How To Save On Car Insurance

A

re You Still Paying Too         obligation quote. Write down
Much for Car Insurance?         their website address, their toll
                               free number, and customer service
Everyone who owns a car needs         email address.
auto insurance. This article will
give you some tips on lowering        Each insurance company will ask
your auto insurance costs. You        you generally the same questions,
will find a checklist of items to     and will give you options about
ask your insurance agent that may     how much coverage you will want.
qualify for discounts. Keep in        Find your current policy, if you
mind that not all discounts can       have one, and take note of the
be applied with all insurance         coverage you currently have.
companies in all states.              Always provide the same
                                      information and ask for the same
1. Shop Around                        coverage at each company so you
                                      will be comparing apples to
Go to your favorite search engine     apples. Read the fine print and
and type in "free car insurance       make sure nothing is excluded
quotes online". You'll see a long     from the quote like Rental car
list of insurance companies that      coverage, towing, medical, etc...
you may even be familiar with.
Visit at least five car insurance
websites and look for a link to       For the purposes of the quote,
free quotes. You will then be         the insurance company will not
asked basic information about         ask you your social security
yourself, your driving history,       number, but keep in mind your
and your car's make, model, and       actual cost maybe higher or lower
year. It just takes a couple of       depending on your credit history.
minutes, and shortly thereafter,      If you're not sure about some of
they will email you a no              the terminology or coverage, take

notes so that you can ask the         [ ] Air Bags
insurance company about them          [ ] Anti-Lock Brakes
directly.                             [ ] Daytime Running Lights
                                      [ ] Student Drivers with Good
Once you have at least five           Grades
quotes emailed to you, take the       [ ] Auto and Homeowners Coverage
lowest two or three quotes and        with the Same Company
see if they are less than what        [ ] College Students away from
you are paying now. Most likely       Home
at least one of them is much          [ ] Long-Time Customer
lower. At this point you will         [ ] Other Discounts
want to call them directly to get
the most accurate quote by            2. Saving Insurance Premium on
providing additional personal         cars you own outright.
information. For additional
discounts, here is a checklist of     If you own a clear title to your
things you should ask about.          car, meaning there is no bank
                                      loan on it, then you may want to
[ ] $500 deductible                   consider dropping the
[ ] $1,000 deductible                 collision/comprehensive coverage.
[ ] Paying monthly,                   As a rule of thumb, if the cars
semi-annually, or annually            value is less than $3000, it may
[ ] More than 1 car                   not make sense for you to pay for
[ ] No Accidents in 3 Years           this additional coverage. Over
[ ] No Moving Violations in 3         time, the cost of the additional
Years                                 insurance premium will exceed the
[ ] Driver Training Courses           value of the car. It's pretty
[ ] Defensive Driving Courses         simple math.
[ ] Anti-Theft Devices
[ ] Low Annual Mileage                Check the fair market value of

your car either through               Insurance Policies Together With
Edmunds.com or even your local        Your Auto Insurance
newspaper. See what other people
are trying to get for the same        Combining insurance policies with
car. Keep in mind your cars           the same company can often give
mileage, condition, and age. Has      you additional discounts. If you
it been in an accident before?        own a home, ask about combining
Does it have unusually high           your homeowners insurance with
mileage in excess of 15,000 miles     your auto insurance. Also ask
per year? Does it need new tires?     about other polices, such as
You get the idea. Be realistic,       life, health, and business
because in the event that this        insurance. Most insurance
car is in an accident and is          companies cover a wide range of
damaged beyond repair, it is          policies and will give
unlikely you will get the full        substantial discounts when you do
value of the car.                     business exclusively with them.

3. Ask About Insurance Rates in       5. A Clean Credit History Can
Different Areas                       Reduce Car Premiums:

Rates can vary widely even in the     Having good credit can also lower
same state. Different locals have     your insurance costs. Many
different accident rates,             insurance companies will use
population, and crime. These all      credit information to price auto
factor in to the final cost. If       insurance policies. Drivers with
you are moving to a different         good credit and a clean driving
area, ask about what the rates        record may qualify as a
are for that town.                    "preferred" customer with lower
                                      risk and will be rewarded with
4. Ask About Getting Other            lower premiums.

                                      drivers who work for certain
6. Low Mileage Discounts              companies or belong to
                                      professional associations, and
Some companies offer discounts to     alumni groups. Ask your employer,
drivers who drive a lower than        group or clubs that you belong to
average number of miles per year.     if they have any special
If you car pool, take public          arrangements with different
transportation like the subway,       insurance companies.
or work from home, you will most
likely drive few miles per year       Using all of these tips can save
than the average driver.              you hundreds of dollars per year,
                                      especially when you have multiple
7. Group Insurance                    cars and multiple drivers in the
                                      same household.
Some insurers offer discounts to

About the Author:

Robert Rogers is a writer in the Washington DC area and specializes in money saving techniques. For free online quotes on all types of insurance, visit http://valuesweb.com