Your money, your car, Your responsibility

People save for different purposes. And every purpose has different means. Everyone is looking for cheapest in every item. Who doesn’t?

Anyone who owns a car usually looks for cheap car insurance. They were scouting for the best and the cheapest.  That’s what all of us need and you should have if you are driving. It is a necessity that most drivers/car owners hate paying. Every driver wishes to find and buy the cheapest car insurance available. They spend hours in the net to search for stores and compare quotes. Drivers purchase those car protections to protect their car, to meet the state's insurance requirements, and to be protected if they are responsible for damages in an accident.

Of course, you are responsible for your car. If you want to avail low rates for coverage of your car, you should consider some of these factors: (1) maintain and preserve a clean driving record; be careful in your driving. If you maintained clean driving record, that will aid you to reduce premiums/rates.(2) Buy and own a car with lower value. Owning a regular Sedan is cheaper than insuring a Mercedes Benz. (3) Color your car silver. Car colour also determines your premium rates. Note that a red car is more expensive than the silver ones.

These are just few little things that will help you determine your premium rates. There are still more, of course, a lot more ways to reduce your premiums. A little knowledge would not hurt. It is still important to know that doing or adding few things can drastically reduce your premiums.

You are buying a coverage policy for your car and still want to save money. You would likely look for a full coverage car insurance. Hitting the search button on the internet you will surely get thousands of results. Different company website will offer you this kind of protection. But you should put in mind that there is really no such thing as full coverage. It is merely the combination of liability coverage and comprehensive coverage altogether with collision. So now you are asking, what is liability coverage and comprehensive coverage?

In actuality, there is no such thing as cheap car coverage, they are all really expensive. But you can select the cheapest. It is a necessity that you cannot refuse to buy in order to keep your vehicle road legal. Well, don’t fuss. It doesn’t have to be so expensive you will just have to learn a few do’s and don’ts to keep lower premium rate.

Here are some more, (more elaborate) helpful tips on how to save money on car insurance.

 First things first, Shop around. Don’t decide on the first market you asked. If you are buying a car, consider the class and model of vehicle you are going to buy. It can make a big difference. Try to get auto insurance online. You can save a lot of money if you do. Mostly, people trust one company and stick with them through thick and thin. However, you can save more if you try venturing and looking for others. If you are on market for a car, take note of these few factors:

a.       Safety – Cars who have won vehicle safety awards are more or less the cheapest, but any finalist would be good.

b.      Theft – Select the vehicle type that you like. If you are concerned about the price, look for high-value vehicles like Saturn or Kia and find the model you would want. Although economic cars are not necessarily stolen less often, they are cheaper to replace. Hotter car, higher rate.

c.       Price to repair – If you get caught between an imported vehicle and a domestic one, check for the cost of repair. Most probably, domestic vehicles are easier to repair than the luxury imported ones. This is because domestic/economic vehicle parts and services are available within the area. Foreign luxury car parts are also imported which would cost much or some of them are yet to order. One more thing to keep in mind is that used car isn’t always cheaper to insure that is because new cars are safer to drive.

Get a quote for your targeted vehicle. Using car insurance quotes let you realize how much you will exactly spend on adequate auto coverage. With the spread of internet media, everything you need is just a click away. So get online and take a car insurance quote for your vehicle. They are quick and efficient in getting reliable estimate. Make sure you request quotes from different companies, as many companies as possible. Check about every six (6) months, to see who has the cheapest deals for you. Quote results may vary every now and then without you noticing it. You could be surprise to learn that the company who offers you the best deal may change in a few months.

What’s next? Get discounts! Never be afraid or ashamed of asking your agent about the discounts they could offer you and if you qualify. Check your current policies if they are from one company and if they have any discounts available. Most companies offer discounts for having multiple policies from them so insure your home and other properties through the same company so you can have huge discount.

