Do You Need Affordable Auto Insurance?
Reader’s Question:
I need to take note of the important things that impact my auto insurance premiums here in California, will you help me out on that?
Rafael
Fremont, CA
There are mainly five negative and positive things that could impact your auto insurance premiums in California. The negative things include:
Accidents
You will be considered high risk by auto insurance companies if you have been to a lot of accidents, thus getting higher premiums for your auto insurance.
Speeding Tickets
You will also get higher rates on your auto insurance if you have a lot of traffic tickets and speeding violations.
Bad Credit History
You will be considered irresponsible and higher risk by auto insurance companies if you have a bad credit history.
Age
Most drivers under the age of 23 get higher auto insurance rates than other drivers.
Adding a Teen Driver
If you are a parent and has a teen driver listed on your auto insurance policy, this means higher premiums because statistics show that teen drivers have high accident rate.
To turn these things around, take note of the following positive things to get lower auto insurance premiums.
Safety Devices
Installing safety devices on your vehicle would definitely help you get lower rates on your auto insurance.
Garage
Make sure that your vehicle is parked in a locked garage during night time to avoid theft and vandalism.
Low Mileage
The less you drive, the lower the risk of getting into an accident, thus lower auto insurance costs.
Extra Brake Light
To aid in avoiding other drivers to bump into you from behind, make sure you install this in the rear windshield.
Safe Driving
If you don’t get into accidents and be a safer driver, most auto insurance companies will reward you with discounts.
19 Year Old Teen Car Insurance – Needing Cheaper Rates
Reader’s Question:
I kind of need a drastic drop on my car insurance rates here in North Carolina. Since I am only 19 years old, could you tell me ways on how to achieve that?
Nick
Raleigh, NC
In North Carolina, teen car insurance is typically double the rates of a motorist who is above the age of 25. This is not something positive in case you are in the market for teen car insurance. I could not guarantee that there would be a drastic drop on your North Carolina car insurance rates but the following things could aid in saving a lot:
–As much as you can, lessen the amount of time that you use your vehicle. The more you spend time on the road, the higher risk you become to your car insurance company. If you are a high risk to them, this means that you pay more for your car insurance.
–Strive harder to maintain a certain average in school as this would help you lessen your premiums.
–Make sure that your vehicle has anti-lock brakes, alarm and other safety devices and tell your car insurance company and agent about this. These devices would make your car safer so you will be considered as low risks by car insurance companies.
–Attend and complete a defensive driving course because this would surely cut down your car insurance premiums if you take up classes recognized by your car insurance company.
–Choose to pay as high deductibles as you can so that your premiums would be less.
–You would obtain the cheapest teen car insurance in North Carolina if you shop around and make a thorough auto insurance quotes comparison.
Free Auto Insurance Quotes for High Risk Driver
Reader’s Question:
How do you know if a person is a high-risk driver? Where can a high-risk driver find free auto insurance advice?
Billy
Washington DC
First of all, you should know that each auto insurance company has its own way of identifying a high-risk driver. Auto insurance companies develop their own (probably unique) way of rating drivers according to the risk they present to the insurance company as drivers and owners of the insured automobile. And the risk factor has a lot to do with the computation of the policy rate or the premium.
In general, auto insurance companies consider the motor vehicle record, the credit history, and the personal data in identifying the risk level of a person.
The motor vehicle record (MVR) is a driving record that states all the citations, violations, or accidents that the driver has had while behind the wheel. The MVR does not only record the incidents that happened within the home state of the driver, but also those that happened in other states. This record is used by auto insurance companies to determine whether there is a pattern in the way a person drives. Often, a driver that has a couple of traffic violations is considered as high risk.
Another factor that companies look into is the credit history of the driver. Statistics show that drivers with poor credit histories make auto insurance claims more often than those who have good credit histories.
Auto insurance companies also take into consideration the driver’s profile. Often, auto insurance companies regard male, teenage drivers as high risk drivers. Female drivers are low risk drivers, same as adults in general. All these are based on statistical records of all traffic violations and road accidents that happened in the United States.
If you need more free auto insurance advice, you may check the websites of auto insurance companies in Washington DC. You may also check the Yellow Pages for a complete listing of these companies in DC.
I Want Cheap Auto Insurance In North Carolina
Reader’s Question:
I want to get auto insurance in North Carolina. What should it cover? Will my driving record affect my premium?
Liza
Chapel Hill NC
Every person getting auto insurance in North Carolina should have liability and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. If you obtained leased cars, you might be required by your lenders to obtain comprehensive coverage.
Liability coverage would pay for damages incurred by you and other people, as well as other properties, as a result of the accident regardless of who is at-fault. Uninsured motorist liability will protect you at times you get hurt in accidents caused by an uninsured driver.
