Friday, October 10, 2008

Steps To Save A Ton On Your Car Insurance Policy

Are you getting the most for your money when it comes to your car insurance policy? Between the rising cost of gasoline and car insurance, a bicycle or a horse starts to look pretty interesting these days. Remember, on a bicycle the top’s always down, even in nasty weather. Since you’re stuck with the price of gas no matter where it is, you need to look at your car insurance policy to save a few dollars.

If you’ve had any major changes since you took out the policy, you may find that you can get a discount without even changing companies. A change in the distance you drive to work and the total miles driven annually can dramatically change the rate. If you changed jobs to a closer location since you took out the policy, you might be in for a big drop in the rate for your car insurance policy.

Make sure you get all the discounts that are available. Each company has a variety of discounts. There are good student discounts and driver’s education discounts for the teen in the house. See if your company offers them. If you’re considering a second car, see if they offer a multiple car discount. Also, look for discounts if you change your homeowners insurance to the same company as your auto insurance, since many insurance companies give additional discounts if you have multiple different types of policies with them.

Prices from companies vary widely and depend mainly on their loss experience for your area and age. Getting additional quotes is always free, so you have nothing to lose but a few minutes time and everything to gain.

When you do rate comparisons, make sure that the quote you get is an apples-to-apples quote. Other companies may offer a lower rate but give you less insurance. Here are a few things to check carefully.

1. Make sure the deductible is the same. There are two different deductibles on your auto insurance policy, the comprehensive deductible and the collision deductible. Collision coverage kicks in when you hit something and comprehensive encompasses everything else, including hail damage and theft. The bigger the deductible gets the lower the rate becomes. Make sure your quotes are the same deductible or at least close to the same.

2. See if the liability coverage is the same. Liability is either single limit or split coverage. Split coverage such as 50/100/15 means that the company pays $50,000 maximum per person injured, $100,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage. This is very similar to a $100,000 single limit policy but seems to have more coverage. You notice that word seems. If more than one person is injured, the split limit is best. If only one person is injured then you’re better off with the single limit. Either way, never accept a quote that offers less coverage than you already have until you check the same coverage cost with your present company.

3. See if the new policy has extras. All policies should have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. If you don’t, then get it. It’s your protection in case the other guy doesn’t have enough coverage or any coverage. You may have towing and rental reimbursement on your policy, which you may not need or want. See if the quotes contain those.

4. Try the Internet for multiple quotes. Often a single site can offer as many as 10 quotes at once. Find those locations and cut down the shopping time. Do not assume that on online quote is always going to be cheaper or have inferior insurance, since neither of those statements is true. Shop around, both online and offline, to get your ultimate best deal.

Take a few minutes and you could save hundreds of dollars a year and still have the same auto insurance policy but at a lower rate. The time you spend shopping around will surely open your eyes to the possibilities and potentially save you a ton of money at the same time.



For more insights and additional information about how to save a ton of money on your Car Insurance Policy as well as getting an aggressive online quote for discount car insurance, please visit our web site at http://www.tips-for-car-insurance.com