Donate Car to Charity California, Donate Car for Tax Credit, Donate Cars in MA, Donate Your Car Sacramento, How to Donate A Car in California, Donate Your Car for Kids, Donate a Car in Maryland, Donating a Car in Maryland, Donate Cars Illinois, Donate Old Cars to Charity, Met Auto, Car Donate Auto insurance: How to shop for a new policy in 2018 The start of a new year is a great time to shake the dust off your budget and look for some areas where you can save big bucks. Car insurance is one of those things where you could be paying more than $1,000 annually than you need to — just because you haven’t shopped the marketplace in a few years. Getting a better policy is easy. Here’s how to start… RELATED: Why warming up your car engine on cold mornings may be a bad idea 6 easy steps to a better, cheaper car insurance policy! Begin by identifying solid companies Money expert Clark Howard has long talked about the merits of Amica Mutual and USAA. But those aren’t the only two companies you should look at. Consider buying a one-time subscription to Consumer Reports and checking their latest list of the best auto insurance companies to find others that should make it onto your shortlist. Get your quotes Once you have a list of candidates, you’ll want to start getting quotes. This typically takes around 15 minutes on the phone. Have your most recent policy in front of you in case any questions come up about the make and model of your vehicle(s). Working with an insurance broker is another option. He or she will get multiple quotes for you and you’ll have access to all the insurers they do business with. It’s an easy one-stop shop that lets you still have the flexibility of comparison pricing. Making the calls is the most laborious part of the process. But it’s very important step and there’s no shortcut. “Comparison sites are really just lead generation services,” Clark says. You have to shop individually with different insurers [by] calling them all.” As insurance is state regulated, Clark would love to see each state create an online comparison-shopping tool that’s a database which can quote you across companies as a one-stop-shop kind of thing. But no state has stepped up to the plate to tackle that task yet! Compare quotes Once you get the quotes back, it’s time to compare them. Each quote should be based on the same amount of coverage so you can do an apples-to-apples comparison. What if a poorly ranked company offers you a great quote? Clark says to avoid them! While the premium might be tempting, you want to be sure your insurer is there for you when the chips are down. Know when to drop comprehensive and collision The general rule is when the cost of comp and collision exceeds 10% of your old vehicle’s value, that’s the time to dump it and just have liability coverage. You can determine your vehicle’s value at Edmunds.com, KBB.com or NADA.com. So let’s take a simple example. Say your vehicle is worth $4,000. If you’re paying anything more than $400 annually (that’s 10% of $4,000) for comp and collision, it no longer makes any financial sense. One notable exception to this rule: If there’s no way you could financially cover the loss of your vehicle, forget the math and keep paying for comp and collision. Be prepared to take a higher deductible You should always opt for a $1,000 deductible for the best savings on your policy. At that level, you’ll pay a lower premium and won’t be tempted to file any small piddling claims. Don’t forget to ask about discounts! The Insurance Information Institute reminds you that there are a ton of different discounts out there. Here are some you can ask about: Anti-theft devices Multiple policies with the same company College students living away from home Defensive driving courses Drivers ed courses Low annual mileage Long-time customer More than one car No accidents in three years No moving violations in three years Student drivers with good grades 6 secrets that could help you lower your auto insurance bill As families everywhere look to lower expenses, reduce debt and become more financially stable, there are certain areas where we often don’t think we have any control over our costs, such as insurance rates. The truth however is that by knowing the secrets behind the insurance laws, we can work to make sure we’re not being charged any more than we need to be by auto insurance companies. Read more: 2 insurers that offer low prices and great service! Here are 6 little-known secrets that may result in more expensive insurance rates, and what you can do to keep your insurance costs low. The type of car you drive affects your insurance premium. There are several factors that determine how much a car costs to insure. Sportier and high-performance cars such as Mustangs and Chargers can cost more to insure because it’s assumed by insurance companies that they’ll be driven more aggressively. Higher-priced car models such as Mercedes can also cost more to insure as repair costs will more expensive in the case of an accident. Conversely, minivans, crossover models and SUVs tend to have lower numbers of accidents and are therefore often less expensive to insure. What you can do: Call your insurer and ask about the cost to insure car models you’re looking at before you buy. Avoid high-risk vehicle types and models in order to keep insurance costs down. Letting people borrow your car can end up costing you money. If you lend your car to a friend and your friend gets into an at-fault accident, you’ll end up footing the bill for the increased premium rates that can result. What you can do: Think twice about borrowing your car out. Instead, offer to give a needy friend a ride if you can. A lower credit score can mean increased rates. A huge ding on your credit score, whether it is because of missed payments, quickly rising credit balances or a recent bankruptcy can affect your insurance premiums. A drastically dropping credit score can put you into a “high risk” category with some insurers, thereby inducing them to raise your annual premiums. What you can do: Work hard to maintain good credit and low credit card balances if at all possible. Also, set up a bill-paying system such as automatic bill pay that ensures your bills will be paid on time. Paying your bill monthly can increase your insurance bill. Most companies will charge you a surcharge if you choose to pay your insurance bill monthly instead of annually or semi-annually. This “convenience charge” can increase what you pay for auto insurance each year. What you can do: Save up or use windfalls such as tax returns or bonuses to pay your auto insurance bill annually instead of monthly. By doing so you can avoid insurance surcharges that can raise your bill. You must cancel your old insurance policy when you purchase a new one. If you don’t, you are legally liable to pay on both policies. If you don’t cancel your policy and simply don’t pay the insurance bill for the old policy when it comes, you may be subject to a black mark on your credit report. What you can do: Be sure to cancel your old insurance policy as soon as your new policy goes into effect, and be sure also to inform your former insurance company of the date that your new policy went into effect. In some cases, they can backdate cancelations by a short period of time, as in less than two weeks. Teen drivers don’t necessarily have to cost you more money for auto insurance. In many states, insurance companies can’t charge you for having a teen driver in the house unless that teen becomes officially licensed. A learner’s permit doesn’t necessarily mean the teen driver has to be insured. What you can do: Check your state’s laws on the eligibility requirements regarding teen drivers and insurance. Then check with your insurance company to make sure they aren’t charging you illegally. In a specific case we heard about, the insurance company didn’t charge for the permitted teen driver, but they did raise the rates when they found out an insured’s daughter was about to become a permitted teen. Don’t put up with these sneaky tactics from your insurance company. By understanding your state’s specific insurance laws and by doing what you can to combat happenings that can raise your insurance rates, you can work to get and keep your auto insurance rates low and save yourself hundreds of dollars a year. Read more:When not to contact your insurance company
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