Sunday, May 31, 2009

Low Cost Auto Insurance

By Matt Hellstrom

Are you looking for alternatives to your current car insurance and want low cost auto insurance? Maybe you've come to realize that your premiums are through the roof even though you're clean as a whistle when it comes to driving. Not to mention your car is so old that fuel injection was the wave of the future when you bought your set of wheels.

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.

Most people buy a car without really thinking about the cost of insurance. Sure, they'll take into consideration government crash test ratings, but that seems to be the extent of it when it comes to getting low cost auto insurance. But what about things like the car's repair ratings? Premiums for collision and comprehensive coverage even for brand new cars are a function of historical claims for theft and accidents as well as the costs of repair.

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.

Just by raising your own out-of-pocket cost, known as a deductible, before a claim for insurance will be paid, you can lower your premiums by quite a bit. This is an effective way to obtain your own low cost auto insurance without even having to switch insurers. It makes sense to then use your savings to fund the amount of your higher deductible and set it aside. Then you can enjoy the peace of mind that you'll have the deductible in hand while being able to see immediate savings.

If you are not a frequent driver or don't use your car to commute to work, then there's a good chance you can qualify for a low annual mileage discount. Most companies will require some evidence of this, but it's one way of getting low cost auto insurance. Dropping your comprehensive and collision coverage will also reduce your premiums if your car is older and it's no longer makes economic sense to maintain it.

The easiest way to find out if you can get low cost auto insurance is to use one of the many quote sites which allow you to input your information to generate instant quotes from a number of companies. This particularly useful if you are shopping for a new car as you can view quotes for different car models.

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