FINDING THE BEST RATES
Comparing premiums is easier than ever, thanks to online services such as Quicken Insurance (www.quicken.com/insurance) and InsWeb (www.insweb.com). While you can also use the Yellow Pages to canvass local insurance agents for quotes, online services let you compare multiple price quotes in minutes.
You should make this price comparison at least once a year. Still, it may not be a good idea to switch companies too often or arbitrarily. Sometimes loyalty pays. For instance, if you've been with one company several years and maintained a clean driving record, you may qualify for a safe-driver discount, which substantially lowers your premium. But if you're contemplating a switch, the new company may be willing to classify you as a safe driver. In addition, you can often get a discount for insuring more than one vehicle--or your home--with the same company.
To get an accurate quote, you'll need to provide information on the car or cars that you intend to insure: the make, model, year, trim line, and the vehicle identification number (VIN). You'll also need to give the age, sex, and recent driving record of all potential drivers. Some companies may also ask where you normally park your car, and inquire about any aftermarket accessories you may have installed to prevent theft. The insurer may independently check your driving history using public documents such as police records, and your insurance history through your current and former insurers.
BUY THE RIGHT AMOUNT
Car insurance is meant to protect you against catastrophic losses, such as a major accident or the theft of your car. Be prepared to absorb minor losses yourself, and you'll save a lot. Here are tips on separating the essentials from coverage you can probably live without.
Coverage you must have
Bodily injury liability. Should you cause an accident, the "liability" part of your insurance coverage pays the medical, rehabilitation, and, if necessary, funeral bills of your passengers, the other driver, his or her passengers, and any pedestrians involved. It also covers pain and suffering awards as well as legal costs.
Buy coverage that will pay at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. If you have sizable assets, consider increasing those limits to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. Such added coverage will raise your premium at least 10 percent. We recommend that people with a high net worth have a separate "umbrella" policy to insure against a lawsuit seeking an amount beyond their auto policy's limits. You may need to buy higher insurance limits to qualify for an umbrella policy.
Property damage. This coverage pays to repair or replace another person's vehicle or other property damaged by your car. States typically require only $10,000 to $25,000. We suggest buying coverage of $100,000.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This covers medical bills, rehabilitation, and funeral costs, as well as losses for pain and suffering for you or the passengers in your car when an accident is caused by a hit-and-run driver or someone who has little or no insurance. Get the same amount of this coverage as you do bodily injury coverage. That way, if someone who has no insurance hits you, your medical costs will be covered.
Coverage you'll probably need
Collision and comprehensive. Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your car no matter who or what caused the accident. Comprehensive pays to repair or replace your car if it's stolen or damaged as a result of a storm or other natural event. Coverage kicks in for the amount above your deductible. Choose the highest deductible you can afford to pay out of pocket--at least $500. Once the cost of this coverage equals 10 percent of your vehicle's book value, you might want to cancel it, since you will collect no more than your vehicle's market worth. Antique vehicles or cars with collector value sometimes are insured through a separate rider; or you may have to find a separate, specialty insurer.
Why auto insurance is a must
Vehicle insurance, car insurance or auto insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks and other vehicles. It is primarily used to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of accidents and against any liabilities incurred in accidents.
A majority of drivers think that they don’t need auto insurance because they consider themselves to be good drivers. They think they can escape accidents and that they are not prone to road accidents. Sadly, what they don’t understand is that accidents can happen anytime, anywhere. You never know what is in store for you. You never know what the car next to you, in front of you or behind you is going to do. Hence, it is a good idea to have insurance regardless of where you live or how good a driver you are. It is important to get coverage on the vehicle you drive. If you do not have coverage, then you are going to be worrying about it every time you drive around. Automobile coverage will help keep those worries at bay. When you know that your car is insured and you are financially protected, you will drive at peace.
There are a thousand cases of road accidents reported on a daily basis. In an increasingly intolerant city, the value of human life seems to have reduced to a notch. Hence, it is paramount to safeguard your life and your expensive car against fatal accidents. Car insurance is the apt solution to this dilemma. It secures you against potential losses and threats. However, before you enroll for the policy, it is imperative to have detailed knowledge about the auto insurance rates or quotes. As a matter of fact, it is incredibly easy to obtain free car insurance quotes. A simple search on the Web for compare car insurance quotes will guide you through the same. Car insurance quotes differ from company to company, which is why it is of utmost importance to carefully review insurance quotes of different providers before selecting the one which best suits your needs.
