that your credit rating determines what kind of interest rate you’ll get when you are applying for financing, you’re driving record will influence your insurance rate.

When you get your driving record, take a look at it to make sure that it is current and accurate. You would not want an error on your driving record to keep you from getting the best rate possible.

What Can Influence Your Rates

Because insurance prices are all based on statistics, the prices each of us pays varies wildly. Things like the driver’s age, years of driving experience, what neighborhood the car is usually parked in overnight, the make and model of the car, what kind of safety features the car has, and whether or not you have antitheft devices installed―all of these variables will factor into the price you’ll pay for the particular level of coverage you choose.

Before you get too far into shopping for insurance, you might want to order a copy of your driving record. In much the same way that your credit rating determines what kind of interest rate you’ll get when you are applying for financing, you’re driving record will influence your insurance rate.

When you get your driving record, take a look at it to make sure that it is current and accurate. You would not want an error on your driving record to keep you from getting the best rate possible.

What Coverage Do You Need?

Your state sets forth the minimum liability coverage you must maintain. But these are just the legal minimums and might not give you the coverage you need. You’ll have to decide what you want to buy beyond these minimums. Keep in mind that you are looking to find the balance between having adequate coverage and overpaying.cheap insurance

According to Consumer Reports, a general guideline for adequate bodily injury liability limits is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, plus $100,000 for property damage. These amounts are what your insurer will pay to someone you are in an accident with. For uninsured motorist coverage, you should get the same amount as for bodily injury liability, as this covers your medical costs when someone who is not insured hits you.

Which Insurance Companies Cost More?

So which insurance companies actually cost more than others? Like the report indicates, your state set the standards and the insurance companies use statistics, your zip code and the type of vehicle you driver along with whether or not you have safety features on your car or you drive an older model with less safety devices installed.

I found an independent study made up of several different types of driver’s consisting of male and female, ranging from 23 to 75 years of age. They all had excellent driving records and good credit scores. The study was based on the states where the top Insurance Companies are the market leaders.

Here is how they stacked up..

Allstate Insurance priced out at $1,570.00.

Progressive ranked #2 at $1,414.00

Geico came in at #3 $1,177.00

State Farm took the #4 spot at $1,147.00

USAA saved the most at $847.00.

As you can see, comparing companies with the exact same coverage can really save you money. Progressive prides itself as the company that can save you up to $500.00 by switching. Great advertising can pay off, that is if you listen to Flo, but the truth is, it isn’t really true, is it?

Did you know that your premiums are also based on how much risk you are willing to tolerate. True. Some of these companies use what is called price optimization.  the practice—which isn’t allowed in California, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington for car insurance—uses data about you and statistical models to gauge how likely you are to shop around for a better price. Will you put up with a $100 increase? Yes? How about $200? So what is this based on?

But according to Bob Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), who has studied price optimization, those models can also take into account measures that seem to be unrelated to car insurance. They include the number of iPhones and beers you have purchased, or whether you’re sticking with Verizon FiOS when DirectTV might be cheaper.

During this study, Amica Mutual and State Farm were contacted and stated they do not use price optimization. Representatives from Allstate, Geico, Progressive, and USAA declined to discuss price optimization. Well I guess that speaks for itself.

So as you can see, comparing prices and shopping for Car Insurance really can save you money. If you listen to the TV ads, you might just pay more for your car insurance.car-liability-chart1

So How Do I get the best rate

  • Good driving record: Many auto insurers offer discounts to drivers who have not made a claim, haven’t been in an accident, or haven’t received a traffic ticket in three years.
  • Good grades: Young drivers can get discounts for maintaining a B average or better in school.
  • Driver’s education: Some insurance companies offer a discount for drivers who complete a driver’s education or driver’s safety course.
  • Multiple policies: Some insurance companies offer discounts if you have two or more policies with them.
  • Safety equipment: Equipment such as antilock brakes and antitheft devices can get you a discount.
  • Longtime policy holder: If you have kept your policy with an insurer for several years, ask about a discounted premium.
  • Higher deductibles: A higher deductible usually means lower premiums.

Supplemental Coverage

You can always supplement your policy with specific protections (for a higher premium, of course). For example, many motorists get comprehensive and collision coverage. Comprehensive pays out when your car is damaged or lost due to causes other than an accident, such as vandalism, theft, or weather. Collision coverage will pay to repair your own car if you hit something.

These options typically come with your choice of deductible, usually $250 to $1,000. This is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in; the higher the deductible, the lower the premium you’ll pay for this type of coverage.

Additional options include rental reimbursement coverage, which pays for a rental car while your car is in the shop being repaired. Roadside assistance coverage will pay to have your vehicle towed. Keep in mind that if you already have an auto club membership, you do not need this additional coverage.

Happy Shopping.

 

Reference: ConsumerReports, DMV.org.

 

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