The internet offers various ways to know if you are getting the best car insurance rates. You can also learn which firm can provide you with better rates. How?

a.       Use a car insurance estimator. It is important to have an estimate to save few dollars which you can still use for repairs and other fees. Comparing estimates is just a click away. Common mistake of drivers is accepting high interest rates that are given to them by their coverage companies because they felt guilty of the accident and tickets. This estimator allows you to compare estimates between companies and determine how much less you could pay for these necessary expenses. It also estimates the rate you can obtain to cover the legal responsibilities with an accident. It protects you from the risks of the court claim obligations against you. It will assist you to have the correct coverage to be insured. The estimator will also aid you with getting discounts if you cover your family and your car in the same company. Find sites that provide all of the needed information in a single place rather than visiting all insuring company websites. It will save you money and time and result will be faster. Significantly, you will find comparing rates and making adjustments to the level of your coverage rates and the type of coverage that you would want is effortless on a comparison site. You will see the updates from all the companies that fit your budget automatically.

b.      Have a car insurance calculator. It is an ideal tool to use before making a decision for your car coverage policy. It will only require basic important details about your car and yourself to give exact quote specific to your needs. The calculator will ask you to provide your residence. Your place of residence will significantly affect your premium rates. Drivers who live in the city and busy towns or bustling metropolis are prone to accidents than drivers who are staying in small towns or rural areas. This will mean that premiums for city residents will be higher. Coverage firms also give cheaper rate to residents of rural area because theft cases there are lower. Information about your car is also needed. You have to provide the make and model of your car. It will help in determining the market value of your vehicle leading to exact estimate of your budget.  Beside from location, your premium will also be significantly affected by the number of times you use your car. The calculator will ask you how often you drive your car and how far. The more frequent you drive, the more likely that you get into an accident. If you use your car in your way to work, you are more likely to pay higher premiums than those who do not. The calculator tool will tell you how much would you pay in premiums for a chosen policy.

This calculator is available online especially created for customers to easily compare quotes from one company to another. It is important that you provide the coverage calculator all necessary details. If you have available discount, you can also indicate it. For the calculator to work well, do not leave any essential spaces blank. Base on the information you provide, the calculator will estimate your premium depending on your car conditions, age, and of course,  your driving history. It will be useful for you to have comprehensive car insurance comparison. It will enable you to save more dollars. Most coverage companies are more than happy to offer you quote online, do your research and check out different insuring companies. It may take time and effort to find exactly the company and program you want to invest in, but it will save you money in the long run. Get a lot of quotes to compare, because one company’s strength could be another’s weakness.

Keep a good credit record. Many coverage providers rely on credit record of buyer in identifying the rate of policy they will provide. Your credit record can be our indicator risk. Coverage companies check on you by your credit standing. Drivers with high credit record could definitely be given discounts by coverage firms or agents. A responsible person, you should stay updated and keeps record of your credit reports and activities. Always pay your credit cards. The longer your card the higher credit score you can have.

Drive Safely. Your driving record is one of the very important factors in keeping premiums affordable. Be careful on the road and if possible avoid collisions. They can really raise your rates to the limit. Avoid getting tickets. Your records for speeding and having violations will stay with you for years, mostly around three (3) years, and it will carry your rate extremely high.

There are different factors that affect premium rates especially when it comes to driving. Different classification of people affects coverage premium. Women are often offered lower rates. Let us admit that men are a bit careless when it comes to driving. Even a study shows that males are twice more likely to be involved in a car accidents that are fatal. They are more likely to have multiple violations than women. Besides, women tend to drive less often after dark. They don’t usually engage in risk-taking behaviour, and the accidents they have are less fatal because they usually follow traffic rules, especially speed limits. Because of these known knowledge, companies offers cheaper car coverage for women. It will surprise no one if they learn that premiums for women drivers are way cheaper than men’s premiums for years. But just like men do, women don’t always enjoy paying for these premiums as well. Yes, most of the times they get lower premiums but it usually change when a driver, men or women, start having bad driving record or owns luxury cars.

Another factor that affect premium is the driver’s experience. New drivers tend to have higher premium. Trying to find the cheapest car insurance for new drivers is acrid and often been tough. New driver could really have a challenging time acquiring a fantastic price for coverage. They have to sacrifice and develop a good history to receive great costs. You have to construct credibility and work hard to be trusted. Affordable policy for new drivers is difficult simply because they are more likely to engage in an accident.  They are considered a treat to the road because they lack experience and greatly because they are anxious to drive. As a new driver you have to show to the companies that you are not a threat and won’t be a threat. Insuring firms are cautious with new drivers to give full protection at reasonably priced costs. Some others are sceptical in insuring new drivers because they could not tract a record or history of the driver and of course they have nothing to rely on pricing you.

