Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Low Cost Auto Insurance - Online Quotes For Car Insurance

By Matt Hellstrom

With the economy being at all time lows and everyone feeling the pinch, it makes sense to try to lower your every day costs and economize wherever possible. One area that not many people focus on is getting low cost auto insurance, under the mistaken belief that there is little that can be done about car insurance premiums.

There are some things you can't change like your age and gender, but there are a number of things that you can do to lower your risk and take advantage of low cost auto insurance policies that still offer the protection you need but at better rates. The most obvious is to have a clean driving record for at least three years. This alone can qualify most people for a small discount.

In all likelihood, you've kept the same insurance that you had when you first bought the car. You might have even gotten what seemed like a low cost auto insurance policy from your insurance agent at the time because you bought a car that had great crash test safety ratings from the government. But you never knew to check things like industry data for the car model like repair record, cost of repairs, accident and theft statistics. Believe it or not, all these factors influence rates for comprehensive and collision coverage ..

The auto insurance industry has compiled decades of data regarding driver and car profiles. Whether you personally fit into a high risk profile doesn't matter to the insurer. So if you're a 24 year male who opts for a shiny red Mustang, then the chance of you obtaining a low cost auto insurance policy is pipe dream. This is true even if you've been driving safely since you turned 15 and haven't had single blemish on your driving record.

One of the easier ways to get low cost auto insurance is to raise your deductible. This is the amount that you would have to pay before insurance payment a claim kicks in. Most people think that a $100 deductible is adequate, but in truth you should consider taking a $1000, or at least $500, deductible. This results in a substantial savings even over a short period of 2 to 3 years. You're better off accumulating the savings to allocate towards your deductible.

You may be able to get a low cost auto insurance policy if you are an infrequent driver or you don't need your car to get to work. A number of insurance companies will give a discount for low mile usage as long as you can show that you are within the limits. You can also reduce your premiums and see a large savings if you eliminate collision and comprehensive coverage once your car reaches a certain point where the value no longer exceeds the cost of repairs.

To assist you in locating a low cost auto insurance policy, it would be a good idea to search using any of the rate quote services that are now available. To get a quote for a car make or model, you simply answer a few questions concerning your driving history along with the car information and in seconds you can have quotes from several companies. If you're shopping for a car, this can be a tremendous help in deciding what will fit within your budget.

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