The Insurance Weekly

It is a much better policy to understand your auto insurance, and how it works up front. To save you some cash, and so you don’t think that you are insured for certain items when in fact you are not.

The first option is to not pay your renewal when it arrives. The insurance company banks on you not being interested in spending time looking for a new insurance company. That is why your renewal quote is probably not competitive. So look around for the best quote available, you could save as much as 50% by shopping around. It is also not true that smaller companies offer the best premiums; big companies can often be very competitive.

If you have an older vehicle that is not very valuable, collision insurance is probably going to be a waste of money, stick with basic insurance. You should also ask you agent about diminished value, your insurance company may think that your vehicle is worth a lot less than you think it is. You should be sure to ask your agent what are your states legal regulations are for diminished value.

A good credit rating is a valuable asset for many things in life, including auto insurance; a good credit rating will help to lower your premium. Don’t keep your teen or young driver on your insurance if they are away at college or no longer drive your car for some reason. Young drivers can be the most expensive to insure, so don’t put them on the policy unless you have a real need to do so. Ask about the claims process before you sign the paperwork, not when you have an accident. Make inquiries as to if they insure for generic or original spare parts, and also how their claims process works.

If you have an accident call the agent immediately if you can. Even from the scene of the accident, you may only have as little as 48 hours to put in your claim so don’t leave it until later. Keep a good record of your claim; make a note of everything, especially at the scene of the accident. Note names, vehicle numbers, anything anyone says, and anything that may help you later. Don’t waste time, get estimates, chase the company, don’t leave things ‘until next week’, insurance companies move slowly so you need to harass them.

Don’t forget to claim everything back from the insurer, items like registration fees and sales tax, they will not remind you, so make sure you file a very full claim. Deal politely but firmly with the loss adjuster, get everything in writing, things he may say, mean nothing. If you think it’s unreasonable, reject their first offer of compensation. One of the reasons insurance companies take so long to pay out, is so that you will become frustrated and accept what they offer you. If the company refuses to budge on settlement, ask for arbitration it is a lot quicker and cheaper than an actual court case.

Very carefully consider any deductable, you may think $750 would be a lot to find if you had an accident.

However, it also lowers your premium; this would be a good thing to discuss with your agent.

Unless you are wealthy, your auto insurance will probably end up as a trade off. You will try to get the most coverage for the money you can afford. But keep in mind, reducing your liability to lower your premium is good in the short term. However, what happens if you have a serious accident and you get hit with a huge lawsuit?

• Consider a home and car, umbrella policy that or a few hundred dollars, can cover you for liability claims of up to a million dollars.
• Inquire about available discounts; you may be entitled to a break on your premium for all kinds of reasons. Such as if, you garage your car overnight, if you are a low mileage user. You may have an alarm, more than one vehicle, or some other situation that can lower your premium; you need to ask what is available.
• Use an independent agent to look for insurance for you. They are in a better position to know where to look for the best quotes. It’s what they do for a living if they can’t find you a good quote they don’t make any money.
• Make sure that your agent is not affiliated with one or two companies; you need independent, un-biased options, to save you money.
• Use an online insurance agent instead of your local small or large company. Online agents don’t have fancy offices or a booth at the shopping mall. They have low overheads that save them huge amounts of money. In return, they can be more profitable, and some of this profit can be funneled back to you, the client, as lower auto insurance premiums. That’s why you should always use an online agent for auto insurance quotes.

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