First Tips on Buying Auto Insurance
When you go out shopping, whether it’s for food or clothes, the odds are you pick and choose. First off, you look at what’s available and then check out the prices. Perhaps you read the labels to make sure there’s not too much cholesterol or the clothes will wash easily. If in doubt, you try several stores until you find what you want. Well, treat buying an auto insurance policy the same way. Just as you don’t buy the first thing you see in a store, don’t buy the first policy some fast-talking agent offers you.
So just as you might make a list before you go out shopping, the first thing you need to do is decide exactly what cover you want. Perhaps you can make do with the local state minimum, or the way in which you use the vehicle makes it important to have better cover. Remember the price you pay as the premium changes depending on who you are, what you drive and how much you drive it.
Who you are. . . Last year, the Californian courts finally put a stop to zip code quoting. That’s where the insurance company gives you a price based on your address not how good or bad a driver you are. If you’ve been driving carefully and safely (that means no tickets) for a number of years, you’ll pay less. Same thing if you drive a few miles a week round town rather than make long commuting journeys down busy interstates. Then look at what you drive. Some cars are more likely to be stolen than others (that does sometimes have something to do with your zip code as well). Although you can’t change who you are, you can always make yourself into a low risk driver by avoiding tickets, driving safely and having a low-powered vehicle. Now you make a decision on whether you want the minimum or need collision and/or comprehensive cover as well.
Now shop around. There are likely more than a hundred insurers licensed to sell policies in your state. Some are more expensive than others. If you must have the biggest and best policy from the top branded insurer, remember how much of your premium goes into paying for the advertising that made it a top brand. There can be differences of several hundred dollars between quotes. Never ever settle a big financial deal on the basis of one quote. With internet sites able to give you free online quotes from multiple insurers, get as many quotes as you possibly can before making up your mind.
