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Ten Golden Rules to Save on Auto Insurance
Auto Insurance is a bouquet of different covers like liabilityinsurance; collision insurance; comprehensive insurance; medicalinsurance; uninsured motorist insurance; rental reimbursement;towing and labor cost coverage; as well as gap coverage. What is essential and what will protect a car owner fromproblems varies from state to state. It is advisable to insurefor a little more than absolutely necessary. Insurance premiumscan be prohibitively high so, as an informed consumer you mustdo your research thoroughly.Golden rules:* Access consumer information available on the state's insurancedepartment web site. Read all the guidelines and determine whatcoverage is required by you. Be sure to read the sample rateslisted. This research will give you a fair idea of what thepremiums are likely to be.* Ask for quotes from at least three big players in the autoinsurance business. Companies like Geico http://www.geico.com/ ;Amica http://www.amica.com/ ; State Farmhttp://www.statefarm.com/ ; and Allstatehttp://www.allstate.com/ . * Find out what is the highest deductible permissible and if youcan afford it. Generally increasing a deductible from US$ 200 toUS$ 500 can reduce premiums payable by as much as 30 %.* Evaluate the worth of your car. If it is old and worth lessthan US$ 2000 then you can consider opting out of collision andcomprehensive coverage for the car. The premiums paid will bemuch higher than what you will collect. Ask the insurancecompanies to evaluate the market value of the car. Find out theworth of you car by using http://www.kbb.com/ the site of KelleyBlue Book.* Use common sense when buying a car. Be sure to choose one thatdoes not require higher insurance premiums. It is important tonot just consider buying costs but cost of insurance too.* Find out if the insurance company has a scheme that offersdiscounts on the basis of lower usage or mileage. Some companiesoffer discounts if you utilize public transport to go to work.They require you to submit proof that you do.* Ensure that your insurance credit history is accurate. Manyinsurers use credit history as a basis to calculate premiums. * Study the laws of the state where you live. Find out whetherany further adjustments in premiums can be made because you carif fitted with: airlock brakes, air bags, and other safetyfeatures. Find out from the companies as well as your agent.* Find out whether membership to organizations like AmericanAutomobile Association makes you eligible for any discounts. Askabout trade, professional associations, and corporate benefit'sprogram. Some companies offer: student's discounts for studentswith a GPA of 3.0 and higher; retirement discounts; loyaltydiscounts and more.* Be sure to ask the insurer if they have schemes to insure marethan one car under a group scheme. Such schemes referred to asmultiline discounts have a huge umbrella of options, homeinsurance, safety features, accident free driving, driver over50 years old, anti-theft devices fixed, and so on.For ready reference see:* Insure.com at http://info.insure.com/auto/autosave.html hasuseful information, a privacy policy in place, is updated daily,has links to over 200 companies that sell various kinds ofinsurance, a toll free line, and an option to buy insuranceonline.* Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America athttp://www.iiaa.org/na/default?ContentPreference=NA&ActiveTab=NA&ActiveState=0 is one of the largest associations of independentinsurance agents and brokers. According to experts buying autoinsurance from agents can get you a good deal as it cuts out themiddleman. * InsWeb at http://www.insweb.com/ a site dedicatedto the lowering of insurance costs. Offers competitive quotesfrom big players in the market like The Hartford, GMAC, AIG,Travelers, Amica, and Liberty Mutual. Remember insurance premiums are higher for high performancecars. The premium depends on how high repair costs are, readyavailability of parts, and what the chances of car theft are.Buy a car that does not require higher insurance premiums andexplore the market for the best deals.
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