How to get cheap car insurance
Posted by admin at 23 November 2016, at 19 : 00 PM
Getting insurance for your vehicles can often be a cumbersome task. For one, there are dozens of different auto insurance companies vying for your business. You see their ads online, on the air or as you drive down any interstate in any semi-populated area. Your choices for whom you would like to ensure your vehicles are endless… if you have a good driving record AND good credit.
“Good credit?” you might ask. Yes! Believe it or not, when you apply for auto insurance, your premiums are determined, in part, by your credit score. Your auto insurance premiums will be higher at the time of purchase if you have a high debt to income ratio, have a large number of credit cards that carry a balance every month or have late payments on things such as your rent/mortgage, car payment, cable bill, credit cards, medical bills and more. It is important, therefore, that you keep your finances in check and stay up to date on your payments if you want to keep your car insurance premiums down.
Since your auto insurance premiums renew every year, this is something you need to constantly stay on top of, or it can get out of hand fairly quickly.
Another driver behind maintaining reasonably low auto insurance is having a good driving record. The easiest way to do so is to obey the law when you get behind the wheel. Pay attention to what you are doing when you are driving. Put the cell phone down and don’t drive distracted. Keep the speed limit and drive defensively. You never know what other drivers on the road are going to be going through, so it is best to steel yourself when you pull out onto the streets, highways and byways. It is extremely important to always have your wits about you when you are behind the wheel.
Please be sure to carry the proper insurance and the right types of coverage for not only your vehicle but for the uses of your vehicle. For example, if you use your car just to run family members from place to place, that’s one thing. A standard policy will work fine. Be sure to carry enough personal injury protection (a.k.a. PIP) on your policy in the event of an accident with an uninsured motorist. If you are using your vehicle as a money-maker and participate in programs such as Lyft, your insurance policy will need additional provisions that cover temporary passengers, business clauses and other aspects of insurance a standard policy will not. Check out Mamma.com to find out deals for Lyft.com
Some auto insurance companies do not provide those types of coverage, so you need to be selective as you shop around.
Last, but not least, shop around. You do NOT have to go with the same insurance company your dad and mom had while you were growing up. Insurance companies today are ready to offer you all sorts of discounts. There are discounts for having multiple vehicles covered. There are discounts if you also have renters insurance or homeowners insurance with them. There are discounts if you also take out a life insurance policy with the same insurance company. There are even insurance companies that offer deep discounts if you abstain from drugs and alcohol.
If you own and drive a car, whether it is for personal use or as a participant in programs such as Lyft, you are required to carry insurance on it. The right insurance is not hard to find. Doing little things like maintaining your good credit, safe, defensive driving and proper coverage for the right situations can make a huge difference in how much you will have to pay for your insurance.
Once you have found your car insurance you will then need to think about the long term and when your car insurance increases, which it no doubt will. It is an all too common occurrence that you find the best car insurance policy for you at a great price as a new customer only to then become a victim of car insurance increase at the time of renewal. There could be a number of reasons for this hike in insurance. It could be as simple as the fact it is an inevitable and unavoidable price rise that is common year on year. Moreover, you no longer benefit from new customer discounts that enticed you in the first place. That said there could be personal factors that you can attribute to your circumstances that influence the price rise. If you have been involved in a recent accident or road traffic violation you could expect to see your premiums increase. Something as simple as a change of address has also been known to affect insurance costs as has external factors beyond your control. These external factors could be anything from increased crime rates in your area to higher medical costs. If your insurance has increased the first thing to do is to try and establish the reason for the change and whether there is anything you can then do about it. Commonly the best course of action is to shop around for alternative providers, it may be that you can benefit from new those new customer discounts once again.