Of course, there are some ways to relieve you with some rates for your premium. Do not stick up up to the belief that you are a new driver and you that can do nothing to lessen your costs. Why don’t you try to attend driving courses? Coverage companies will probably give you discounts if you have driving course in your record. It will elevate your driving abilities and awareness on driving rules. Get in touch and acquaint with good drivers and learn from them. Surf and search cautiously for coverage companies that offers the most successful insuring policies for new drivers. It will be a hard but you will surely find a lot of favourable selections. There are comparison websites that has the the quality to be able to to list down the kind of coverage you would like.

Another paramount to higher car premiums is your driving record. Safe drivers usually get discounts for keeping clean record. It’s never been easy getting cheap car insurance for convicted drivers. If you have driving violations such as speeding or DUI for at least for past 3 years or have been in an accident you are more or less at risk and would face higher and additional surcharge on top of standard rates. Repetitive violation could end up rejection from protecting companies. It is apparent because you become an insurable individual. That is if the violations are major and chargeable. However, minor violations such as speeding ticket can still boost your rates. You will also be in trouble finding cheap car insurance for convicted drivers, so it is best to keep safe.

Be liability Insured. Here is a coverage that will protect you from the cost of accidental damages you cause to others and their properties. Damages to other people and wreckages to property by accident will be secured. You have not to worry on that area. Cost of your medical bills, the generals, special damages and repair of property destroyed in the accident are covered in this policy. It also entitles you to the cost of attorney if you are sued for damages. But if you are the cause of the accident, liability car insurance will not shoulder your own injury and the damage to the property. It doesn't offer any protection for damages you brought to yourself and your car. This coverage is usually listed with limits for bodily injury and property damage. They are usually stated separately but you can still purchase a combination of the two in a single limit policy that will cover all injuries and property damage up to the stated maximum.

Why then get collision and comprehensive coverage if damages are already taken care of by liability coverage? Although this coverage is not required, as owner of your car you might consider to pay extra money for this coverage in the event of incident. But if you are leasing your vehicle, you might be required by your financing company to have this coverage.

After availing of almost all kinds of protection policy and yet you realize that they are not enough. You are already paying for different insuring firms for your car protection and yet these companies are still asking you to pay extra for cheap comprehensive car insurance to cover other risks to your car. All the other types have limitations and exclusions in coverage, such as fire, theft or if you hit an animal while driving. Although no states require that you have this type of comprehensive protection – but you may want to consider it or need it for other reasons – when you are lending your car and your lender or leaser requires it. Car owners get protection for car damages caused by collision, but there are still other problems/incidents that can cause damages to your car that are unexpected and unavoidable. They are not acquired in accidents or by other drivers but by nature. Your car could also get in trouble and be wrecked by animals, a flying golf-ball, and of course by natural disasters. Who can control and avoid the wrath of Mother Nature? These things could make a real damage to your exterior and you might want to insure your car against them.

Maybe you are asking yourself, “why prices for premiums vary?”

Here are some factors that affect the calculation of the premiums for everyone.

§  It depends on where you buy your policy. If you buy directly from the company or agency you will be able to get a little discount because these companies make independent decisions about the expenses they incur and the price of their products. Your rate will only include the cost of the building, maintenance of sales center, marketing costs and staffing. If you buy from an agent or a broker, you rate will include the commission paid to the agent/broker for selling the policy.

§  Comprehensive coverage is greater if your area is prone for flooding, typhoons, tornadoes and fire. Or maybe there are a lot of animals freely roaming the neighbourhood. Dogs, deer, raccoons or even birds can be dangerous to your car. Comprehensive coverage is a necessity if this is your driving range. Premium for coverage will also rise higher than standard car insurance rates if your residence is near a golf course, basketball court, football field, or any game area.

Don’t ever, ever commit on having double coverage. This is the biggest and the most common mistake people make on auto coverage policies. It will only be a waste of money. You are paying for two different policies but cover the same problems? That will not do. Say for example, if you already have family health coverage then you don’t need to have medical coverage for your car coverage policy. It is important to know your policy very well. It will definitely prevent you from having double coverage.

More importantly, invest in auto safety features. Nothing will be lost and it will not hurt. Put on alarms and tracking devices. They cost a few cents but can help you save hundreds of dollars per year.

So you see, owning a car is not as simple as you think. It comes with responsibility. Drive safely, know what you want and what you need and explore your choices. A few knowledge of something important will definitely put you on edge of everything.