Don’t put yourself at risk of financial burden by not having auto insurance for yourself or your teen drivers! Having auto insurance protects you and helps offset costs, should you be in a car accident. Use the following tips to pick the right auto insurance company to fit you or your teen driver’s needs.
You need to maintain a clean license. The number one cause of high premiums is a bad driving record. Many insurance companies reward drivers with poor records who attend a driving course.
When you are looking into car insurance you need to think about things like what kind of vehicle that you have. If you like the small, sporty cars your premium is going to be higher than if you had something like a truck. That’s because prices are based somewhat on what you paid for the vehicle but also how much it would cost to repair the vehicle. They even look at if it’s the type of vehicle that gets stolen a lot.
To save money on car insurance, consider raising your deductible. You’ll need to be able to pay for some repairs out of pocket, but if you’re comfortable doing so, you can see significant savings by raising your deductible from $250 to $500, and even more if you go to a $1000 deductible.
Check out your state’s minimum insurance guidelines, and follow them. Some states only require you to have liability coverage, but others require personal injury as well. Make sure you know your state’s practices so that you do not fail to meet them, and end up with a ticket for not having enough coverage.
If your car is not particularly valuable, go ahead and select the minimum amount of liability, when you purchase auto insurance. This is the bare-bones coverage legally mandated by your state. While minimum liability provides very limited financial assistance when you make a claim, your needs will probably be modest if your car is modest, too. Minimum liability coverage is the cheapest insurance that you can get.
Before deciding on an auto insurance policy, learn about what each of the options cover. You will be able to obtain great savings if you understand what you actually need in an auto insurance policy. Do you need the towing option? Or did your new car come with that option? Thoroughly study your policy before signing on the dotted line.
Do your best to keep a good credit score. Many insurance company will look up your credit history and this will influence your premium. You can improve your credit score by getting out of debt and build it up by applying for a few credit cards that you pay off regularly.
To get the best rate on your auto insurance, it is important to shop around, even if you are happy with your current insurance provider. If other companies are offering significantly lower rates for the same insurance coverage, then take that information back to your own provider and use it to negotiate a better rate.
Be sure to contact many different insurance providers for quotes. Have them explain the exact coverage that you will get for the price, this way you will be able to compare apples to apples. By comparing prices like this you can save yourself quite a bit of money, because different companies have different rating systems and they can offer surprisingly varying prices.
Insuring a young driver can be a harrowing – and expensive! – proposition. Many insurance companies offer “good student” discounts for young drivers; these should be taken advantage of whenever possible. Insurers reason that a dedicated student who excels in his or her classes is more likely to be a cautious driver. Smart insurance customers will cash in on this reasoning.
If possible, pay for your auto insurance in one lump sum. When you pay your insurance premiums monthly or quarterly, insurance providers can charge you an administration fee and interest on the money that you owe. The interest rate is also likely to be much higher than the interest rate you could get on a personal loan.
Avoid getting into accidents. This seems obvious, but many drivers don’t realize how much their rates can increase after an accident. If you are in a minor accident, consider not placing an auto insurance claim if you’ll end up paying most of the repair with your deductible anyway. The cost of the repair might be considerably less than the loss of your good driver discount or similar.
Don’t allow your teen or yourself to drive without auto insurance. Car accidents and car repairs can be incredibly expensive. Having auto insurance before something happens is important so you can protect you and your family from a financial struggle! Use the tips above to get auto insurance today!
