Before you go searching for an automobile insurance policy, you need to know what they are looking for. As a purchaser of insurance, you will need to know what benefits are available to you, how the insurance company will evaluate you, and how you can get the best policy premium.
The best way to go about attaining auto insurance is to shop around. An easy way to do this is to go online. You can literally get 15 car insurance quotes in about 30 minutes to an hour. Not bad considering it could save you big money. As a general rule, I would shy away from those sites that offer getting insurance rates by the boat load. As an automobile owner, I want to make sure my car is being insured by a reputable company. Many of those sites that offer many quotes at once will turn up companies you and I have never heard of, making it very sketchy on if they would actually be able to cover costs if I were ever to get into an accident. The best way to make sure a company is reputable is by doing some general research. You will know in about 5 minutes if a certain insurance carrier would be the type of company you would trust to do business with.
What Will the Insurance Companies be Looking For?
It is definitely standard and required that an insurance company pulls your driving record. This gives a very good and accurate snapshot on your abilities as a driver. If you have a clean driving record, you will get the best rate available. If you have a severely marred record including accidents, speeding tickets and violations, you will get a very high premium.
Some insurance companies will pull your credit report. Although this is not customary, some pull it. There reason for pulling a credit report is to ensure that you, as a policy holder, will be able to pay your premiums. Not only that, but it also gives another snapshot on the type of person you are regarding actions. A person with good credit will generally be assumed as a responsible person. Someone with many late payments on their records or collections would be viewed as someone irresponsible.
Another requirement they will be looking for is that you are properly registered legally. They check to see if your car is registered. If your car is not registered, you will not be insured. Along with this, they will want to observe your car and note any marks, problems or cosmetic defect to your car prior to insuring.
How Can I Get the best Premium Possible?
There are many things you can do to get a good premium and get the most out of your discounts. You need to be aware of all the discounts you are eligible for before going into the insurance company’s office. They are not required to offer you all discounts that you are not aware of. These are just some of the discounts available:
1. Discount for taking a driver improvement course. This can be one taken in school as a teen, online, or at your local DMV.
2. Military Discount: This is for current and retired military personnel.
3. Good grades discount. This is a discount provided to those students who maintain a B average or above. This discount is offered to college students also.
4. Safety features discount. Yes, you get additional discounts for safety features outside the regulated safety features.
5. Ask for a higher deductible amount.
6. Discounts from AAA (or similar) auto club.
7. Discounts for being 55 and above.
8. Safe Driver discounts
9. Insure your home and auto insurance together to get a multi rate discount.
10. Make sure you need all the insurances in your policy