Liability coverage comprises of third party liability for bodily injury and property damage. In North Carolina, the minimum requirement is $30,000 per person with a maximum of $60,000 per accident; and a property damage of $25,000.Uninsured motorist liability is $30,000 with $60,000 limit.
Regarding driving records, the answer to your question is yes. Driving records can greatly affect your auto insurance in North Carolina. According to the Department of Insurance, North Carolina follows a Safe Driver Incentive Plan or what they call as SDIP. Every violation you have will have corresponding points. Every time you earn a point, your premium will increase by a certain percentage. For example, you were caught driving while intoxicated. You will earn 12 SDIP points. The corresponding percentage for that will be 340%. Thus your insurance premiums will be 3.4 times the original amount.
That is why, it is most important to keep a clean record when it comes to driving. Every time you are caught repetitively for minor violations, you will still earn SDIP for that and eventually you will be categorized as a high-risk driver. In the end, it will be harder for you to achieve cheaper rates.
You might have heard of discounts. If you have one minor violation, you might be entitled to a discount depending on how long you have had the offense.
Cheap Indiana Car Insurance Quotes For Teens
Reader’s Question:
We tried looking for car insurance for my teen but all of them are expensive. How can we get cheap insurance for teens here in Indiana?
Jenny
Indianapolis, IN
Statistically, teen has the worst driving record of all the age group. This is the reason why car insurance companies consider teen as high risk thus getting high priced insurance quotes.
Here are some tips to make get car insurance quotes for teens.
- Increase their deductible – If you raise your teen’s deductible from $100 to $500, you can get up to 10% to 20% discount.
- Choose safe cars – sports car and high performance car are more expensive to insure. Choose safe and cheap cars.
- Place your young driver on your policy – This is much cheaper than a teen getting his/her own
- Have your teenager take driver’s defensive course – This can actually save you 10% to 15% on their insurance and will give you a little peace of mind.
- Good grades – Your teen can get cheap Indiana car insurance if they take can get good student discount if they do good in school.
- Have them share the payment- This will teach them to be more responsible
- Obtain multiple quotes – the exact same auto insurance with various insurers can differ as much as $1,000 a year.
- Shop online – This is the best way to get insurance quotes. This is the quickest and easiest way to compare rates and get auto insurance for your teen.
Cheap Student Car Insurance Quotes
Reader’s Question:
I think its unfair for insurance companies to charge students with high car insurance rates. Is it even possible to get cheaper insurance quotes without being added to my parents policy?
Anna
Salt Lake City UT
Insurance rates differ according to some factors like the motorist’s age, gender, driving record and address. It is also with these factors that insurers rate students with a certain premium amount, usually an expensive one.
Students can expect to pay high student car insurance premium if they drive a high end car. But a male student driving a high end car can expect to pay a higher amount. It is because driving a high end car is a risk to insurers since they are too costly to repair and above all, they have high cost of claims when stolen or burglarized. Young male drivers are also considered by most insurers as a high risk since they are more frequent in using their cars than the females thus they are prone to be involved in fatal accidents. Based on their statistics, it has been proven already by insurers that young people have risky driving habits so it would be better for them to be charged with expensive insurance premiums.
There are still possible ways for those students who are still hopeful of paying less for their car insurance. The first thing that they can do is to shop around for cheap student car insurance quotes and compare them. They can actually obtain quotes the easiest way by going online. In the Internet, students can check for several insurance companies who are offering special rates for students provided that they follow the insurer’s conditions. Most insurance companies require students to get a grade point average of at least B or above. For some insurers, average students are responsible drivers and they should be given insurance discounts for being such a good student.
Why Does an Auto Insurance Company Check My Credit Report?
Reader’s Question:
My friend told me that credit report affect auto insurance rate. Is it true that car insurance companies check it?
Vic
Seattle WA
Car insurance rate depends on different factors like age, driving record, make and model of the car and gender. By looking at these factors, you can easily figure out why are these being considered by car insurance companies. You’re probably surprised to find out that credit history also affects car insurance rate. Poor credit history or lack of credit history are likely to be viewed by car insurance companies as high risk drivers and will be then charged with high insurance rate.
Car insurance companies are permitted by law to use credit history as additional information in predicting the risk pose by drivers. If you have stable credit history where you pay your bills on time using your credits, you are less likely to file claim against your car insurence policy and you are likely to pay your insurance payments. However, consider a case where you lost a job 6 months ago and your credit card payments fell behind but you caught up, you may end up paying higher car insurance rate. On the other, if you don’t have credit history, car insurance companies may end up considering you as a possible risk because of lack of credit information.
