Friday, May 1, 2009

Best Car Insurance Rates - 5 Tips to Slash Your Premium


With household budgets cut to the bone, more and more consumers are shopping to find the best car insurance rates available. There is no question that a carefully planned insurance strategy, coupled with a handful of quotes from competing insurance companies, can lower your car insurance rates by a few hundred dollars -- or enough to cover one of your monthly car payments!

So how do you plan the ideal car insurance strategy? Here are five tips to get you started

1. Don’t get caught with a lapsed policy. As soon as your policy expires, you fall into the "uninsured" category of car insurance buyers. This means you will have a harder time getting insurance and are likely to get charged up to 20% more than somebody who has a steady history of insurance coverage. So shop for car insurance rates 30 days before your policy expires. This also provides you extra time to find and compare the best car insurance rates.

2. Pay your premium in full. If you pay your car insurance premiums on an installment plan, your premium probably has a finance charge built into the cost. Some companies charge $15-20 for the privilege of carrying a few hundred dollars for 90 days. In that case, you may actually save money by charging your premium on your credit card. Also, ask your car insurance carrier if they offer a "fast payment discount." Some companies actually provide a discount if you pay your full premium within 10 days.

3. Think twice about "first accident" forgiveness. You already know that there is no such thing as a free lunch -- the same is true of car insurance. You may actually be paying a higher upfront premium for the privilege of avoiding that first accident, but why pay for something that hasn’t happened yet? Ask your insurance company what that same policy would cost without the first accident forgiveness. It’s possible you’re better off without it.

4. Install an alarm or vehicle recovery system. Anything you can do to reduce the chance of theft is going to reduce your car insurance premium, by as much as 10%. Insurance companies know which alarms work best and they value vehicle recovery systems the most. The system and installation can be fairly pricey, but they pay for themselves based on the premium discount. Ask your agent about the discount and then shop for a reputable system. Some name brands are LoJack, VehicleRECOVER, Mobileguardian, or GM’s OnStar.

5. Shop online for multiple car insurance quotes. It’s a fact of life -- competition breeds lower prices. With so many car insurance companies begging for your business, it only makes sense to compare as many of them as possible. The old fashioned way was to use a phone and yellow note pad, but that can take time and gets confusing. These days, it’s easy to shop for the best car insurance rates online, usually by filling out just one form at one website.

By implementing as many of these tips as possible, you’ll be able to confidently and easily shop for the best car insurance rates. But remember, the clock is ticking -- so get started before your current policy expires!

If you're ready to start shopping, you may want to visit the website recommended below to find your best car insurance rates.

8 comments:

  1. You have a nice blog on Insurance.
    I also have a blog on Car Insurance, http://car-insuranceforeveryone.blogspot.com.

    ReplyDelete
  2. http://ecommercegr3.blogspot.com/
    http://itbmgr3.blogspot.com/
    http://bankactivity.blogspot.com/
    http://bankeconomy.blogspot.com/
    http://shiny2love.blogspot.com/
    thanks for your click
    please

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for the information on insurance. It is useful. These are our blogs if you would like to check them out:
    http://marketingunscrambled.blogspot.com
    http://marketingunscrambled-homeedition.blogspot.com

    Thank you
    Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post. Those tips are really very helpful as I am also looking for an auto insurance policy to insure my newly purchased car. I will follow those tips to get a cheap policy.
    employers liability insurance

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mari bergabung bersama ASIANBET77.COM Disini kami menyediakan berbagai macam jenis permainan betting online, seperti Taruhan Bola Online, Casino Online, Togel Online, Sabung Ayam Online dan masih banyak lagi game taruhan online lainnya....

    Pendaftaran gratis tidak dikenakan biaya apapun juga, minimal Deposit sangat ringan, hanya dengan Rp 100.000 saja anda sudah bisa bergabung bersama kami. ASIANBET77.COM bekerja sama dengan bank lokal yakni BCA, MANDIRI & BNI. Sehingga memudahkan anda untuk bertransaksi bersama kami.

    Customer service kami yang Ramah dan Profesional akan siap membantu anda selama 24 jam full, ayo segera daftarkan diri anda bersama kami ASIANBET77.COM. Dan dapatkan promo2 menarik dari kami.untuk keterangan lebih lanjut silahkan hubungi CS kami :

    YM : op1_asianbet77@yahoo.com
    Wechat : asianbet_77
    sms center : +639052137234
    pin bb : 2B4BB06A

    ReplyDelete
  6. Following tip #3 is a good idea - insurance companies sometimes try to add on stuff that they know is unlikely to happen to you, just trying to squeeze out a few extra dollars. I work for a car insurance company in Saugus MA and we are smaller and try to find the best deals for the customer rather than the insurance provider. I recommend going with a local company! Thanks for the article.

    -James

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey blogger i like your blog keep it up and thanks for sharing informative article!

    Corpus Christi Auto Insurance

    ReplyDelete