Monday, July 20, 2009

Online Car Insurance Quotes Save You Money

More people than ever before are searching the internet for the lowest car insurance rate, and for good reason - you will save money if you get your auto insurance online.

Traditional Ways to Save Money on Automobile Insurance

Your car insurance agent, if you still have one, may have talked to you about the historically-effective ways to save the most money when giving you the latest auto insurance quote. We're talking here about things you can control yourself. All of those same factors still apply, but the internet allows you to be more thorough and to get more car quotes to compare prices.

Increase your Deductibles.

Car insurance quotes usually drop dramatically when based on very high deductibles. The only question here is: How much pain can you absorb yourself? That is, don't raise your deductibles so high that paying them would force you to borrow money or suffer financial distress.

But if you adopt the philosophy that insurance is meant to protect you from catastrophic losses, then this approach makes the most sense. Keep your deductible money in an insured savings account. It's possible that the premium money you save with very high deductibles will allow you to fund that account in just a year or two - and everything after that is pure gravy.

If you've ever experienced a rate increase after filing a claim then you'll appreciate another benefit of incurring higher deductibles on your car insurance rate: you will file fewer claims. No longer will you submit an insurance claim for a $500 windshield repair - but the additional cost of paying it yourself will be more than made up for by your extremely low car quote.

Drop Coverage for Physical Damage.

This approach is similar to #1 except it applies mainly to cars that have been on the road for a few years. If you're in a collision with an older car you may find the repair bill is higher than the Kelly's Blue Book Value of your vehicle. Without insurance you'd think twice about making the repair, especially if you can still drive the car and the damage isn't too bad.

You have to compare the potential cost of fixing or replacing your car with the impact on your auto insurance rate. If the difference is dramatic you can bank the savings and watch your savings account grow because of your cheap auto insurance quotes.

If you're a very safe driver and never had an accident it may be a great way for you to save money - as long as you keep your savings in the bank.

Drive Safely.

Some people don't need to be told to do this and already are experiencing the benefits of a safe-driver car quote. But if you've had accidents in the past you'll want to think about changing your driving behavior (not speeding, not talking on your cell phone, not tailgating, etc.). This approach is almost mandatory if you've taken the approach outlined in #1 and #2 above.

Don't Have Moving Violations.

Yes, Virginia, getting tickets is bad for your car insurance. Another benefit of this kind of good behavior is avoiding the cost of paying tickets, so this one is another no-brainer.

Drive Cheaper Cars.

This will have an impact on your auto insurance, obviously, and will save you money in other ways too. You should avoid certain expensive and thief-desirable cars because they will bring you more expensive car insurance. One area not to scrimp on, however, is anti-theft and safety devices, because they can lower your car insurance costs.

Receive Discounts on Your Car Insurance Rate.

Sometimes your good driving behavior or other factors (such as good grades, safe careers, or low mileage) may not have been taken into account in your automobile insurance. And be sure to include ALL of your vehicles together when getting auto insurance quotes - you'll get the benefits of multi-car discounts.

Getting online car insurance will allow you to see all of the options that are out there for you to receive a lower car quote. You may have moved to a different state where there are discounts for things like taking a safe-driving course.

Have Good Credit.

Insurance companies look at your credit score when determining auto insurance rates. There's some tie-in with responsible credit and responsible driving, they say. This will be a lot less direct than some other ways to save money on your car insurance.

File Fewer Claims.

Although mentioned above it is worth stressing. In the long run you may save a lot of money by filing fewer claims. We've all heard horror stories of auto insurance companies dropping people for filing claims.

Many people make the mistake of not filing small claims but also having low deductibles and paying way more than they need to for their auto insurance. If you're not going to be filing small damage claims then #1 above becomes a no-brainer as a way to get lower car quotes.

Combine Car Insurance With Homeowner's

If you're not doing this already it's a big mistake. You may get discounts of 20% or more for combining coverages together. If you have a boat or motorcycle or vacation home, throw those in the pot too. And don't forget your renter's insurance may be combined also to give you lower auto insurance quotes.

Get Your Auto Insurance Online.

That's the point of this article. Today's internet allows you to get the best deals with a couple of clicks of your mouse. You don't have to rely on one agent or one company.

Use a web-based service such as this one to shop around for the lowest car quote (much like web travel companies do for airline tickets). This will save you money.

One possible concern about getting online car insurance is whether you will get the same level of service, and whether you'll end up with a quality company. The truth is that going online helps car insurance companies save money, and they pass those savings on to you.

This doesn't mean you'll get worse service or a low-rate company. The best companies with the lowest rates are all providing auto insurance online. Most of them use other companies as "middle men" to get the data and submit to competing companies for the best deal. You should visit one of them now to see how much money you can save.

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