Car insurance companies base their rates on many factors. Where you drive, how much you drive, and where you park your car at night all go into the calculation of your final auto insurance bill. Other things matter too. Your age, driving record, and even your credit report can affect your own individual premium. Things that can save you money on your bill are safety features, driver safety courses, and anti-theft devices. For instance, my car insurance company allows a 30% discount for air bags because they have been proven to reduce personal injury. They also tend to discount other safety features. However, no matter what you have on your car, or what steps you take to protect yourself and your vehicle, different car insurance companies use different formulas to calculate rates! It can really pay off to shop around.
I had one auto accident in the last 10 years, and it was very minor. However, after I purchased a late model car, it caused my premium to increase from about $ 90 a month to $ 160! That was quite a jump, and I thought it was unfair, but I let it go for awhile and just paid the premium. Then I got curious and decided to do what I advise others to do, and that is to compare car insurance rates. I found a large, national company that was willing to charge me less for my new policy on my newer car than I was paying for the same policy on an older car! So instead of paying $ 160, or even $ 90, I was only paying about $ 80 a month.
Car insurance rates, companies, and plans differ by location and individual. I cannot tell you which company will offer you the cheapest rate. That is because rates are determined by individual factors like age, driving record, type of car, zip code, and so on. But what I can tell you is that it will be very time consuming to call around and check rates with half a dozen different companies. That is because you will need to give the insurance agents dozens of answers so he or she can give you an accurate quote. Besides, you may not feel like dealing with a salesperson until you are ready to purchase. It is really nice to be able to narrow down your search to a couple of options before you actually apply.
However, many car insurance quote systems are published on the internet these days. You can take from 3 to 5 minutes to answer the basic questions. Then just sit back and let insurance companies compete for your business! You should get 3 to 5, or more, competitive quotes, and it should be simple to choose the company with the right plan and the right price! Then you can select the best price and discuss your plan with a qualified, local insurance agent.
I am really happy that I took a few minutes to compare quotes. I cut my car insurance bill in half without sacrificing any coverage. With rising gasoline prices I could not afford to be so loyal to my old insurance company that I let them get greedy on me! I also do not believe that my experience is unique because I do get feedback from consumers who have saved lots of money by taking a few minutes to shop around!