There are ways to improve your credit history. Clean up your credits as soon as possible and pay the minimum amount that is due every month. Avoid spending beyond your means. If you dont have any credit record, get some. This factor may be preventing you from purchasing cheap car insurance rate. Without credit history, car insurance companies won’t be able to evaluate you and instead consider you as a risk. With credit, you can show car insurance companies that you are responsible in paying your credits. Lastly, monitor your credit reports. You can get a free copy of your credit report from the credit bureau, which the car insurance provider used. You can dispute if you feel that the information given is not correct.
What Affects Your Auto Insurance Premiums in California?
Reader’s Question:
I need to take note of the important things that impact my auto insurance premiums here in California, will you help me out on that?
Rafael
Fremont, CA
There are mainly five negative and positive things that could impact your auto insurance premiums in California. The negative things include:
Accidents
You will be considered high risk by auto insurance companies if you have been to a lot of accidents, thus getting higher premiums for your auto insurance.
Speeding Tickets
You will also get higher rates on your auto insurance if you have a lot of traffic tickets and speeding violations.
Bad Credit History
You will be considered irresponsible and higher risk by auto insurance companies if you have a bad credit history.
Age
Most drivers under the age of 23 get higher auto insurance rates than other drivers.
Adding a Teen Driver
If you are a parent and has a teen driver listed on your auto insurance policy, this means higher premiums because statistics show that teen drivers have high accident rate.
To turn these things around, take note of the following positive things to get lower auto insurance premiums.
Safety Devices
Installing safety devices on your vehicle would definitely help you get lower rates on your auto insurance.
Garage
Make sure that your vehicle is parked in a locked garage during night time to avoid theft and vandalism.
Low Mileage
The less you drive, the lower the risk of getting into an accident, thus lower auto insurance costs.
Extra Brake Light
To aid in avoiding other drivers to bump into you from behind, make sure you install this in the rear windshield.
Safe Driving
If you don’t get into accidents and be a safer driver, most auto insurance companies will reward you with discounts.
Who Has The Lowest Senior Car Insurance Rates
Reader’s Question:
My insurance payment is causing me to worry too much. DO you know any auto insurance agency that provide low car insurance for seniors?
Roger
Indianapolis, IN
Getting a few hundred off your payment would be great knowing the uncertainties facing workers these days, especially for senior drivers. Older drivers may feel their insurance payments to be burdensome now that prices of commodities are going up. You may think that you are not eligible for any discounts because of your age. Do not worry, there is always a way for enjoying a low cost car insurance no matter how old you are. Being in the older age bracket may even work more to your advantage!
Do you know that people who are 50 years old and above get lowest car insurance for seniors? That is true. People your age are looked on by insurers as the most responsible drivers on the road. Older drivers are moderate drivers, meaning, they don’t drive fast on the road. They maintain reasonable speed and tend to follow the rules. As a result, very few fatal at-fault accidents happen. Insurers like people who do not make them pay a lot for bodily injuries and property damages. However, this advantage is not extended to those who have reached 75 years of age. Based on statistical evidence, people of this age tend to get involved in major accidents, which exposes insurers at high risk.
No matter your age bracket, though, a clean driving record will surely get you a low cost car insurance that will lower your rate. A clean driving record implies that the driver has not filed claims against his insurer. Insurance companies offer huge discounts to premium rates when you have accumulated a lot years without filing a claim. They show their appreciation by lowering the amount you will need to pay for your premium. If you have not filed a claim this year, keep it up and enjoy the discount in your next renewal.
Free Car Insurance Quotes In Oklahoma
Reader’s Question:
I have two cars which I frequently use in Oklahoma but I was surprised when I got home and found out from the car insurance receipts that one is actually much expensive than the other when, in fact, I bought both on the same year. Why is this so? Should I ask around first for free car insurance quotes? Will that help?
Fred
Oklahoma City, OK
Hi Fred. I love Oklahoma, especially the Wichita Mountains. I went there for a hike one time. I take it what happened to you is that one of your two cars might be a luxury or sports car, which generally has higher car insurance premiums than the standard four-door sedans. You see, car insurance companies compute your premium primarily because of your age, coverage and car make or model.
The age factor is usually applicable to teenagers. As you know, teenagers are rated as high risk drivers compared to drivers from older age groups, and as such, insuring them would gain higher premiums. The type of coverage you get will also affect the amount of premium you are going to pay. You might want to have a larger liability or property damage coverage. The larger the amount of coverage, the higher your premium gets, of course. And then, lastly, the car make or model dictates, more or less, the amount of premium you have to pay. Different car makes and models fetch different premium ranges.
For example, a Ferrari of course will come with higher premiums than that of a 2003 Honda Civic. This is because each car make and model would have varying costs for repair and spare parts replacement. Fred, you are correct there to ask for free car insurance quotes before renewing your current car insurance. You might be surprised that there are a lot of other cheaper car insurance premium offers out there.
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