Automobile insurance was made mandatory in 1927. Shopping around for automobile insurance is very hard to do. They require your social security number, phone number, and e-mail address. Most companies may use this information to sell to other companies in hopes to get you to agree to other insurance needs. Some people have good home insurance from one company, but that does not mean that same company will provide you with a great rate on automobile insurance.
As we know, many factors go into determining a rate. Of course, not all factors are relevant. The relevant factors are age, driving record, previous coverage, type of vehicle, and geographical area. The irrelevant factors are social security number and current phone number.
They say if you are a certain age, you are prone to driving fast or reckless. Women automobile rates tend to be lower than men automobile rates. Why? Do companies believe women are the better drivers? Do companies believe women are safer drivers? I was involved in four accidents in my life. Out of the four, three were actually caused by women. Therefore, I don’t agree with the theory of women being better or safer drivers. Don’t get me wrong. Some are good drivers and others are not, but companies should not use this as a fact. With age comes more responsibility and this is what the automobile insurance is supposed to look at, but some do not. Driving record is always a factor. You must release your driver’s license in order to have the companies look upon your driving history. Previous coverage is always a good thing to use as a good negotiation tool. I will explain more about that a bit later. The type of vehicle can make a policy increase or decrease. Let’s face it your premiums will be more expensive if you insure a Lexus versus insuring a Chevrolet. If you live in an urban area, you can expect your premium to go up compared to if you live in a country area. However, if you live in the metro city areas, your premiums can go up compared to living in the urban areas. What that really boils down to is cost of living. The higher the cost of living, the more your premiums may be as well.
A gap in your insurance coverage is not good. Most companies would consider you to be a risk because you are insuring for a short about of time to get from paying over a length of time or jumping from insurance company to insurance company. Think of this like employment. If you are out of work for months and months it would be harder to find employment as the employer may believe you are not a good worker. A company wants to hire someone that is employed because it show you are may be worth their investment. This principle works with automobile insurance.
So the question is how to bring the premium to a more manageable expense? How can you use previous coverage as a good negotiation tool? When you shop around, I suggest the Progressive website. Progressive tends to compare rates with other reputable companies instead of cut-rate insurance companies. I do suggest a reputable company because if you do get involved in an accident, a cut-rate insurance company may take a long time to get you back on the road, if they can at all. After you apply with an online quote, company the companies with your current insurance company. This is where the trick comes into play. If you are comfortable with your current insurance agency, ask them to do an evaluation on your policy. Doing an evaluation on your policy is another way of asking if they can give you better quote since you have been with them for a good length of time. Some companies will bring your cost down. It is like getting refinanced on a vehicle after making payments for about a year or so. A good example of this would be Company X brought my cost down about sixty dollars. However, on the Progressive website, Company Y gave me a quote that is an additional twenty dollars off. In other words, Company Y is going to charge me eighty dollars cheaper than what I have with Company X, even after the evaluation of my current policy.
Other notable traits would to be accident free, or a no-fault accident. A no-fault accident is a crash that is not your fault. It could be the result of nature (hitting an animal or weather) or someone hitting your vehicle. Next, don’t have any moving violations. Have continuous coverage on your vehicle for at least a year with the same company. If you can, have your monthly payment deducted from your checking account. When you opt for this service the insurance company will the willingness of being with them in the long haul and may provide an additional discount versus sending in a payment.
If you are tired of paying a high cost and you had been with your automobile insurance company for at least a year, you can ask them to do an evaluation on your policy to try to drive the cost down. You are also free to check on different websites for a better rate. Again, I suggest the Progressive website that will compare costs with other reputable companies. I have heard some say as well as the Bible say, “ask and ye shall receive.” At times we don’t have because we have not asked.
~Boston Brian
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