There are certain factors which play an important role in determining your auto insurance quotes. Your driving record, gender, age, marital status and the type of vehicle are amongst the contributing factors which are considered by the insurance company while determining your insurance quote. If you have speeding tickets issued against you or if you have been convicted for rash driving, then some companies may be wary of insuring you. Installing high-tech security features in your vehicle is a great idea to impress insurance companies. It will project you as a responsible driver. Moreover, the extent of damage would also be less if quality security functions are installed within the vehicle, thus improving your chances of getting reasonable or satisfactory auto insurance quotes.
It is important to buy auto insurance when you buy an automobile. If you own a car, then auto insurance is a must have. None of us like to think that we will ever have a car accident. However, it is better to prepare ourselves in case of any accident or unforeseen calamity.
Jesse Witham is the author of this article on Auto insurance. Find more information about Car insurance here.
Georgia Insists on Car Insurance
just in case you don’t know this, you should if you live in the state of Georgia. Everyone must have car insurance.
If you’re a newbie just arriving in Georgia from another state or out of country, one of the first things you will want to know is that you need car insurance. If you think no one will know whether you have it or not, think again. In 2003, Georgia made an arrangement where the state police have access to the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety database. This information clearly shows the police who has expired insurance or no insurance.
Now you may be thinking that if you happen to be carrying an insurance card and have an accident that this is proof enough. It isn’t, and can’t be used as proof of valid insurance. Unfortunately, having the card could mean the driver is trying to pull a fast one on the police. While the vast majority of car owners would be honest enough to actually "have" the required insurance, there will always be exceptions to the general rule.
Now that you know you "must" have insurance, keep one other thing in mind; the Georgia liability limits. That means you will need $25,000 per person for body injury; $50,000 per accident/occurrence; and $25,000 property damage per incident. This insurance covers crashes where the insurance holder is at fault. In other words, if you have car insurance and you were at fault for an accident, then your insurance pays the freight.
Georgia has mandatory apportionment of liability. While it is often the case that one person is deemed entirely at fault, there are situations where one side will only pay a portion of the damages due to comparative negligence. Georgia is not a pure comparative negligence state, as you have to prove that the other side is more than 50% negligent in order to recover anything. If you are 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing.
What does your insurance cover? The collision portion covers the actual physical damage to the owner’s car. Not to make things any more complex than they already sound, but collision insurance isn’t required under Georgia law. It is, however, mandated by most lending and leasing companies. Where this may cause you a problem is if your car is older than the hills you might not elect to insure it since the coverage does not exceed the value of your beater. For newer model vehicles, you may want to opt for comprehensive coverage.
One other form of insurance you may want to consider is uninsured motorist coverage. This offers you extra protection against damage to your car and passengers caused by uninsured drivers and insured drivers. While some people consider this to be an extra expense they don’t want to incur, consider the expenses you will face if you are involved in a collision with an uninsured motorist. You would be responsible to pay for all the damages because the other person could not. Uninsured motorist coverage, in most cases, may be added to your liability coverage in the event your damages exceed that of the liable party.
Tim Anderson works with Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.
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4 important things to consider to get the car insurance rates
4 important things to consider to get the car insurance rates
The cost of auto insurance these days is too high. But you still get auto insurance cheap auto insurance rates if you can you know? You have the right knowledge and ideas, if you make sure you can get cheap car insurance. Submit your family at risk because of the budget for it now that you have auto insurance can be expensive, difficult to purchase. Cheap car insurance rates but you can find online.
The Internet has really changed people's lives. More and more people prefer going online to purchase products or services using. This also applies to car insurance. A lot of people searching for cheap auto insurance rates to find the Internet useful instrument. But before you decide to purchase auto insurance, you are what is important for you to use cheap car insurance rates will need to consider.
The best place to shop online, while cheap auto insurance rates. Many auto insurance quote auto insurance company can be obtained from the other steps. Request a quote for auto insurance is very quick and easy. All you need to do all the necessary information and provide auto insurance quotes will be unveiled. You can get the best deal not forget to compare auto insurance quotes.So, cheap auto insurance rates in any way be used?
