As a savvy consumer, you know that it pays to do your homework and shop around for car insurance. Below are some tips that could help you save money and make the right insurance choice.
Do your research
Did you know that the cost for an identical car insurance policy can vary by hundreds of dollars every six months? Review your coverage. Shop around. You could visit car insurance company Web sites, or sites that give you rates for a number of companies. Keep your policy on hand while you're visiting car insurance Web sites, so you can make a fair comparison. Most sites will save your insurance quotes, but you can also print them if you want to review them offline.
Stay with a leader
Visit A.M. Best, and Standard & Poor's for information on the financial strength of various car insurance companies. See what benefits and features they offer? At progressive.com, you can learn about vehicle safety, view crash test videos, or use our calculators to determine repair costs.
Five Ways to Save Money on Your Car Insurance
1. Shop Around
This is the single most important thing you can do to get the best possible rate. A study by Progressive shows that the cost of a six-month
policy for the same driver with the same coverages varies from company to company by more than $500. It's smart to review your coverage and shop around occasionally.
2. Don't Carry Excess Coverage
Insurance companies only pay claims equal to a car's actual cash value or market value, so comprehensive and collision coverage may not be worth keeping on an older car that has depreciated. It is generally recommended that you consider dropping collision coverage after four years, or when the collision premium equals ten percent of the car's market value. Understand that by doing so, you will not be covered for damages to your car if it overturns or collides with another object.
3. Raise Your Deductible
According to the Insurance Information Institute, raising your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce your collision and comprehensive cost by 15 to 30 percent.
At first glance, choosing the right auto insurance may seem like a complicated choice. With all of the auto insurance companies out there, how do you know which one is right for you? There are some basic concepts that help you in choosing the right auto insurance company. With such a large pool of insurance companies to choose from, it is important you do your homework before selecting one. Although the insurance companies generally have some things in common, each one offers their own services, packages and perks.
Price is not always a deciding factor in choosing an insurance company. This is important to keep in mind, since the prices can vary greatly with each company. It is also important that you are comparing apples to apples. Otherwise, the prices will not make any sense. For example, one company may include something in their overall price, making it more expensive, while another company may not include it, making it a bit cheaper. Therefore, it is vitally important that you search through the coverage to make sure you know what is included in the price and what isn't.
Customer service is another very important aspect to look at when choosing an insurance company. Picking a company that leaves you stranded on the side of the road is definitely not an ideal situation. Before choosing an auto insurance company, speak with them several times. Do a basic interview of the company and the personnel. Another great way to know how a company does with customer services is to speak with family and friends. Often times, a family member or friend will highly recommend an insurance company they have dealt with before.
Each state has a Web site regarding insurance companies from your state. They show how many complaints the company has received, for every 1,000 reports that have been filed. Be sure to check out the Web before choosing an auto insurance company
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