Auto Insurance Ratings For Cars

Reader’s Question:

My boyfriend just recently got promoted. As a bonus from the company, they will provide him with a brand new car. The problem is that car insurance will be answered by my my boyfriend. We are excited but we need to be practical. My boyfriend decided to go for a car that is rated by insurance companies as good to cover. Can you please help us with how to get insurance ratings for car?

Paul and Donna

Sacramento CA

Congratulations to Paul for his promotion and soon to be new car. It is good to hear that you are both practical in choosing your new car. It is true that auto insurance can be a bit costly so it is always best to know the insurance ratings car before you buy your dream car. You do not want to lose your dream car because you no longer can afford the insurance premium.
There are 3 key areas to which car insurance companies evaluate a car:

• Liability – this will measure your bodily and property damage liability coverage rate
• Damage and theft – this will affect the calculation of your collision and comprehensive premium
• Safety – vehicle safety discount your car can get

If the insurance ratings car for liability is excellent then you can be charged with lower than the standard premium. If not, then definitely you get higher than the standard. So your goal should be to get a car that would the most only cost you a standard premium.

Insurance companies has a list of ‘hot cars,’ which refers to cars that have very high statistics of being stolen. If you get a vehicle that is included in the list of ‘hot cars,’ you will definitely get a very low insurance ratings car for damage and theft area, which means you will be charged significantly higher than the standard premium for your collision and comprehensive coverage. You can totally skip these coverage but if your car is brand new, it is advisable that you should get them. So be sure to check the ‘hot cars’ list before you decide on a particular car model.

The safety factor refers to the discount an insurance company will give for the medical payments/personal injury protection (PIP) portion of the premium. Only 16 states required the PIP coverage. If your state does not require this, you can also skip this coverage. But if you like to have these in your policy, make sure you get a car that has safety features like airbag, anti-lock brakes, and others. Having these safety devices can guarantee you discounts.

What Is A Non Standard Auto Insurance?

Reader’s Question:

I was told that I need to get non standard insurance? What does that mean?

Jane

New York NY

If you are a driver that is considered high risk for insurers because of DUI conviction or multiple traffic violation, it may be difficult for you to find a standard auto insurence. A Non-standard auto insurance is a term to classify insurance sold to drivers whose having a hard time finding auto insurance at standard or preferred rates. Some insurance providers specializes with just non-standard insurance business.

Non-standard auto insurance is usually for motorists who are unable to buy coverage in a standard market which can be due to several reasons such as a poor driving history, DUI, sports car, or insurance lapse in policy, etc.

Basically, if you did not meet an insurer’s standard or preferred risk underwriting criteria, you will end up gong to a non-standard insurer to get the auto insurance coverages that you need.

Expect a high auto insurance cost with non standard insurance especially if you do not have a good driving record. You will need to shop for the better price because cost varies from one company to the other. If you can maintain a clean driving record, you will eventually get a better deal with your auto insurance rate.

I Need Cheap Car Insurance For a New Driver

Reader’s Question:

I just got my license and this is my first time to get auto insurance. I’m on my own so I will not be added to my parent’s insurance. What do I need to know. Please help!

Helen

Boston MA

If you are a new driver, you need to know the basic things about the auto insurance policy. There are factors that affect car insurance premium. Since you are a new driver, car insurance companies will usually offer higher auto insurance premium than the standard auto insurance rate. If you think you need cheap new driver car insurance premium, rates should not the only thing that you need to consider. Here are some of the things that you need to know.

a. Consider the amount of new driver car insurance rates that you want to buy. These may depend on different factors. You can consult your car insurance agent to evaluate your needs. The least amount that you need is your state’s minimum required liability. There are additional coverages such as comprehensive and collision coverage that will protect your car in case of collision or if it has been stolen or vandalized.

b. Once you know the coverage that you need, you can now shop for new driver car insurance rates from different car insurance companies. This is the basic step to finding cheap car insurance. When you shop, don’t forget to consider the coverage. Cheap new driver car insurance rates seem attractive but this may also mean fewer benefits and features. Furthermore, also consider the financial strength of the company and those with excellent customer service. These are the things that matters in the long-run.

c. Because a policy is a legal contract, make sure that you understand what is indicated. If there are things that you don’t understand, clarify with your agent.

Here’s the information that you will find in the policy.

• Name of the person covered in the policy
• The limitations and exclusions that will apply
• The coverage period
• The amount included in the coverage
• The amount of premium on the coverage
• Process when you file a claim or report a loss

d. When you have your new driver car insurance policy, monitor and update it periodically.

e. Do not forget to shop around for cheap car insurance. You can find comparison websites just like you see above wherein you can compare various companies with just putting your information once as opposed to getting quotes for each insurance companies which will take a lot of time.