You have a clean driving record, the more likely you can get cheap auto insurance rates.
2 once you leave the driving lessons and exams have a certificate, you will also receive discounts on insurance premiums.
Three types of vehicles on the speed you also want to ensure reaching influence. Do you drive an expensive new car, this car is very expensive to get car insurance as possible, a lot. Also, car insurance, your auto insurance company, the security alarm or anti-theft device and make sure you have a low price.Be careful where you park at 4. You park your vehicle in a garage of the home, largely in the input prices affect car insurance. Closely with your fleet close to the locked room or garage, please make sure.
You get a cheap car insurance rates, it is important to consider the above tips. Check the online car insurance cheap car insurance rates, so you also can take advantage of the quotes. And stable company, that's when all the problems will be handled auto insurance, most importantly, look, I would have complained.
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Fewer of us lying to get cheaper quotes
With the recession hitting our pockets and insurance premiums soaring, you may be forgiven for thinking that many of us, desperate to save some of our hard-earned cash, might be willing to take the risk of being less than honest when taking out our motor insurance.
The good news is that according to confused.com although 14% of us are still foolish enough to think that they can pull the wool over the eyes of the insurance company, the figure has actually dropped since last year. The figure for 2010 was a staggering 39% of motorists lying in order to get cheaper insurance, with men proving to be less honest than their female counterparts (32% of women and 46% of men lied).
The most common whopper is mileage, with many drivers understating their annual mileage. Next on the list of lies is details of where the car is kept overnight, either saying that the car is garaged overnight when it is in fact kept on the drive or saying it is kept on the drive when it is actually kept on the road.
Geographically London has the worst rate for lying (19%) with Northern Ireland doing best of all with only 2% of motorists failing to tell the truth.
Anyone tempted to stretch the truth would of course do well to remember that lies could invalidate any claim. This really is a case of honesty being the best policy.
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Car insurance premiums continue to rise
There’s more bad news for drivers as it has been revealed that insurance premiums have gone up by a record amount in the last 12 months, making driving increasingly unaffordable for more people.
The depressing figures come from The AA which recently released its latest British Insurance Premium Index. It found that, over the past 12 months, fully comprehensive insurance premiums have gone up by a massive 40%, meaning the average premium now costs £892 a year.
Third party, fire and theft premiums went up even further, jumping by a massive 82% in 12 months, meaning now the average premium is £1,533. In the first three months of this year alone the rise was 10.7%.
The rise in the cost of car insurance is the highest annual rise since 1994 when the AA began to collect data. But even so, insurers are still making losses.
The rise in premiums comes as a double blow to motorists who are also having to contend with rising fuel costs. The combination of the two means that driving is now less affordable than ever, and this is leading to other problems.
The AA claims that more customers are not giving their full information now when looking for quotes, and that people are also trying to get more from personal injury claims. Such claims are one of the biggest reasons for the rise in premiums, with the ABI (Association of British Insurers) claiming that for every £1 in compensation, 87p is now added in legal expenses. Now there are hundreds of claims being made every day for accidents, sometimes for ones which occurred years ago.
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Admiral sees record profits
Admiral insurance group, one of the biggest insurance companies in the UK, has just announced record profits. This is the second year in a row that its profits have beaten all previous years, and the company just keeps on going from strength to strength.
The pre-tax profit for 2010 was announced as £266 million, which represents a 23% increase on 2009 figures. To make things even rosier, it performed better than predicted by £4 million, according to the predictions of city analysts.
One of the most successful areas for the company was car insurance, where it saw a massive growth of over 30%. The UK sector was especially good for the insurer, but its overseas operations were not quite as successful and saw losses of £12.9 million compared to £10.3 million in 2009.
One area in the UK that has suffered is its Confused.com business. It saw a large 34% drop in earnings to £16.9 million during 2010, a factor it puts down to the increased competition in the comparison website sector.
Admiral also announced that it is planning to locate its new headquarters near St David’s shopping centre in Cardiff where it will locate up to 3,000 staff.
Henry Engelhardt, the company’s chief executive, said that it has now generated a turnover of more than £1.5 billion, but admitted that there was a lot to be done in its businesses outside the UK.
He also commented on the recent EU ruling that means insurers can no longer charge different premiums to men and women, claiming that it would lead to increased profits for Admiral.
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