| Low Car Insurance Rates |
| By Credit Federal |
Published
07/15/2008
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Insurance
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Free Tips on How to Get Low Car Insurance Rates
Car insurance rates are determined by several factors, some which you can control and some which you cannot. Age; for example, cannot be controled, and perhaps neither can location depending upon your employment. Yet there are other big rate factors which you can control.
Here are free tips on how to get low auto insurance rates:
- Number one is your driving record. Parking fines, speeding tickets, DUI and at-fault accidents will categorize the driver as a high risk and subject to higher insurance rates. Lower rates go to law-abiding, safe drivers.
- Another way to get lower car insurance rates is to increase your deductible. By agreeing to share a higher portion of the liability with your car insurance company by raising your deductible from $200 to $500, you could reduce the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage by up to 30%. Increasing your deductible to $1,000 could lower your premium by 40% or more. Of course this means if you need to file a claim, your share will be larger so you should bank the extra savings until you obtain the higher deductible amount.
- Seek discounts. Many car insurers provide discounts, such as for people over the age of 50, military personnel, and so forth. For younger drivers, many insurers offer discounts for teen students with good grade averages. And even more offer discounts to drivers who have completed a defensive driving course.
- If you are part of a car pool or ride the bus to work, ask your insurer for a low mileage discount. Be prepared to submit documents of proof.
- Vehicles with the best safety ratings also have the lowest insurance rates. If you don't know which cars or trucks those are, ask your car insurance agent. There are many factors, such as repair costs, if it's prone to theft and its safety record. For crashworthiness ratings, visit the website for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (iihs.org).
- Shop around for rates, but don't wait until your current policy expires. Be sure you get a new policy in force before you terminate your current policy or before you allow it to lapse. Many insurers provide an early shopping discount of up to 12%, because they view someone searching for a new policy ahead of time as being a responsible consumer, as opposed to someone who's in trouble with their current insurer.
- Keep insurance active and in force. Insurance companies view people who operate a vehicle without insurance as a high risk, and once again high risk equates to high premiums.
To see if there have been complaints against car insurance companies in your state, visit the consumer website for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (insureuonline.org).
Want a cheaper car or one with better gas mileage? Get a good or bad credit auto loan quote for a new or used auto, or an auto refinance loan quote. Options for getting money for an auto down payment.
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